The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Op-Ed: San Diego Should Look to Beaches to Increase Density

San Diego should look to its beach communities and its major intersections to achieve its housing and Climate Action Plan goals while minimizing community polarization, writes urban planning consultant Howard Blackson.

March 4 - UrbDeZine

California's Ambitious Transportation Projects Designed to Include Communities

Unprecedented transit build-out in California could transform the state. Now leaders are working to ensure the infrastructure connecting major cities also benefits the communities it touches along the way.

March 4 - The Planning Report

McMansion

Empty Nesters Stuck in the Suburbs

Just when boomers are ready to return to the city to enjoy all its cultural offerings, they find themselves priced out. Many do downsize, however, from large single family homes to more urban areas close to home.

March 4 - The New York Times

Putting Geniuses In Their Place(s)

Eric Weiner's "The Geography of Genius" offers a delightful, if limited, analysis of cities throughout history where "genius" has arisen and offers inspiration for planners who want to make cities more than just places to live and do business.

March 4 - California Planning & Development Report

Shoup Op-Ed: Planners Can Help the Poor By Reducing Parking Requirements

Put another way, Shoup's case against parking requirements is that they make life harder for the poor.

March 4 - The Washington Post


Morgan Freeman

Friday Funny: Morgan Freeman Narrates the Pedestrian Experience

The most famous voice in narration, Morgan Freeman, visited Jimmy Kimmel Live and put his vocal talents to good use.

March 4 - Jimmy Kimmel Live

Calatrava WTC Hub

Mixed Reviews for Calatrava's WTC Transportation Hub—Now Open to the Public

A section of the $4 billion World Trade Center Transportation hub, designed by Santiago Calatrava, opened to the public today. The project has already inspired controversy, and will likely continue to do so.

March 3 - The New York Times


Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Infrastructure

As more and more people live on this planet, the pressure to build smart cities that feature environmentally sustainable infrastructure will become immense. Planners will be challenged to do more with less. Here's a discussion of this complex issue.

March 3 - CK Vango

Golden Gate

Why the Bay Area Outshines L.A.

Los Angeles' relative economic stagnation from 1980 onward was as much a choice as was the Bay Area's meteoric rise. According to planning scholar Michael Storper's account, Los Angeles' culture—not any policy or industry—is to blame.

March 3 - California Planning & Development Report

New Apps to Enable Citizen Science

Professor Zhenghong Tang, from the Community and Regional Planning Program at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, taps mobile tech, aids access to environmental data.

March 3 - University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Wood Frame Construction Has Yet to Catch Up to Regulations in Toronto

When it comes to housing construction, the best intentions of regulators aren't always enough to sway the market.

March 3 - Metro News

U.S. Cities Cracking Down on Homelessness

Three major American cities this week—San Francisco, Dallas, and Los Angeles—responded to the growing number of homeless living on the streets with sweeps, arrests, and seizures, respectively.

March 3 - San Francisco Chronicle

City Hall 'Outsider' on Opening Up L.A.'s Development Process

Los Angeles is experiencing an elevated anti-growth conversation and suspicion of insider dealings at City Hall. In the midst of this, a councilmember known as an "outsider" aims to reconcile his constituents with the city's development processes.

March 3 - The Planning Report

New Republican Majority Flexes Muscle on Southern California Air Board

The long-time executive director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Barry Wallerstein, may be removed to make the powerful regulatory agency more business-friendly. The board meets in closed-session on Friday.

March 3 - Los Angeles Times

A Tale of Two Cities: San Jose and Flint

The fixed costs of infrastructure projects leave cities like Flint struggling to pay their bills with fewer people pooling their resources.

March 3 - The Atlantic

Columbus

FEATURE

Columbus Bucks Trends, Grows Steadily

The latest installment of the "Planners Across America" series visits Columbus, Ohio, for a conversation with Planning Administrator Kevin Wheeler.

March 3 - Josh Stephens

Revisiting the Archetypal Post-War Suburb

A CityLab article takes a trip to Levittown, Pennsylvania for a lesson in how places change, even when some places stay the same.

March 2 - CityLab

New Hampshire Wants Commuter Rail to Boston

A strong coalition is pushing for a $4 million planning effort to lay the tracks for commuter rail between New Hampshire and Boston.

March 2 - New Hampshire Business Review

The Negative Effects of the Nation's Lengthening Commute

The collective amount of time Americans spend commuting is staggering, and it's only growing.

March 2 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

International Bike Count: Spain's Ridership Growing Fastest

Between 2014 and 2015, Spain led 16 other countries by increasing its bicycle mode share the most—8 percent.

March 2 - Next City

Post News

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.