The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
L.A. Planners Working to Shift Affordable Housing Distribution for More Equitable Results
Almost all the affordable housing development in L.A. in the past decade has occurred in majority-minority neighborhoods. The L.A. Department of City Planning is looking for ways to make sure high-income areas do more of their fair share.
Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Parks and Recreation
A newly released report by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) reveals the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities at park agencies across the U.S.
Unsustainable Sprawl Testing Water Supplies in the Valley of the Sun
As more and more people move to the suburbs blossoming in the Phoenix metro area, local water officials are increasingly concerned about the region's ability to keep up with demand.
How Much Land Is Lost to Wide Streets?
New research assesses the land value of street space in 20 of the largest counties in the United States.
FEATURE
The Pretext Problem: The Pitfalls of Planning While Bargaining
Lots of planning is discretionary. Cities and developers negotiate what builders will do for cities in exchange for the right to build, creating an incentive for bad rules, eroding the public's faith in zoning, and enabling political corruption.
Homeless New Yorkers Lead a Push for Better Rental Vouchers
Until recently, New York City's local housing vouchers only covered about $1,250 in rent; the median rent on a NYC apartment is $2,600. Activism from current and formerly homeless New Yorkers helped change that.
The Future of Downtowns Still Hangs in the Balance
Center City in Philadelphia offers a case study for one of the largest and potentially most consequential contingencies of the pandemic: What happens to downtowns is most workers never come back to the office?
Opinion: Transit Needs to Be Better, Not Cheaper
With many U.S. transit agencies facing severe gaps in service and budget shortfalls, some advocates argue that improved service matters more than free fares.
Eviction Records Follow People Around for Years. This Isn’t Fair.
Op-ed: Even for people who have never been evicted, the stain of merely an eviction filing can lock people out of quality housing for years.
Opinion: We're Loving Our National Parks to Death
A reservation system could help the struggling national parks system manage crowds and protect our public lands from overuse, according to this article.
How Legacy Cities Can Support Equitable Development
A new report outlines seven strategies for balancing economic development and equity specifically aimed at smaller, post-industrial cities.
California Workplaces to Return to Normal? Not Unless Everyone is Vaccinated
Most coronavirus restrictions are set to end on June 15 in California. The statewide mask mandate will align with CDC guidance, but workplaces will follow the new Cal/OSHA mask mandate: Unless everyone is vaccinated indoors, everyone masks.
TxDOT Promises to Reverse Some of the Damage Caused by Urban Freeways in Dallas
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the early stages of planning for two projects that could leverage plans to rebuild two freeways in the city with plan to reconnect the neighborhoods they severed.
Louisiana Legislature Moves to Slow Solar Development
The proposed bill and house resolution would create stricter rules for solar leases and make solar projects ineligible for a commonly used tax exemption.
The Next Mayor Will Have to Decide in New York's Post-Pandemic Parking Conflicts
The ongoing political controversy about the priorities of the public realm in New York City is likely to last into the next mayoral administration.
Latest Traffic Safety Data Adds Grim Death Count to an Already Tragic Year
The public health epidemic created by dangerous roads, dangerous cars, and dangerous drivers was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
L.A. Metro Denounces—but Doesn't Scrap—710 Freeway Expansion Plan
The agency's board members spoke out forcefully against air pollution and displacement, but stopped short of completely rejecting the project, looking instead to cleaner vehicles and regulations that mitigate community concerns.
Misunderstanding Metros
The vernacular notion of "metro area" or "urban region" may not match up with standard political designations, like municipality, county, state, or city-state. Too bad. Ambiguity and complexity are hallmarks of today's mega-cities.
Proposed Rail Project Would Bring Trains from L.A. to Coachella Valley
Riverside County's transportation commission is moving forward with a proposal to bring passenger rail from Los Angeles to Indio.
San Diego Could Expand Parking Reforms to Non-Residential Land Uses
A proposed code amendment would expand parking reforms implemented by San Diego in 2019.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
