The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
BLOG POST
John Lewis: Leading by Example
When a great political leader dies, the usual stories told about him or her focus on accomplishments that moved the nation. I’ve been touched by the extent of memories about John Lewis that are coming from constituents, neighbors, and strangers.
Lockdown Benefits Urban Farmers In Paris
Pandemic induced lockdown kept Parisians within 1 km of their homes during lockdown, benefiting urban farmers and advocates for a diversified local food supply.
FEATURE
Agrihoods: Futureproofing the Cities of America
The development and planning team behind Middlebrook Farm in Iowa explains how the master-planned community balances productive farmland with new community development.
BLOG POST
Well Done, Kiwis! New Zealand Delivers Big Planning Policy Reforms
New Zealand’s new national urban development policy prohibits parking minimums and increases allowable building heights near transit stations. This is a watershed moment for the country’s cities and towns.
Growing Use of Trails Highlights the Work of Trail Planners
Trails have become very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more about how trail planners in L.A. County plan for multi-use trails and promote the safe use of trails.
Trump Finally Follows Through on Threat to Gut Obama-Era Fair Housing Rule
It's not clear if President Trump is aware that his administration has been working to rescind the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule since 2018, but he's recently doubled down on messaging that pit suburbs against the Fair Housing Act.
A Tale of Two Real Estate Markets
Hotels, retail, and office properties, along with renters, have been ravaged by the economic downturn of the pandemic. Meanwhile home sales are booming as people with money in the bank take advantage of low interest rates to upgrade.
August Expiration Date for Federal Foreclosure Moratorium Raises Concerns
The housing market has yet to devolve like in 2008, thanks to a federal safety net put in place in March, but a wave of foreclosures is still a possibility as protections begin to expire.
New Zealand Eliminates Parking Minimums and Height Limits to Increase Urban Infill
Once again, New Zealand shows the way! The national government's new urban development policy will eliminate off-street parking requirements and remove low height-limits near transit stations to encourage more efficient infill development.
NYC Rezoning Plan Reinstated Despite Lack of Racial Impact Analysis
The New York Appellate Division's First Department made short work of a ruling that reinstated the Inwood NYC Action Plan, which a lower court dismissed in December 2019.
BLOG POST
The Great Debate: Will the Pandemic Alter the Course of Urbanism?
The geography for the coronavirus has changed, but most of the debate about the future of cities continues along many of the same lines as in the early months of the pandemic.
Systemic Racism Starts and Ends with Housing
Along with standing up against police violence and systemic racism, we must also fight to end housing systems that devalue Black people.
Beleaguered Texas Hospital to Ration Treatment of COVID Patients
A second county in the Rio Grande Valley has issued an unenforceable stay-at-home order to reduce transmission of the coronavirus. Its one overwhelmed hospital will implement a triage system to determine which patients to treat and whom to reject.
S.F. Rezoning Plan Paused for Equity Analysis
A plan to rezone parcels around the busy intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, called the Hub, will undergo an analysis of the potential impacts of the plan on marginalized communities.
How Much Parking Is Too Much Parking at D.C.'s Union Station?
Plans to expand and upgrade Union Station in D.C. might have gone overboard with parking, according to the public comments on the project's draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Public Underwhelmed by Latest Look at the Boring Company's Work in Las Vegas
Elon Musk poked the transit planning community on social media last week with a rendering of the forthcoming Las Vegas Convention Center Loop tunnel.
New Layer of Equity Analysis Considered for Regional Planning in Northeast Ohio
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is considering a new policy that will add considerations about regional economic inequities when evaluating potential highway projects.
Roswell, Georgia Limits Multi-Family Development Despite Affordability Concerns
The Roswell City Council discussed how limiting multi-family developments could increase housing costs, and then voted to limit multi-family development anyway.
Community Planning Groups Scrutinized for Demographic Disparities in San Diego
Older, white homeowners take up far more than an equal share of the seats at the planning table in San Diego.
Sunday Fun: What's a Collective Noun for a Group of City Planners?
Stephen Quinn, host of CBC Radio One's popular morning show The Early Edition, offered a prompt to the Twitterverse last week and inspired plenty of creativity.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
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.
