The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Pennsylvania Short Over 100,000 Housing Units
More Pennsylvanians are renting instead of buying, even as the state makes significant strides to increase the affordable housing supply.
Virginia Study Catches Near-Miss Hotspots Before Pedestrians Die
Analyzing reported ‘near-misses’ can reveal road safety gaps and prevent more serious crashes and injuries.
USDOT Threatens to Pull Chicago, Boston Transit Funding
The Trump administration is using isolated incidents on public transit systems to call for tighter security.
FEATURE
Public Restrooms: The Hidden Infrastructure of Civic Trust
Want to know if a city is thriving? Start with a bathroom break.
William Whyte’s Seminal Urban Film Restored
‘The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces’ changed the way planners view public space and ushered in a new way of understanding urban patterns.
Why Saving Transit Matters
Jarrett Walker argues that letting transit systems die has impacts that go far beyond transit riders.
Portland to Issue Land Use Violation to ICE Detention Center
The city says the agency breached its agreement not to detain people overnight or for longer than 12 hours in a downtown Portland facility.
Boston Upzoning Proposal Moves Forward
The Boston Planning Department approved a proposal that would raise allowable building heights in downtown and streamline permitting for small businesses.
FEATURE
106 Years Ago She Predicted Today’s Housing Crisis. What if we’d Listened?
In 1919, Edith Elmer Wood drew the connection between ratcheting minimum housing standards and an inevitable crisis of homelessness. Her predictions have proved eerily accurate.
Ventura, CA Makes Car-Free Main Street Permanent
Main Street has been closed to cars since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic spurred a flurry of open streets projects.
Is Driving Traffic to Big Box Stores True Economic Development?
Strong Towns’ Charles Marohn argues that planning for ‘commerce’ perpetuates an unsustainable, car-centric development model.
EVs Now Barred From Freeway HOV Lanes
Congress failed to renew a federal program allowing states to let electric car drivers use carpool lanes without additional passengers, forcing California to end EV access to its HOV lanes.
Baltimore Zoning Bill Seeks to Improve Unequal Healthcare Access
A zoning reform proposal would update the city’s code to ensure health clinics are more equitably distributed in all neighborhoods.
Seattle Conflict Between Trees and Housing Heats up
A 2023 update to Seattle’s tree ordinance has led to sharp increase in the number of trees being cut down for redevelopment, prompting advocates to call for better protection of the city’s tree canopy.
Video: Jane Jacobs’ ‘Sidewalk Ballet’ is Alive and Well
“Streets Make Cities” takes viewers on a stroll down West 4th Street in Greenwich Village, illustrating the many ways that streets and sidewalks form the lifeblood of a city.
SF Street Safety Act Replaces Expired Vision Zero Plan
In 2025, 15 people have died in crashes in San Francisco, putting the city far behind its goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024.
Opinion: Far From Cauldrons of Violence, Cities are Anti-Crime Innovators
Rather than funding the performative militarization of law enforcement, the federal government could instead support programs that prevent poverty and crime before it happens.
One Federal Low-Income Housing Program is Actually Being Expanded
Recent changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program could lead to over a million new housing units, but cuts to adjacent and complementary programs could limit its impact.
USDOT Pulls Funding from Projects not “Car-Focused” Enough in Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois
The department is sending letters to local officials rescinding multimodal grants, saying the money will instead be focused on projects that “promote vehicular travel.”
Floating Light Rail Bridge Crossing Marks Historic Moment for Seattle Transit
Once testing is complete, Sound Transit will open the world’s first light rail line that uses a floating bridge connecting downtown Seattle to the Eastside.
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.
