The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Several alternative routes are still under consideration for a planned light rail route included in Houston's METRONext long-range transit plan, in progress ahead of a vote by residents in November.

June 15 - Houston Chronicle

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is championing a new approach to inclusionary zoning, recently released in draft form to the public.

June 15 - Montreal Gazette

For four years, the city has worked to make public projects compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Rather than granting an extension, the Department of Justice says it is closing the case.

June 14 - The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)

Why isn't there a place for a major grocery store brand in the downtown of one of the most economically active cities in the country?

June 14 - The Mercury News

President Trump made good on his promise last October to lift the E15 ban in time for the summer driving season. Not mentioned by the Des Moines Register are the downsides to allowing the higher ethanol blend to be sold during the summer, e.g., smog.

June 14 - Los Angeles Times

After buses were unable to meet range expectations in Indianapolis, the city reached an agreement with Chinese bus supplier BYD to provide new charging facilities.

June 14 - Electrek

The C Line bus rapid transit line opens in Minneapolis as the state of Minnesota wavers in its funding of mass transit projects.

June 14 - MinnPost

A new satirical essay for McSweeney's provides a template for NIMBY opposition to planning and development, and does not pull any punches in the process.

June 14 - McSweeney's

Five new bike lanes will create the new Express Bicycle Network in Montreal.

June 14 - CTV News Montreal

A new working paper adds another perspective to the debate about easing zoning regulations to address the affordable housing crisis.

June 14 - CityLab

Enacted in 2008, a partial rezone of Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side failed to deliver on affordable housing projections, falling short by 45 percent.

June 14 - Curbed New York

Vox and Curbed provide multi-media coverage of a Staten Island sea wall project as an example of the necessity of resilient infrastructure, and the shortcomings of our ability to predict the needs of the built environments in changed climates.

June 14 - Curbed New York

The decision about where to locate a new casino project depends on competing goals—to maximize revenues or bring jobs and development to neighborhoods that need them.

June 13 - Chicago Tribune

Thanks to legislation by Sen. Scott Wiener passed last year, San Francisco will apply a new tool to force treatment on some homeless, mentally ill people who refuse it, but it's limited to five people annually. A new Wiener bill would expand it.

June 13 - The Washington Post

A cleanup of nuclear weapons waste at Washington State's Hanford Site was first outlined in 1989. But now, as state officials wrangle with the federal government, deadlines set in 2016 may still not be met.

June 13 - The Los Angeles Times

Built as an embodiment of the ideals of prison reformers, the Eastern State Penitentiary had running water and central heating before the White House, and housed the first synagogue built in an American prison.

June 13 - Penn IUR Urban Link

The city of Victoria is using parking revenue to fund free transit for everyone under 18 years old.

June 13 - Global News

A thought experiment compares the carbon impact of three new single family homes with the same block if it contained a duplex, a triplex, and a fourplex.

June 13 - Sightline Institute

The online retail giant also donated funding for educational programs at a nearby university and a nearby community college.

June 13 - The Washington Post

The Berkshire Mountains have long been a popular destination for sightseers, tourists, and weekend warriors. A pilot Amtrak route is designed to attract new waves of New Yorkers to the region.

June 13 - Curbed Boston