The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

An Ongoing Battle for Better Bus Stop Access

Advocacy groups in the Dayton, Ohio region have found repeated reasons to push malls and the RTA transit system for improved access to malls. Lawsuits and federal mandates have ensued.

October 29 - Dayton Daily News

Camden

How *Not* To Do Economic Development

It's clear that New Jersey’s economic development planners didn't spend much time thinking about opportunity costs when they approved $1.1 billion in tax incentives under the Grow NJ program.

October 28 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Facebook Ads Haven't Figured Out the Fair Housing Act

Facebook's advertising platform might run afoul of the Fair Housing Act of 1968—a reminder of the risks as new business models gain traction on the Internet.

October 28 - ProPublica

Flint

The U.S. EPA Recommits to Environmental Justice

By releasing the EJ 2020 Action Agenda earlier this week, the U.S. EPA has taken on a more ambitious role in pursuing environmental justice.

October 28 - Grist

New York Parking

NYC Preps to Scrap East Harlem Parking Minimums

Stating the need for increased density and transit-oriented development, the Department of City Planning will remove the neighborhood's parking requirements.

October 28 - StreetsBlog NYC


Toronto Skyline B&W

Help Wanted: Canadian Cities Turn to the Federal Government for Affordable Housing

An organization representing Canadian cities is asking for $12.7 billion to respond to rising housing costs.

October 28 - Next City

Columbia River Gorge

Oregon DOT's Columbia River Gorge Bus Service a Smashing Success

The first season of a two-year pilot project for the Columbia Gorge Express has been a huge hit.

October 28 - Bike Portland


Chicago

The Big Ideas Behind the Proposed 'Chicago Transit Redevelopment Trust'

The Chicago Central Area Committee has thrown its hand into the ring for the "100&Change" grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

October 28 - Crain's Chicago Business

Urban Sky

Y Combinator's New Cities Project Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

The Silicon Valley start-up devoted to reinventing the city made a splashy hire this week.

October 28 - TechCrunch

Busy Downtown

Density Doesn't Measure the Success of Cities

Using density as a metric of urban quality is misleading and inadequate, according to an article on CityLab.

October 28 - CityLab

Millau Viaduct

Lack of State, Local Infrastructure Investments Slowing the U.S. Economy

The Wall Street Journal builds a case that a slow down in state and local infrastructure investments is having a broad impact on the national economy.

October 28 - The Wall Street Journal

Crosswalk

BLOG POST

Playing Chicken with Autonomous Vehicles

Adam Millard-Ball guest blogs about a new article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

October 27 - JPER

Detroit People Mover

Detroit Ballot Measure Puts Regional Transit in Reach

Involving four counties and $4.6 billion, the measure proposes a system that could put a million residents (and a million jobs) within a quarter mile of transit.

October 27 - Streetsblog USA

Study: Local Roads in California 'At Risk' Due to Lack of Funding

A coalition of local governmental agencies and advocates released their 2016 report on the condition of local streets and roads in California, and they found dire underinvestment. The legislature has yet to convene a special session on funding.

October 27 - Capitol Weekly

Front Porch

Vancouver May Fast-Track Modular Laneway Homes

The city of Vancouver has emerged as a leader in "laneway" housing: secondary units built onto existing lots, often facing an alleyway. To boost supply, the city may expedite permitting for modular units.

October 27 - Vancouver Sun

Tax

Behind the Popularity of Transportation Tax Increases

Transportation ballot measures are popular this November: over 70 populate ballots across the country. In California and elsewhere, they supplement declining federal and state funds for local infrastructure.

October 27 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Pope Francis

In the U.S., Climate Politics Trump the Pope's Message

The encyclical "Laudato si: On the Care of Our Common Home" might have scored public relations points among environmentalists last year, but according to a new study, it didn't score any points with Catholics or the broader U.S. population.

October 27 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Three-Car Garage

Garage Construction Continues to Outpace Apartment Construction

New data reveal the U.S. housing industry's preference for garages for cars over apartments for people.

October 27 - Bloomberg

Bromo Seltzer Tower Baltimore

Baltimore's New Zoning Code Almost a Done Deal

The Baltimore City Council granted initial approval for the city's first zoning code overhaul in over 40 years.

October 27 - The Baltimore Sun

Gas

50 Steps to Taking the Carbon Emissions Out of Transportation

The new "50 Steps Toward Carbon-Free Transportation" report examines the gulf between the reality of the U.S. transportation system and the innovations that will be necessary to achieve a carbon-free future.

October 27 - Frontier Group

Post News
Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.