The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Twin Cities

Advocates Push for Policy Reform to Overcome History of Discriminatory Deed Covenants

The debate about police reform in Minneapolis is only one arena for the city's reckoning with systemic racism.

June 11 - Next City

Back Bay

Renters Falling Behind, Survey Says

New survey data from Massachusetts finds massive housing market stress as more and more renters falling behind on payments.

June 11 - The Boston Globe

Homelessness

Housing Programs on the Chopping Block in Philadelphia

The city of Philadelphia is facing a $649 million budget shortfall, and Mayor Jim Kenney is proposing to cut deeply from the city's housing budget to make up the difference.

June 11 - WHYY

View of sky reflected in windows of Tour Montparnasse in Paris

Office Space: So Last Year?

Did coronavirus bring certain death to the traditional concept of the office, or is it only a matter of time until we return to business as usual?

June 10 - The Economist

Brazil Olympics

The Pandemic's New Epicenter

On May 22, the World Health Organization declared Latin America the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil is second in the world in reported cases after the U.S., and Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Mexico are also suffering disproportionately.

June 10 - The Washington Post


Wisconsin Capitol

Researchers Analyze Pandemic Transportation Patterns for Planning Lessons

An article details the efforts of Madison-area researchers to glean lessons from the transportation patterns of March and April to inform better planning for the future.

June 10 - Wisconsin State Journal

Cincinnati, Ohio

Transit Improvements Coming to Cincinnati Area After Voters Approve New Sales Tax

Hamilton County, Ohio, home to Cincinnati and the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, has a new coffer of money to fund public transit improvements.

June 10 - Government Technology


Coronavirus Protest

BLOG POST

Debating the Future of Cities After the Coronavirus, Volume 3

The third installment of an ongoing, curated list of a particularly contemporary genre of urbanism punditry.

June 10 - James Brasuell

2018 Razzle Dazzle Parade

The Midwest Paces the Nation in Population Loss

Two cities in Illinois are examined as case studies of population decline in the post-industrial economy.

June 10 - Chicago Tribune

Eichler

The Housing Market During COVID-19: Supply Dips, Prices Rise

While fewer houses are being bought and sold in the first months of the pandemic, prices are on the rise as buyers find less supply available on the market.

June 10 - CNBC

14th Street Busway New York City

20 Miles of Bus Lanes and Car-Free Busways Coming to New York City

While it falls short of a more ambitious proposal pitched by the MTA recently, a new plan to expand bus priority on the streets of New York City would mark a significant expansion of a trend that started on 14th Street in Manhattan.

June 10 - StreetsBlog NYC

Louisville, Kentucky

FEATURE

Pollution, Place, and the Unnecessary Tragedy of Premature Death: Lessons for COVID-19

In Louisville, scene of multiple instances of police violence in recent weeks, low-income and Black populations living in neighborhoods dealing with decades of industrial pollution are now suffering the worst public health outcomes of COVID-19.

June 9 - Gregory D. Squires

Houston, Texas

Interstate 45 Realignment Would Cut Through a Historic Black Neighborhood in Houston

A plan to realign Interstate 45 in Houston has been criticized as a highway boondoggle as well as a failure of racial and social equity, and recent protests have only amplified the latter criticisms of the project.

June 9 - Streetsblog USA

Wine Country Fires

Budget Crunch Threatens California's Climate Resilience Plans

Facing a massive budget due to the declining revenues created by the coronavirus pandemic, California will have to cut a program intended to retrofit homes and roofs as a protection against wildfire, among other climate resilience programs.

June 9 - North State Public Radio

Coronavirus and Homelessness

Reports Offers COVID-19 Recovery Guidance for Struggling Communities

Communities struggling with the economic, social, and health realities of the 21st century must start planning now to mitigate the worst outcomes of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from the Center for Community Progress.

June 9 - Center for Community Progress

Washington, D.C.

How Emergency Street Redesign Projects Fell Short of the Black Lives Matter Cause

A leading advocate for a new, equity centering approach explains how plans to redesign streets for the needs of the coronavirus pandemic left behind racial justice as a secondary concern.

June 9 - CityLab

Autonomous Vehicle

The Key to Self-Driving Safety: Priority Over Expediency

Human drivers are fallible. Can automated systems do a better job to reduce the likelihood of car collisions?

June 9 - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Maryland

Silver Spring Downtown Plan Expanding to Make Room for the Missing Middle

Planners are hoping that by expanding the boundaries of the Silver Spring Downtown Plan in Montgomery County, Maryland, new opportunities for missing middle housing will create new opportunities for housing affordability.

June 9 - Greater Greater Washington

Southeast Asia

The Singapore Exception

Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were credited early in the pandemic with having successfully contained the coronavirus without resorting to lockdowns. However, Singapore lost its standing in that elite group. Crowding vs. density may explain why.

June 9 - NPR - Goats and Soda

Central Park Public Art

How Christo Unwrapped Municipal Bureaucracy

Christo's site-specific artworks were known for their whimsy and playfulness. But the real beauty of his art lay in his ability to navigate local bureaucracies—and reveal how ridiculous they can be.

June 8 - California Planning & Development Report

Post News

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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.