The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Orenco Station

Oregon to Consider New Densities for Transit Adjacent Neighborhoods

The Oregon Legislature is already considering one of the most sweeping and ambitious statewide land use reform bills in the country. A new bill would allow even more density around transit stations.

February 20 - Willamette Week

San Francisco Housing

Steady Loss of San Francisco Bay Area Affordable Housing

Skyrocketing rental costs are hitting low-income residents even harder as available subsidized housing continues to disappear.

February 20 - The Mercury News

Historic Produce Terminal Strip District

Major Street Redesign Coming to Pittsburgh's Historic Strip District

Five blocks in Pittsburgh's Historic Produce Terminal Strip District will gain wider sidewalks, public spaces, and traffic calming according to a recently released final design concept.

February 20 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Downtown Charlotte

Affordable Housing Tipping Point in Charlotte

Charlotte saw the writing on the wall, and decided to act decisively in addressing its lack of affordable housing options.

February 20 - Governing

San Antonio, Texas, Riverwalk, Evening

San Antonio's Draft Climate Plan Receives Relatively Warm Reception

The public had its first chance to weigh in on a draft climate plan released in January, sending signals about the political viability of climate change action in the state of Texas.

February 20 - San Antonio Express-News


Pioneer Square, Seattle

BLOG POST

Seeing the Urban Forest for the Trees

It is important to focus on forests rather than individual trees when evaluating trade-offs between infill and sprawled development.

February 20 - Todd Litman

U.S.-Mexico

What President Trump's Border Wall Can't Stop

William H. Frey, a demographer with Brookings, argues that racial diversity is a good thing for the country by many measures. Trump's wall would make it harder to benefit from demographic changes, but changes is still coming.

February 19 - Brookings: The Avenue


Community Meeting

Reaching the People: Taking an Innovative Approach to Public Engagement

This article features the innovative outreach work of the Broward County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, and California High-Speed Rail, among others.

February 19 - InTransition Magazine

Kaiser LEED Certified Building

Taking the Carbon Emissions Out of Buildings

Much of the focus on decreasing carbon emissions is on the electrical grid and vehicles. But, buildings are a huge contributor, and California is leading the way in making electrification a priority.

February 19 - Vox

Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding

Gentrification in Post-Katrina New Orleans

An analysis of New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina shows that the neighborhoods most damaged were also the most likely to gentrify.

February 19 - CityLab

Rental Construction

Explained: The Common Look of the Contemporary Mid-Rise Apartment Building

Last week's urbanism social media landscape was dominated by discussion of an article that digs into the historical and technical origins of the contemporary mid-rise apartment building type.

February 19 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

State capital building

Statewide Rent Control Moving Through the Oregon Legislature

Democratic legislators in Oregon are pushing hard to approve a statewide rent control bill that would be the first of its kind in the United States.

February 19 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

OC Transpo Ottowa

Gender, Climate Change, and Transit Decision Makers

A member of Ottawa’s city council says transit commissioners should support women’s rights and believe that climate change is real.

February 19 - Ottawa Citizen

Protected Bike Lane

Two Cities That Reduced Driving Over a Decade

Minneapolis and Seattle bucked national trends by increasing active transportation and use of public transit in recent years.

February 19 - Streetsblog USA

Illinois Highway 90

Sale of Illinois Tollway Considered to Pay Pension Debt

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a $134 billion problem in unfunded pension liabilities. Along with several other measures, his administration is considering selling state assets, including the Illinois Tollway, to fill the hole.

February 19 - Chicago Tribune

Toronto Lyrics

Ontario's Plan for Taking Over Toronto's Subway Revealed

Ontario Progressive Conservatives want the province to take ownership of the city of Toronto's subway network and take responsibility for maintaining and construction.

February 19 - The Star

Los Angeles High Rise Construction

BLOG POST

More Evidence That New Housing Lowers Rents (Maybe)

Even if new housing reduces rents regionwide, scholars are divided as to when and whether new market-rate apartments reduce rents in nearby blocks. A new study seeks to answer this question.

February 18 - Michael Lewyn

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Manhattan Rezonings Pose Tough Challenges for Planners

The New York City Department of Planning kicked off a rezoning process for the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo earlier this month. Planning and development challenges abound.

February 18 - Crain's New York Business

Ohio River

Form at the Forefront of Zoning Code Rewrite in Covington, Kentucky

The city of Covington is conducting public hearings to gather feedback on at the outset of an 18-month process of rewriting its zoning code.

February 18 - City of Covington

Pedestrian Infrastructure

Checking in With St. Paul's First-Ever Pedestrian Plan

The public is providing feedback on the city of St. Paul's first-ever Pedestrian Plan.

February 18 - Next City

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