The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Alberta Announces Landmark Climate Protection Strategy
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced a transformative three-pronged climate protection plan on November 22 that will cap greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands development, add a carbon tax, and phase-out coal power plants.
U.S. Still Lags Behind in Bike Commuting
Triple Pundit takes a step back to gather some perspective, asking why the U.S. commuters are still so resistant to getting on bikes.
Seattle Rental Market Trending Toward the Affordable
The Puget Sound Business Journal is reporting that landlords and developers are concerned about the effects on the market from a wave of new housing supply ready to come online in the region.
Downtown St. Petersburg Ready for Bus System Changes
St. Petersburg will overhaul its bus system in early 2016, expecting improved efficiency from operating on the downtown city grid as well as upgrades to the area that serves as the current hub of the system.
Los Angeles Declares Shelter Crisis Ahead of El Niño
Facing winter storms and flooding, the city of Los Angeles is opening public buildings as temporary shelters for the homeless. Mayor Garcetti also has the option of declaring a state of emergency around the 26,000 people without housing.
Middle-Aged White Americans Take a Significant Turn for the Worse
Why are mortality rates increasing for this group in the United States and not others? The usual suspects—obesity, heart disease, diabetes, smoking are not the killers, The findings resulted in the 2015 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.
The 50 Worst Traffic Bottlenecks in the United States
This list of the worst places for traffic congestion in the country might cause some rubbernecking of its own.
Los Angeles Changes Color
Adam Rogers chronicles Los Angeles' long and intimate relationship with the electric light. The city's recent choice to adopt LED streetlights has transformed a classic nighttime into something new.
Dallas Area Ready for More Greenfield Developments
A pair of articles details two new, massive greenfield developments on the way in North Texas.
Critiquing the 2015 TIGER Grants: More Isn't Always Better
According to a scathing critique of the most recent round of TIGER funding, many of the awarded projects fall far below the quality that transit advocates expect.
Time to Take the Self-Driving Car Seriously?
So far, only a small minority of major cities have considered self-driving cars in their long-range transportation plans. The question is, should policymakers embrace them or stand in their way?
FEATURE
Three Ways Mobile Transit Payments Will Change How We Move in Cities
One idea for how to make transit better is rolling out in cities across the country: mobile payment of fares on smartphones.
Legalize It: Austin Eases Restrictions on Accessory Dwelling Units
Accessory dwelling units, granny flats, mother-in-law units—whatever you call them, they're now legal in Austin.
Vision from the Future: A 'Dating App' for Deciding Where to Live
One of the earliest researchers at Skype makes a compelling case for one of the potential applications of artificial intelligence: helping humans decide where and how to migrate.
A Wake Up Call for Planning Commissioners
Planning commissioners play an essential role in monitoring issues and projects of critical importance to the welfare of entire neighborhoods and cities. Why then, do so many commissioners seem to be sleeping on the job?
A Planner's Perspective on Brazil's Water Crisis
With water shortages in São Paulo making headlines around the world, Brazil is rethinking its approach to water infrastructure. Arup's Pablo Lazo gives his perspective on the various entities that are acting for change.
A New Talking Point at the White House: Over-Strict Land Use Regulations
Some think President Obama legislates from the "big government" end of the political spectrum, but when it comes to land use, at least, he's getting advice that local real estate markets should be liberated from too much regulation.
Walkability: Good Money After Bad
"We're investing in walkability," always sounds like an encouraging tagline from local governments...or does it?
Some Transportation Funding Gimmicks Are Worse than Others
Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy wants a gas tax increase, not gimmicks, to fund the 6-year transportation bill. Not likely. As bad as they are, they are better than resorting to a repatriation tax, notes the press release.
'Threading the Needle' of Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice for Cities
This blog is part of the World Resources Report (WRR) series. The WRR looks at cities as drivers of economic and social opportunity, and simultaneously as areas with concentrations of poverty, environmental degradation, and inequality.
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.
