The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Wisconsin Goes Deeper in the Fiscal Hole to Fix Aging Roads
Wisconsin legislators have voted to continue steep borrowing to pay for needed road repairs, while calls to increase the state’s gas tax grow louder.
Can California Kick the Oil Habit?
As the nation's third largest oil producer, California has a long history with the oil industry, yet it's also the birthplace of the American environmental movement. Lisa Margonelli makes the case for the Golden State reducing its oil addiction.
Pennsylvania Launches 'Rapid Bridge Project' to Rebuild 558 Bridges in Three Years
Faced with more than 4,000 structurally deficient bridges, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has an innovative repair plan.
Guidebook: Lowering Barriers to Urban Farming
Urban agriculture has long been a staple of sustainable urbanism—in theory. Can policy changes help it become much more than that? This guidebook offers tactics and policies that planners can use to promote urban farms.
The Time the Google Self-Driving Car Got Pulled Over for Driving Too Slowly
Google's response to its self-driving car getting pulled over by police in California: " "Driving too slowly? Bet humans don't get pulled over for that too often."
Why It's So Hard to Tell When a New York Train Will Arrive
The Atlantic has deep and detailed coverage of the expensive, obsolete, and decaying technology used by the New York subway system.
On the Life Cycle of Suburban Malls
Using Greenwood, Indiana as an example, Eric McAfee discusses how the value of individual suburban malls depreciates over time. Shiny new shopping centers compensate for inevitable vacancies in older ones.
Op-Ed: Over-Regulation Makes Public Spaces Exclusionary
A pointed editorial decries the over-regulation that has followed the renaissance of public spaces in Los Angeles.
Santa Monica Debuts GPS-Enabled Bikeshare
Serving beach-side Santa Monica and nearby Venice, Breeze Bikeshare equips its bikes with GPS tracking. The program claims to be more advanced than an L.A. Metro system set to debut in early 2016.
Morro Bay Could be Home to West Coast's First Offshore Wind Farm
If a Seattle company gets its way, in a few years there will be 100 floating wind turbines about 15 miles off San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast, generating about 1 gigawatt of electricity.
New Orleans Residents Seeking Less Density From the Zoning Code
A zoning controversy in a neighborhood in New Orleans has locals questioning how well the city's new Comprehensive Zoning Plan reflects the city's Master Plan.
$1.75 Billion Bond Sale Delayed for All Aboard Florida
High-yield funds have less money to spend these days, leaving large infrastructure projects like the All Aboard Florida high-speed rail project waiting at the station.
13 Million Acres at Stake in Timber Company Merger
Two timber companies announced a merger that will take effect in 2016, combining land holdings that reach nearly every corner of the country.
Developers See Dollar Signs in the Viaduct Rail Park Proposal in Philly's Center City
The Viaduct Rail Park could one day become a version of the High Line in Philadelphia's Center City.
Feds Release New 'Transportation and Health Tool'
A new tool from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Centers for Disease Control allows comparisons between state or metropolitan area on transportation and public health indicators.
Can Beijing Return to its Transportation (and Communist) Roots?
Beijing has strayed so far from its roots as a bicycling city that it now claims the title of the world's largest auto market, while only 12 per cent of commuters use bicycles. City planners wants to make it popular again to reduce air pollution.
New Corporation Formed to Replace Amtrak's Hudson River Rail Tunnels
The Gateway Development Corporation will be formed by Amtrak, the U.S. Department of Transportation, New York, and New Jersey to replace the deteriorating 105-year-old Hudson River rail tunnels, a vital project that could cost $20 billion.
Designated Zones to Protect New York Manufacturing
Without designated industrial zones, New York manufacturing companies risk losing their facilities to the residential development market. The de Blasio administration has promised some zoning protections for industrial enclaves.
Palo Alto to Protect Single-Story, Eichler-Tract Neighborhood
The Palo Alto city council has approved one neighborhood's request to prevent the construction of two-story homes.
Five Ways to Measure the Need for City Parks
While standardized metrics for determining the number of and place for city parks cannot replace more fine grain analysis, they can be useful tools. Park planner Clement Lau writes about five park-need metrics, including a couple of the newest.
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.
