The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Motor vehicles are costly, and every time somebody purchases a car they expect governments to provide roads and businesses to provide parking for its use. A new study totals these costs.

February 9 - Forbes

The state preemption pendulum swings again—this time in favor of state preemption of energy efficiency standards in Virginia.

February 9 - The Virginia Mercury

An analysis by The New York Times compares current and cumulative COVID deaths in the U.S. to other large, wealthy countries. Data analyzed include vaccination, age and obesity levels, and public trust, all factors that influence outcomes.

February 9 - The New York Times

The Dallas region is the latest to update its transit system on a high-frequency grid with on-demand transit service to fill in the gaps.

February 9 - NBC DFW

The controversial rezoning of the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn, approved by the city at the end of 2021, is already having a noticeable effect on the real estate market.

February 9 - Crain's New York Business

The promises of politicians and developers to build more sustainably in the U.K. are going unfulfilled, according to a recent report.

February 9 - Transport for New Homes

PLANOPEDIA

Discretionary approval requires an appointed or elected body of officials to decide whether or not to proceed with a development. Discretionary approval is usually reserved for development proposals that don't conform to zoning or building codes, but other regulatory triggers can also create the need for a discretionary approval process.

February 8 - James Brasuell

After Texas relinquished control of state highways to cities in an effort to save money on maintenance costs, San Antonio planned an ambitious makeover of Broadway to accommodate pedestrian and bike improvements. The state won't approve it.

February 8 - San Antonio Report

An update for Woodside's plans to avoid a state-mandated rezoning by claiming that the entire town serves as mountain lion habitat.

February 8 - Los Angeles Times

The largest grid operator in the U.S. is asking for a new approvals process and two-year delay on current applications to ease the logjam of primarily solar projects in its queue.

February 8 - Inside Climate News

In a rebuff to proponents of local control, a California state appeals court upheld a 1979 law that allows developers to bypass local zoning regulations when including affordable housing in their projects.

February 8 - San Francisco Chronicle

As Oregon's coastal beaches erode, taking valued public space with them and exposing private property to increased risks from flooding and sea-level rise, some local governments want to allow property owners the right to "armor" the coast.

February 8 - OBP

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report" comes with significant caveats about partial data and changing homeless shelter practices.

February 8 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

An aerial tramway project in the French capital cleared feasibility studies and could open in 2025.

February 8 - Bloomberg CityLab

The District of Columbia plans to install ten miles of protected bike lanes this year, among other improvements including additional bike parking and more e-bikes for the Capital Bikeshare fleet.

February 7 - The Washington Post

Last year's Miami Beach condo collapse could portend more tragedy to come if developers don't address the risks of aging buildings and climate change.

February 7 - The New York Times

The zero-emissions bus is part of a regional fleet called the Clean Air Express that connects Santa Barbara County towns and employment centers.

February 7 - The Santa Barbara Independent

New research helps explain why urban housing prices are escalating and how communities can increase affordability. It emphasizes the need to upzone sufficient urban land to create a large competitive market for parcels ready for infill development.

February 7 - UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

With car parking banned from two blocks of Chicago's Milwaukee Avenue on weekend nights, the city could take the opportunity to permanently adapt the space for other uses.

February 7 - Streetsblog Chicago

In Michigan, the state's Department of Transportation is looking for ways to mitigate the damage caused by decades of urban renewal policies and reconnect neighborhoods cut off from amenities and opportunities by highway projects.

February 7 - Deadline Detroit