The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Suburban Neighborhood

Algorithms Can Design Buildings Now

Introducing "algorithmic space planning." The last word in that phrase shows that planners should take notice of the new technology just as much as architects and engineers.

July 11 - Architect Magazine

Columbia River Gorge

King County Selling Carbon Credits to Fund Forest Preservation

Two companies so far have purchased carbon credits through the newly public program in Washington State's King County.

July 11 - KUOW

Lost Our Home

The Four Kinds of Housing that Help the Homeless

Projects to add housing resources to help give homeless people a roof over the head have run into all sorts of public opposition—often times fueled by ignorance of how different kinds of homeless housing options work.

July 11 - Voice of San Diego

Biketown

Searching for Equitable Road Pricing in Portland

A new task force is being assembled in Portland to implement new road pricing mechanisms that convinces people to ditch their cars for more efficient modes of travel, while also ensuring low-income communities don't bear too much of the burden.

July 11 - The Oregonian

Homelessness

S.F. Residents Sue to Block Homeless 'Navigation Center' on Environmental Grounds

A group called Safe Embarcadero for All is suing to block the construction of a homeless shelter on city-leased land across from piers 30-32 on the San Francisco waterfront.

July 11 - San Francisco Chronicle


North Dakota

What's Driving the Fastest Growing Land Values in the Upper Midwest?

Fargo-Moorhead, the metropolitan statistical area straddling North Dakota and Minnesota, has seen the quickest growth in land value in the Upper Midwest for the span of years between 2012 and 2017.

July 11 - MinnPost

New Highways

Kentucky Planning a New Freeway Around Louisville, Raising Alarms

Local news sources are shedding light on planning for a new highway route that could pass through sensitive habitat of endangered that has yet to undertake a formal environmental or public input process.

July 11 - WFPL


Boston Red Line

More Developers Paying for Transit Service in Boston

A spate of recent development agreements have generated extra cash to run additional transit service on the MBTA system in Boston.

July 11 - The Boston Globe

The Villages Florida

Report Ranks the Best-Selling Master-Planned Communities

Real estate advisors RLCO have been compiling data on sales at master-planned communities since 1994. The mid-year report for 2019 shows strong sales growth in the sector.

July 11 - RCLCO

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA)

Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Release Fair Housing Legislation

The two leading figures of the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C. released the "Fair Chance at Housing Act."

July 10 - The Hill

Fringe Development

Land Trusts Find Traction in the Spiking Colorado Housing Market

According to an article in The Denver Post, more community land trusts are being created in Colorado to help more find their footing in the housing market.

July 10 - The Denver Post

Charles River

Urban Rivers Everywhere Follow the Cuyahoga's Lead

On the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River catching fire in Cleveland, it's a good time for urban river keepers everywhere to reevaluate their work and redouble their efforts to make safe and healthy rivers for everyone.

July 10 - The Boston Globe

Tent City

Will Appeal of Landmark Appeals Court Ruling Allow for Clearing of Tent Cities?

If the Supreme Court hears an appeal of a landmark U.S. Ninth Circuit Court case settled in April, the ruling would have widespread implications for dealing with homeless encampments throughout the West, perhaps nowhere more so than Los Angeles.

July 10 - Los Angeles Times

Houston Townhouse

Op-Ed: Zoning Shouldn't Discriminate Based on the Definition of 'Family'

By designating that "family" refer to a specific set of ties, many zoning codes make it difficult for "functional" families without those ties to find a place to live.

July 10 - CityLab

Seattle Skyline from Kerry Park

A 'Green New Deal' for Seattle

The city of Seattle has taken the first steps toward creating a "Green New Deal." Now comes the hard part of deciding on specific policies.

July 10 - The Urbanist

Minnesota Non-Conforming Uses

Another Benefit of Zoning Reform: More Flexibility for Historic, Non-Conforming Uses

Non-conforming uses, usually historic buildings that predate the strictures of 20th century zoning codes, can get a little more comfortable under the reforms approved by the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

July 10 - MinnPost

Brooklyn Bridge Park

50 Years of 'Design With Nature'

Ian McHarg's groundbreaking book was published 50 years ago.

July 10 - WHYY

Brownstones

The Underappreciated Role of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in Access to Affordable Housing

A housing researcher formerly with the Obama administration's Treasury Department explains the role of government-sponsored enterprises in opening the housing market with more affordable options.

July 10 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Cars and Herbie

How the Law Enshrines Car Dependence

Land use regulations provide exhibit A in this indictment of the American legal system's support for a murderous and destructive dependence on automobiles for transportation.

July 10 - The Atlantic

Portland, Oregon

Portland Development Map Focuses Around the Urban

New apartment buildings and new civic buildings are some of the developments under construction in the City of Roses.

July 9 - The Oregonian

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.