The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
The Quiet Housing Crisis in Rural America
While housing shortages in major cities are grabbing headlines, rural communities are seeing higher rates of growth in housing prices and a silently spreading homelessness crisis.
Texas Legislation Would Add More Roadblocks for Transit Funding in Austin
A former Austin city councilmember, now at the Texas State Legislature, is trying to make it harder for Austin Transit Partnership to borrow money to fund Project Connect, the Austin region’s big, ambitious transit investment plan.
Arlington ‘Missing Middle Housing’ Plan Faces Scrutiny
A proposal to legalize more housing types in northeastern Virginia has prompted vigorous debate among stakeholders.
BLOG POST
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
BLOG POST
YIMBYs and Environmentalists Team Up at Last
The politics of development in California achieved another significant milestone recently, when a YIMBY organization and an environmental advocacy organization collaborated on new land use legislation to be considered by the State Legislature.
Chicago Approves New Parking Enforcement Pilot Programs
The city plans to test automated technology that will issue citations for blocking or parking in designated bike or bus lanes.
Philadelphia ‘Lights Out Pledge’ Seeks To Prevent Bird Deaths
Migratory birds are often lured away from their normal paths by the bright lights of cities, with deadly results.
Reclaiming Our Space: The Battle for Open Streets
The growth of pedestrianized spaces and car-free streets depends on a transformational shift in thinking about what—and who—public spaces and streets are for.
Infamous 315-Unit Lafayette Housing Development Finally Approved
In a dramatic sign of how far zoning reform has come in the state of California, CEQA wasn’t enough to stop a 315-unit apartment development first proposed 12 years ago in the city of Lafayette.
The Deepening Transit Crisis: L.A. Times Reports Drug Use on Transit
An article by the L.A. Times earlier this week has raised the temperature of the debate about drug users and crime on rail transit. Concerns about public safety on transit are a common symptom of post-pandemic transit around the country.
FTA Waives Local Funding Match for Complete Streets Projects
Local and state agencies can apply for federal Complete Streets funding without matching funds until 2026.
Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
AI-generated images are creating new landscapes and cityscapes, capable of inspiring awe or fear.
Los Angeles County Parks Department Releases Five-Year Strategic Plan
The L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation recently completed a strategic plan which details goals, strategies, and actions that reflect the agency's commitment to advancing equity.
San Francisco Nonprofit Accused of Neglecting Tenants, Misusing Funds
A major housing organization with city contracts is neglecting poor housing conditions in its buildings while amassing lobbying power and political influence.
Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.
Report: Pandemic Migration Accelerated Existing Trends
Despite some transformative changes and brief spikes in domestic migration, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be exacerbating existing declines in internal mobility.
Interstate Expansion to Go Ahead in Houston
The North Houston Highway Improvement Project, stalled by a federal investigation, will now go ahead with only a few tweaks that opponents say don’t go far enough to mitigate the damage it will cause to Houston neighborhoods.
Federal Alternative Fuel Charging Grant Funding Announced
The grant program is part of the 2021 infrastructure act, which promised to invest in charging and fueling stations for electric cars and other vehicles powered by alternative energy.
Chicago Could Start Plowing Sidewalks Next Winter
Keeping sidewalks free of snow has historically been the task of adjacent property owners, forcing pedestrians and people with mobility challenges to navigate a patchwork of conditions. A new ordinance would place the responsibility on the city.
Panel Rejects LaGuardia AirTrain, Recommends Better Buses
The recommendations issued by a panel of experts concluded that bus improvements could serve travelers sooner and more cost-effectively than the proposed AirTrain rail line.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
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.
