The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Baseball

Legalizing Street Play

A Baltimore city councilmember thinks the city has misplace priority on parking by making it illegal to play in the street.

February 12 - WYPR

Washington, D.C.

The Days of Two Remaining D.C. Urban Renewal Plans Could Be Numbered

Urban renewal plans for Downtown D.C. and the Shaw neighborhood are all that's left of a mid-20th-century planning effort.

February 12 - Bisnow

State capital building

Top Planning Issues for State Legislatures

The American Planning Association identifies three issues that will define the year in state legislatures around the country.

February 12 - American Planning Association

Multi-Family Development

Calling for Parking Reform in Dallas

An onion piece published by D Magazine makes an argument for less burdensome parking requirements as a way to deliver more affordable housing options in Dallas' housing stock.

February 11 - D Magazine

Renovation

Resilience Plan Revealed in London

Resilience in a post-Brexit London.

February 11 - Smart Cities Dive


Road Rage

Report: Virginia's Drivers Ranked Rudest in the Nation

Auto insurance comparison outfit Insurify reviewed two million insurance applications and calculated the states with the rudest drivers based on one or more driving violations.

February 11 - Insurify Insights

Victoria, British Columbia

Making Space for Corner Stores

Too many cities lack a legal way for corner stores to be planned or built—despite the obvious benefits of the use to neighborhoods.

February 11 - CNU Public Square


Chicago, Illinois

Tax Increment Financing Reforms Promised by Chicago Mayor Lightfoot

The controversial tax break known as TIF looks headed for reforms in the Windy City, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot promises reforms that ensure more equitable application of the benefits of TIF.

February 11 - Chicago Tribune

Levee

Coastal Property Ownership Contested as the Gulf of Mexico Rises in Louisiana

Landowners, oil and gas companies, environmental groups, and fishers all have an interest in sorting out the status of Louisiana's privately owned coastline as rising water inundates the state.

February 11 - NOLA.com

Washington D.C. - Federal Reserve

Debating Improvements to the Community Reinvestment Act

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was the final of a suite of federal laws aimed at fighting racial segregation in housing. Congress is beginning to consider how best to modernize the act to meet the challenges of contemporary times.

February 11 - Washington Center for Equitable Growth

Manhattan

Development Opponents Gaining Ground in New York City

According to this article in the New York Times, the days of development interests dominating the planning process in New York City are over.

February 11 - The New York Times

New York City Street

FEATURE

Transportation Trends for 2020 (And What Cities Can Do About Them)

William Riggs, assistant professor at the University of San Francisco School of Management, predicts the trends that will continue an ongoing revolution in transportation.

February 10 - William Riggs

President Donald Trump

Trump's State of the Union: More on Infrastructure in Democrats' Response

The president spoke briefly about infrastructure in his third State of the Union address last Tuesday, urging Congress to pass the bipartisan America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had a lot more to say.

February 10 - Transport Topics

Historic home of Louisa May Alcott

Lessons in Architecture and Development Found in This Year's Oscar-Nominated Films

A pair of articles mine the films nominated for Academy Award for lessons in design and development that could potentially benefit housing equality.

February 10 - Los Angeles Times

Miami, Florida

Presidential Candidates Discuss the California Housing Crisis

Many of the Democratic candidates have offered housing policy plans as a key plank in their election platforms, but here a prominent YIMBY politician confronts them directly on the housing crisis in California.

February 10 - Palm Springs Desert Sun

San Francisco

The Journal of the American Planning Association's Single-Family Zoning Debate

Eric Jaffe, writing for Sidewalk Labs, details a recent issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association that debated the future of single-family zoning.

February 10 - Sidewalk Talk

Monongahela River

Pennsylvania to Shift Funding from Local Roads to Interstate Highways

To prevent losing funding if the state's interstate highways fall below new federal standards, Pennsylvania is rushing to change its capital investments plans.

February 10 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Vacant Properties

BLOG POST

The Vacancy Myth

Is the existence of vacant apartments an excuse not to build new housing?

February 10 - Michael Lewyn

Black Urbanists

Elevating Black Voices in the Planning Canon

The traditional narratives about the history of planning fail to note the role of Black urbanists, as well as the effect of planning policies on Black Americans.

February 10 - Planning Magazine

Moving Van

Rental Searches Shed Light on Where People Want to Move

Renters looking for new apartments in other cities are not looking to move far, a new study shows.

February 9 - CityLab

Post News
Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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.