The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

What the First Debate Taught About the Candidate's Positions on Cities
Urbanists and their ilk might have been disappointed in the first presidential debate's lack of focused attention to affordable housing, infrastructure, and other issues of importance to cities.

Beer from Portlandia in the Land of the Rising Sun
Japanese cities and citizens look to Portland for inspiration.

Building Houses in Wildfire Country
Developments boom in high risk fire areas, even as fires continue to increase in duration, severity and damage.

Close to a Half Million Americans Lack Proper Plumbing
Nearly 500,000 people in the rural parts of the United States cannot afford modern plumbing.

BLOG POST
Commuting in America 2015
Is commuting Deplorable? Can we Make Commuting Great Again? It is sometimes necessary to resort to hyperbole to draw attention to real data.

New York Has Plan to Make Room for Penn Station Renovations
With more than 600,000 daily commuters passing through, Penn Station is one of the busiest transit halls in the Western Hemisphere. Finally, there's a plan in place to make necessary repairs without making the commute even more unbearable.

A Clever Way to End Cigarette Litter
Chicago smokers will soon be able to vote on matters of pop culture importance with their butts.

FEATURE
Jan Gehl on the Politics of Transforming Cities
Advancing the politics of public transportation and public spaces is not easy. Danish architect Jan Gehl and his firm Gehl Architects, however, have a track record of success with cities around the world.

London Housing Prices Drive 30-Year-Olds Out of the City
Study finds 30-somethings in London leaving the city in increasing numbers.

Geographers Seek Patterns and Solutions to Help Declining American Cities
Geographers publish results of a two-year study on declining cities around the country in a new book, "Shrinking Cities: Understanding Urban Decline in the United States."

Cleveland–East Cleveland Merger Plan Overlooks Main Issue
East Cleveland, a struggling suburb of Cleveland, has ended up in so much fiscal distress that it is considering allowing Cleveland to annex it as a desperation move. We may need to rethink our decades of assumptions about home rule in the Northeast.
Barcelona’s First Superblock: Fighting the Power of Habit and Wavering Political Will
Two weeks ago, after nearly two decades of waiting, Barcelona urban designer Salvador Rueda finally saw the first "Superilla" (Superblock) installed in the city. The superblock faced fierce opposition from unhappy residents and local businesses.

Unable or Unwilling to Hike Gas Taxes, Illinois and New Jersey Go to Voters
However, neither state will ask voters to increase the gas tax. Instead, they ask voters to assure that gas tax and other transportation-derived revenues are spent on transportation. Neither state has raised the tax in over 25 years.

New Jersey Transit Board Hasn't Met in Over 100 Days
There's a major transportation showdown underway in New Jersey, but that doesn't excuse the New Jersey Transit Board from holding public meetings.

Foolish Utopianism in Today's Top Architecture
Reviewing Douglas Murphy's book "Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture," Jonathan Meades lays into the new utopianism of contemporary architecture. Silicon Valley gets portrayed as both foolish and hypocritical.

New York Ponders How to Stop Cars from Parking in Bike Lanes
You can write all the tickets in the world but you can't stop drivers from parking in bike lanes.

There Goes the Neighborhood: Oh No, Not Burning Man!
Ben Brown unpacks the components of polarization. Recognizing some people are really pissed off for some really good reasons doesn’t seem to help us make better decisions, whether we’re talking about electing a president or planning a park.

In Brooklyn's Navy Yard, a New Manufacturing Incubator
New Lab repurposes a gritty shipbuilding warehouse, giving manufacturing startups the support that software firms get from your typical incubator.

Form Based Codes: Nashville Provides a Model for Charlottesville's Process
As Charlottesville, Virginia considers a new form-based code, the city of Nashville offers explanations and examples of the concept in action.

A Generational Challenge: Ending the Age of the Automobile
An author and educator calls on a new generation of Americans to challenge the status quo and overcome the limitations and impacts of the country's existing infrastructure.
Pagination
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.