The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Single Family Residential Construction

Not Enough Housing, Or Too Much of the Wrong Kind

Permits for new housing continue to lag despite a long economic boom. For coastal metros, it's a familiar story of job growth outpacing new construction. In some Sun Belt cities, sprawl is the bigger concern.

September 27 - CityLab

Mobile Phones

Report: Dangers of Pedestrian Texting Overblown

Distracted walking is never a great idea. But in New York City at least, texting while walking only led to 2 out of 534 pedestrian deaths from 2014 through 2017.

September 27 - New York Daily News

Another McMansion

Behind America's Fixation on Big Houses

McMansion or not, the American home is a good 600 to 800 square feet larger than the average in most other countries. Possible reasons run the gamut from policy to culture to personal economics.

September 27 - The Atlantic

Pedestrians

U.S. Lagging in Making Streets Safer for Pedestrians

Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the United States, but cities have been slow to implement effective policies and road design measures to change the trend.

September 27 - Los Angeles Times

Electric Cars

California Needs More EV Chargers to Keep Up with Demand

Electric vehicle sales continue to rise, but the need for more charging infrastructure is increasing as well.

September 27 - San Francisco Chronicle


Fresno Sprawl

A New City of 100,000-Plus People Rises in California's Central Valley

Numerous master planned communities are popping at a quick rate in the Central Valley outside the city of Fresno, but just across the line in Madera County. A new city is envisioned.

September 27 - Fresno Bee

English Architecture

Friday Funny: If BART Went Tudor Style

Trigger warning: this is going to get ugly.

September 27 - Twitter


Bike Lane Debate Continues in San Antonio

As a project to re-engineer Broadway in San Antonio continues, questions about where to put bike lanes persist.

September 27 - Rivard Report

Cedar River

Pedestrian Bridge Aims for Iconic Status in Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids took a crucial step forward on plans to build the Smokestock Bridge—a pedestrian bridge across the Cedar River.

September 27 - The Gazette

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Initial Site Plan for Amazon's HQ2 Finds Critics

A lack of architectural ambition and a focus on car transportation are two of the criticisms that have followed Amazon's initial plans for its second headquarters in Northern Virginia.

September 27 - ARLnow

Tampa Bay Storm

Tampa Bay Isn't Prepared for the Hurricanes of the Future

The area is especially vulnerable to storm surge, and increased development means more people are at risk when major hurricanes push through.

September 26 - Vox

Polk Street Bikes

Quick Build Initiative Transforming the Streets of San Francisco

Street improvements to benefit cyclists and pedestrians have been moving rapidly in San Francisco since the June approval of the Vision Zero quick-build initiative, a two-year plan to expedite safety project on high-injury corridors.

September 26 - San Francisco Chronicle

California Streetcar

Sacramento Regional Transit to Offer Free Transit Pass to School Kids

A new program by the SacRT, with support from Sacramento and four other cities in the region, will attempt to alleviate transportation deficits among vulnerable public school students.

September 26 - Next City

New York Subway

Op-Ed: NYC Transit Service Cuts Wrong Way to Bolster Budget

The agency could see an influx of capital funds from congestion pricing, but cuts to bus and rail service to make up for budget shortfalls would result in long-term setbacks to the system.

September 26 - Crain's New York Business

Ontario

Another 989 Affordable Units on the Way in Toronto

The Housing Now program, née Open Door, is producing results in Canada's largest city.

September 26 - Toronto Star

Sidewalk

In D.C., Sidewalks Don’t Equal Walkability

In theory, sidewalks are what make cities walkable. But in Washington, D.C., many sidewalks are not accessible to the people who use them.

September 26 - Greater Greater Washington

Texas Capitol Building

Local Governments Brace for Property Tax Relief in Texas

Before property tax relief, the property taxes will increase.

September 26 - Houston Chronicle

Center City Construction

Forget Parking: Billions in Development Investments for Philly's Central City

Billions of development dollars have found their way to Philadelphia's Center City since the beginning of 2018, but parking is no longer a profitable proposition.

September 26 - WHYY

Homelessness

Homeless Shelters and Property Values

In Manhattan, homeless shelters are shown to have a negative effect on property values.

September 26 - The New York Times

MARTA Blue Line

76 Projects on Atlanta's Transit Wishlist

The recently formed Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority released a new regional transit plan.

September 26 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Post News
Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

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.