The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Durham, North Carolina Housing Bond Has Created 1,668 New Rental Homes
A 2019 housing bond has yielded better-than-expected results.
Philadelphia’s ‘Chinatown Stitch’ Freeway Cap in Danger After Feds Retract Funding
A project 15 years in the making would reconnect Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood after decades of being split in half by a roadway.
Rhode Island Transit Expanding On-demand Microtransit Program
RIPTA’s Flex On Demand program replaces scheduled stops on some of its bus lines with a curb-to-curb microtransit service.
Portland’s Fines for Short-term Rental Violations Are 27 Times Higher Than Comparable Cities
A city report criticizes short-term rental regulations as ‘flawed,’ calling for less punitive enforcement.
40,000 California Housing Units are Stuck in ‘Financial Purgatory’
A lack of sufficient funding is holding back the construction of hundreds of ‘shovel-ready’ projects.
Vermont Catalog of Pre-approved Middle Housing Designs Harkens Back to Sears Catalog Homes
The 802 Homes initiative provides templates for ADUs, duplexes, and other mid-sized homes.
BLOG POST
A Love Letter to the Articulated Bus
An ode to the bendy boys, by far the wackiest of the specialized vehicles you might find at a transit authority.
Commentary: In the Age of Mass Deportation, Mobility is a Civil Rights Issue
How transportation networks support — or impede — immigration enforcement systems.
Invasive Beetle has Killed Over 200,000 Southern California Oak Trees, Raising Wildfire Risk
The rapid spread of the Goldspotted Oak Borer is killing hundreds of thousands of oak trees, undermining habitat and increasing wildfire danger across Southern California.
LA Metro Greenlights South Bay Light Rail Extension
When complete, the K Line extension will offer a 19-minute ride from Torrance to LAX.
Report: Texas Needs ‘Hundreds of Thousands’ of New Homes to Meet Demand
For the second consecutive year, home construction in the state failed to keep up with rising demand.
Midtown Atlanta Bike Lane 16 Years in the Making Now Open
The protected lane spans a roughly one-mile segment of Juniper Street.
90% of NYC Intersections Lack Audible Crossing Signals for Blind Pedestrians
People with vision impairments rely on a complex network of tactile and audible signals to navigate cities.
FEATURE
Eight Sci-Fi Books That Teach Urbanists the Dos and Don’ts of the Future
Science fiction has long painted a picture of the city of the future. What if it’s our roadmap out of dystopia?
Seattle Density Increase Stymied by Underground Power Line Requirement
A new policy that requires buildings with four or more units to bury their electrical lines is making housing development more costly and causing months-long delays.
California High-Speed Rail Slashes $1.7B From 2026 Budget
The CHSRA plans to complete the Central Valley segment of the line and begin revenue service as soon as possible.
New Phoenix and Oakland Homelessness Plans Prioritize Prevention, Permanent Housing
Phoenix’s unsheltered homeless population grew by 28 percent last year.
Kansas City Will Start Charging Bus Fares in June — With no Plan in Place for Low-income Riders
Service providers say they haven’t been told how their clients can access free or reduced fares after the agency starts charging again this summer.
Huntsville, Alabama Launches $30M Complete Streets Project
A redesign of Holmes Avenue will bring new sidewalks, bike lanes, lighting, and street furniture to the corridor.
New Jersey Governor Kills ‘Boondoggle’ Highway Expansion
Gov. Sherrill ‘right-sized’ the Newark Bay Bridge reconstruction project, nixing a second proposed bridge and road expansion.
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.
