The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Seattle Getting Shortchanged by Incentive Zoning Program
An audit has found discrepancies in the amount of funds collected as part of Seattle's Incentive Zoning program due to weaknesses in enforcement and accounting practices.
Joined at the Hip: Transit Use and Walkability
Zak Accuardi argues that while mobility services can enhance transit, only walkability can solve the "first and last mile" problem.
Home Ownership Changes, by City and Ethnicity
According to new data released from the real estate website Trulia, Washington, D.C. experienced the largest gain in Black homeownership in the United States over the past 25 years, Chicago had the biggest expansion of Latino homeownership.
Eviction Hot Spot: Chicago's South Shore
Rising rents and low income residents have made this South Side neighborhood a locus for evictions and forced moves.
Using Big Data to Identify Problem Properties
In New York state, municipalities can apply to use a new tool that gathers property data and sifts for red flags. The intent is to identify potential blight before it sets in.
DUIDs Surpass DUIs as Cause of Fatal Vehicle Crashes
2015 was the first year that driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) surpassed those killed while driving under the influence of alcohol. Increased legal access to marijuana is correlated with the surge. Amphetamine use is also a factor.
Electronic Vehicle Permit Moratorium in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney neither signed nor vetoed the anti-electric car bill allowing it to become law, but is symbolically not giving it his approval.
A Simple Idea to Fix Transit on Chicago's South Side
On Chicago's massive south side, fixing transit means working on more than just CTA trains.
A Community Benefits Proposal is Ignored. Is Displacement Far Behind?
A tent city occupation in Atlanta is among several recent actions in cities around the country. Residents fearing displacement at the hands of publicly supported private development are organizing, and running for office, against it.
Friday Funny: Commuter Barbie Rides the Subway, Deals with Manspreading
Millennial Barbie reads literary fiction and wants you to know about it.
Rent Control: Illegal in Seattle Since 1981
For a long time now, rent control hasn't been an option to control housing prices in Washington state. Whether rent control works is another question entirely.
Bag Tax Making a Big Difference in Chicago, Study Finds
NYU study finds 30% decrease in use of disposable bags since the city of Chicago implemented a seven-cent tax on them.
Antiquities Act Executive Order Calls for Review of Large Designations
The Executive Order does not roll back the Antiquities Act nor rescind any designations made by presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, or Obama, but does call for their review if over 100,000 acres. President Trump feels that the act has been misused.
Friday Eye Candy: Winning Images of Urbanization and Migration
The Penn Institute for Urban Research, in collaboration with Perry World House, is pleased to announce the winner of its 2017 photo contest on the theme of urbanization and migration.
Is Placemaking a 'New Environmentalism'?
Like music, environmentalism's tenets evolved from precedent, and Kaid Benfield hopes they are evolving still.
Step Back For Sunlight in Portland
A growing Portland has seen many arguments about how to accommodate an influx of residents—recommends the "step back" as a way to add density without adding shadows or creating wind tunnels.
Indiana Legislature Passes 10-Cents Fuel Tax Hike on Final Day of Session
Just past midnight on Saturday morning, the Indiana State Senate passed the transportation plan after the Housed approved it Friday. It also passed a $32 billion, two-year state budget bill, then adjourned for the year, one week ahead of schedule.
Lyft Shuttle Test in Chicago and San Francisco Sure Does Resemble a Bus
Lyft's shuttle service runs along a pre-determined route during peak commuting times and you can pay for it with your Lyft app.
One Year Later: H Street and the D.C. Streetcar
Intended to spur redevelopment along blighted commercial corridors, the streetcars are the first to run in the District since the 1962 dismantling of the previous early 20th century citywide streetcar network.
A Timeline of CEQA-Circumventing Court Rulings
The California Environmental Quality Act is generally considered a major obstacle for development. In a few cases, however, the law's definitions have been used to clear the way for development in environmentally sensitive areas.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
