The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Federal Transportation Reauthorization Agreement Close at Hand

The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal is very near—maybe Monday—for a 6-year transportation reauthorization bill with funding for not three years, as both the House and Senate bills include, but five.

December 1 - The Wall Street Journal - Politics

Gentrify Occupy

BLOG POST

Definitions (of Gentrification) Matter

Whether gentrification is common depends on how one defines it.

December 1 - Michael Lewyn

Community Choice Utilities Gaining Power in California

Talk about bringing power to the people: eight regional governments in California are in various stages of adopting "community choice" utilities to buy power from the grid in the hopes of cleaning up their energy portfolio.

November 30 - San Jose Mercury News

Stahl House Los Angeles

Krugman Argues the Supply Side to Combat Urban Inequality

Paul Krugman, one of the most influential voices of liberal policy in the United States, has identified a culprit in the U.S. affordability crisis: over-regulation.

November 30 - The New York Times

Two Regional Transit Planning Efforts Underway in Portland

With a light rail network now reaching 60 miles, the Portland region is ready to explore its next regional transit options.

November 30 - The Oregonian


A Quick Guide to the COP21 Climate Talks

World leaders are meeting in Paris this week for the United Nation's COP21 talks. But what exactly are the main topics of discussion?

November 30 - Doggerel

President Obama Stakes His Legacy at the Paris Climate Conference

President Obama left for Paris on Sunday to partake in the climate talks known as COP21. Coral Davenport of The New York Times looks at the legacy implications for the president stemming from his commitment to fighting climate change.

November 30 - The New York Times - Politics


Road

BLOG POST

We Are Transport! We Have Solutions!

Smart policies can provide significant greenhouse gas emission reductions in ways that help achieve other planning objectives, including economic development, social equity, and public health. Who will implement these policies? We will!

November 30 - Todd Litman

Philadelphia Skyline

Philadelphia Pushes Ahead with Changes to Zoning Code

Updates to Philadelphia’s zoning code are designed to "clean-up" the code, adopted in 2011.

November 30 - Plan Philly

Tel Aviv Expands its Smart City Leadership Role

This month, during the Smart City Congress, Hila Oren, CEO of Tel Aviv Global, announced an agreement with Tel Aviv to mentor, train, consult, and escort Indian city officials in their processes to become Smart Cities.

November 30 - Cities of the Future

Report: China Clean Energy Investments Beat U.S., U.K, and France Combined

When climate change initially became a powerful political talking point, the dirty economies of developing countries might have made U.S. efforts seem inconsequential. Now the roles of reversed, and the U.S. has some catching up to do.

November 30 - Mother Jones

Pittsburgh Neighborhood Ready for Traffic Safety Solutions

A string of fatalities has residents and commuters alike ready to explore new options, such as a complete streets plan, to improve the safety of the neighborhood's streets.

November 30 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Competing Visions for East Village—San Diego's SOMA

Downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood shares traits with San Francisco's SOMA, circa 1990s. However, there are competing visions for the area: academic and high tech vs. stadium and convention center expansion.

November 29 - UrbDeZine

Embarcadero

Urban Revitalization Through Highway Teardowns

Alana Semuels, staff writer for The Atlantic, examines highway teardowns beginning with the San Francisco Embarcadero in 1989 to see how they have worked in terms of revitalizing poorer areas or restoring the urban fabric that they destroyed.

November 29 - The Atlantic

Where Climate Change Means Diminished Snowpacks, Water Supplies

A new study by researchers at Columbia University estimates how predicted changes in the levels and locations of snowfall will affect water supplies.

November 29 - The New York Times

Somerville, MA, an Urban Lab for Mobility

In Somerville, Massachusetts, Audi is working in partnership with the city and the Federal Realty Investment Trust, a developer, to build the infrastructure to test two new technologies, Car-to-X technologies and automated parking.

November 29 - Cities of the Future

Deputy Mayor of London: Diesel Not the Right Thing for Cities

Matthew Pencharz, Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy for the Greater London Authority, does not see diesel as the right technology for driving in the city. Also blames the European Commission for for being too lenient with emission standards

November 29 - Cities of the Future

Possible Competition for Bay Area Bike Share

With Bay Area Bike Share serving nearby Redwood City in San Mateo County, it might seem odd that the city of San Mateo would look elsewhere for starting a bike share program. However, the city of almost 103,000 did not want a "hub-based" model.

November 28 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Lending Inequalities Undercut Baltimore's Potential

Baltimore's housing stock is relatively accessible compared to many other cities on the East Coast, yet deeply ingrained issues of inequality still plague the potential for homeownership to assist in the city's recovery.

November 28 - The Atlantic

Toronto from the CN Tower

Costs Soar for the Suburban Lifestyle in the Toronto Area

Famous for its focus on dense, infill development and quickly ascending skyline, the Toronto housing market is still plagued by rising housing costs at the single-family detached homes end of the spectrum.

November 28 - The Toronto Star

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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.