The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
United Nations and World Bank Unite for Sustainable Urban Development
The United Nations agency for urban development, UN-Habitat, has announced a partnership with the World Bank to implement several Sustainable Development Goals focusing on urban sustainability, safety, inclusiveness, and resilience.
California Adopts One of Nation's Highest Renewable Energy Mandates
Gov. Jerry Brown signed stripped-down legislation that sets a target for the state of generating 50 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency standards in buildings by the same year.
Dallas' CityMAP Project Looks to Reimagine Downtown Connectivity
Local officials, planners, and other civic leaders have joined together to look at how the city can bring neighborhoods split by freeways back together again.
Goodbye School Bus: Hello City Bus
Recognizing that providing transit passes to students costs about the same as operating a system of buses in-house, some schools are giving students access to public transit.
Open Streets as Teachable Moments
"There is just too much to learn," from open streets events, says Philadelphia Inquirer Architecture Critic Inga Saffron.
Innovation in Detroit Turns to the Worm
Faced with an estimated 24 square miles of vacant land, Detroit is turning its empty lots into test beds of urban innovation.
BLOG POST
Good Congestion and Bad
The phrase "traffic congestion" can be misleading; some reductions in traffic speed are less harmful than others.
Large Capital Infusion for New York's Community Parks Initiative
$285 million in capital dollars through 2019 will help fund parks in New York not called the High Line and lacking high-profile private backing.
Challenges and Opportunities Found in Nevada's 'Diversity Explosion'
A rapidly changing population might make Nevada a more thorough exemplar of the challenges and opportunities presented by the "diversity explosion" than its neighboring state to the west.
Retrofitting Vulnerable Buildings Becomes Mandatory in Earthquake Prone LA..
Decades in the making, the Los Angeles City Council has approved regulations requiring the retrofit of vulnerable wood and concrete buildings.
BLOG POST
Tips for Planners to Design Memorable Tourism Experiences
Tourists' expectations when they travel are becoming increasingly sophisticated, seeking stimulating and meaningful experiences. The new book Gamification in Tourism shares how cities are designing memorable experiences.
Charger Rage Hits Electric Vehicle Country in California
All is not copacetic in the Bay Area's EV community. An apparent shortage of electric vehicle chargers is causing incidents where EV owners disregard proper 'charging etiquette' and unplug the charger from other EVs to charge their own vehicle.
California Governor Jerry Brown Pessimistic on Affordability
Housing often costs a literal fortune in California, and Governor Jerry Brown doesn't see an easy fix. Demand to live in the state is high, but there are local factors at work impeding housing construction.
BLOG POST
Responding to Bike Improvement Skeptics
Communities can receive high economic returns from appropriate bicycle facility invesments. It is important that advocates have solid arguments for responding to skeptics.
Mainstreaming the Golf Cart
Seniors are on the cutting edge of a movement to make Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), otherwise known as golf carts, a viable form of everyday transportation.
Greater Montreal Seeks a United Front to Transit Growth and Sustainability
The 82 municipalities that make up Greater Montreal are finally working together to forge a more sustainable, economically robust future.
Mercedes-Benz Bets on a Suburban Future
From a new Silicon Valley facility, Mercedes' R&D department is developing car-share services based on a vision of 21st-century suburbs. The company is also testing self-driving prototypes and electric models.
FEATURE
Planners Across America: Philadelphia on the Rebound
Garry Jastrzab, executive director of the Philadelphia Planning Commission, explains how a new comprehensive plan and a focus on the public realm guide the city as it searches for a balance between the old with the new.
Surveying the Weakest Arguments Against Bike Lanes
According to a recent newspaper editorial, "Egged on by the hardcore enthusiasts, New York City is spending lots of money, confiscating lots of lane-miles and basing its transportation policy on a fantasy." Who knew white paint is so threatening?
Bay Area Warned: Millennials Will Leave if Housing Prices Don't Change
Millennials in the Bay Area are feeling priced out, and may bolt if they can't find housing they can afford.
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.
