The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Dissecting the National Infrastructure Bank Idea
Hillary Clinton recently proposed the creation of a national infrastructure bank—an idea also put forward several times by the Obama Administration. Posts by Vox and City Observatory put the idea under a microscope.
Keeping Indianapolis Beautiful With Pocket Parks
A local non-profit recently announced funding for the development of five public green spaces in the coming year. The projects represent incremental progress toward a larger, shared vision.
When 'Vision Zero' Conflicts With Local Politics
Community leaders sometimes present the biggest obstacles when and where the rubber hits the road on Vision Zero traffic safety improvements. New York City Mayor de Blasio is pushing for more power for the DOT.
Huge Southern California Methane Leak Won't Be Plugged for Months
The mother of all natural gas leaks can be found near Porter Ranch in Los Angeles County. The methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is leaking from an underground storage facility known as the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Field owned by SoCalGas Company.
Congress to Even Tax Breaks for Car and Transit Commuters
Tax benefits have long provided more incentives for car commuters than transit users. Congress is expected to even the score with a new tax bill.
A New Atlas of American History
A new online mapping project called American Panorama earned rave reviews this week from CityLab and Gizmodo.
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Implications for Planning Emerge From COP21
The Conference of Parties (COP21) held during the last two weeks in Paris establishes ambitious climate change emission reduction targets. This will be a challenge and opportunity for planners. Here are some highlights.
Washington Hopes to Coexist With Growing Number of Wolf Packs
The state of Washington is navigating the complex politics of wildlife protection—in this case, wildlife means the territory of an estimated 16 wolf packs.
State of Emergency Declared in Flint Water Crisis
A crisis that stretches back for several months escalated this week, bringing this news of the very bad variety to national attention.
The 'Both/And' of the Housing Debate
Planners and community development housing activists and professionals need to start thinking about housing policy as "both...and." It is not reasonable to couch housing policy as either unfettered building or only rent.
Texas Rangers Caught in Pickle: Develop Ballpark Parking Lots or Move to Dallas?
A public-private partnership could bring new development to some of the parking lots outside the home of the Texas Rangers. It's not the first grand plan to get floated for the ballpark's ancillary areas.
Order Up: Massachusetts Has a New Food System Plan
With economic, employment, and social benefits, food is much more than what we eat. Now Massachusetts has completed a comprehensive food plan in the hopes of doing better with the systems by which food is manufactured, bought, and consumed.
First There Were Electric Vehicles—Will Electric Roads Be Next?
Two Texas universities received a federal grant to embed sensors in road asphalt to create renewable electricity from the wind created by passing vehicles to power roadside lights and traffic signals.
Shell Companies Rule Los Angeles Luxury Real Estate
For all the intention New York gets for foreign investors buying up rarefied air, Los Angeles has allowed shell companies to completely control the luxury real estate market—and the neighborhoods where it locates.
Chicago's Lawrence Avenue Is Changing—Is the Neighborhood Ready?
The Lawrence Avenue corridor in Chicago is poised to evolve into "New Lawrence," but as development proposals follow a streetscape improvement project, the community is still sorting out what exactly "new" should mean.
Have We Been Wasting Affordable Housing Money?
It might seem like 10, or even 30, years is a long time to require affordability—until it's over and your public investment is lost.
Confronting Climate Change, Rethinking the City
Overcoming our carbon dependence should be seen as an opportunity to rethink for the better an institution largely shaped by and for fossil fuel: our cities.
Power to the City
As the presidential election season gears up, Mortimer B. Zuckerman's op-ed offers a cynical and weary electorate hope by invoking a transformative political vision of the role of the city.
Rail Stations Shortchanged as Homeland Security Focuses on Airports
Rail travelers are not subject to the same degree of security measures as air travelers according to security experts, reports Ron Nixon for The New York Times. Yet far more travel by rail than plane, and rail has been a terrorist target abroad.
The Curious Case of a Solar-Power-Hating North Carolina Town
A simple case of City Council rejecting a zoning change for a new solar facility blew up into an international case of clickbait trolling.
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.
