The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A photo of protesters on the front lawn of the Ohio Statehouse during the State of the Union speech by Governer Kasich.

Ohio House Speaker Arrested on Bribery Charges Connected to $1 Billion Nuclear Industry Bailout

A bombshell in Ohio, as the FBI arrested Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues on bribery charges connected with a $1 billion bailout for the state's nuclear industry.

July 22 - The Columbus Dispatch

Houston, Texas

BLOG POST

How Houston Achieved Lot Size Reform

Nolan Gray of George Mason University and Adam A. Millsap of the Charles Koch Institute write about a recent article they authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

July 22 - JPER

Ben Carson

Critics: Trump's Fair Housing Statements a 'Political Stunt'

President Trump is trying to marshal votes by raising fears about the effects of the Affirmatively Fair Housing Act on the suburbs, where the president is losing support among voters.

July 22 - Associated Press via U.S. World News and Report

New York Subway

New York MTA, Facing $16 Billion in Losses, Plans Drastic Cuts

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has faced budget crunches before, but never one like the budget crisis caused by the pandemic.

July 22 - The New York Times

Granny Flat

ADU Business Booming in California

The number of Californians adding Accessory Dwelling Units to residential properties has quickly grown during the pandemic, according to industry sources.

July 21 - The San Francisco Chronicle


Orange County Great Park Rendering

How GIS Helps Plan Parks

With constrained budgets, a geographic information system (GIS) may seem like a luxury for parks agencies. But to perform data-driven planning and advance park equity, GIS is an indispensable tool.

July 21 - Apolitical

The Villages Florida

The Virus Meets The Villages

The COVID demographic is changing. What began in the current resurgence as largely a younger cohort is now affecting older, more vulnerable group seen in the pandemic's first phase in the Northeast. The Villages, Florida, would appear vulnerable.

July 21 - The New York Times


Climate Change protest

World Population Projected to Decline by 2065

Some developed countries in the world are expected to lose half of their population, in a development that might seem impossible while the world population continues its climb toward 8 billion.

July 21 - CNN

Oakland

Black Californians Leaving the City and Reshaping the State

Hundreds of thousands of Black Californians are moving away from urban areas, opting for the promise of abundance and opportunity offered by suburban communities, a trend referred to as "California's Black exodus."

July 21 - Cal Matters

Houston

New Houston Housing Report Tells a Story of Under-Investment

A new report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research highlights the state of housing the Houston and Harris County, and more specifically, the historically Black neighborhood of Settegast in northeast Houston.

July 21 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Beltway Traffic

Car-Centric Choices Shortchange the Walkability Goals of the 2010 Tysons Comp Plan

Ten years after Tysons, an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, approved an award winning comprehensive plan, there's still work to be done to achieve its ambitious goals.

July 21 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus and Transportation

Pandemic Planning Must Reconcile With the Inequities of the Past

The ongoing debate about the role of marginalized communities in the emergency planning programs of the pandemic has now been detailed on the pages of the New York Times.

July 21 - The New York Times

The Villages, Florida

FEATURE

The Villages and the Dangers of Holding Too Tightly to the Past

Some parts of The Villages, Florida, the nation's largest retirement community and one of its most popular master planned communities, bear a striking resemblance to the neotraditional development favored by famous early examples of New Urbanism.

July 20 - James Brasuell

Campaign Rally

Pandemic Containment Funding in Jeopardy

When President Trump asserted, "We do too much (coronavirus) testing," he wasn't kidding. He wants to strip $25 billion in funding for testing and tracing needed by states where COVID-19 cases are surging and testing is not meeting demand.

July 20 - The Washington Post

Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia Feud Over Mask Mandates May Not Be What it Seems

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) and the Atlanta City Council over the city's mask mandate, which is stricter than mask provisions defined in the governor's July 15 executive order.

July 20 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Connecticut

Pro-Development Coalition Forms in Connecticut

DesegregateCT is a growing coalition of groups coalescing behind ideas like Missing Middle Housing and zoning reform as a means to improved housing affordability.

July 20 - Hartford Courant

Chicago Beach

Lake Michigan Continues to Rise, Damaging Property and Infrastructure Along the Way

A tide that began to rise in 2019 hasn't receded, according to local sources along Lake Michigan.

July 20 - Detroit Free Press

Atlanta, Georgia

Mapping the Displacement Risk of Opportunity Zones

An Atlanta case study.

July 20 - Next City

Congestion

BLOG POST

Liberating Cities from Cars

Examining models of progress toward restrictions on the use and storage of automobiles from urban areas around the world.

July 20 - Joan Fitzgerald

MTA Bus

Visions of a Car-Free Manhattan

In Manhattan, the space devoted to cars and car-related infrastructure takes up an area four times larger than Central Park. What would New York City look like if it divested from cars?

July 20 - The New York Times

Post News

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.

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.