The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

Contractor Allegedly Lays 3 Miles of the Wrong Steel; Delays for S.F.'s Central Subway Ensue

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ordered high-strength steel to ensure the long-term quality of the under-construction Central Subway. The contractor laid 17,000 linear feet of standard-strength steel anyway.

May 10 - San Francisco Examiner

Los Angeles Homeless

Homeless Shelters a Tough Sell With Neighborhood Activists

A plan to streamline approval of a wave of homeless facilities in the city of Los Angeles is running into an early snag with an emergency shelter proposed for a parking lot in the Koreatown neighborhood.

May 10 - Curbed LA

Chicago Bus

Buses Are Under Threat, and Cities With Them

Buses are often the best tool for making a dynamic, equitable city, but they're in a period of decline that shouldn't be allowed to become a death spiral.

May 10 - CityLab

Compost Pile

Home Composting Goes to Washington

Washington, D.C. approved a set of incentives for home composting at the end of March.

May 10 - Waste Dive

Gateway Arch

Reconnecting St. Louis to its River

According a recent article in the Riverfront Times, perceptions of the Mississippi River among St. Louis residents are poor, but a collection of "river evangelists" and patient business owners are working to change that reality.

May 10 - St. Louis Riverfront Times


Boston, Massachusetts

Feasibility Study Launched for Automated People Mover to Boston's Airport

It's still early in the planning process, but an Automated People Mover could eventually replace buses and shuttles as the airport connection of choice for Logan International Airport.

May 10 - The Boston Globe

banksy

Robotics and the City: 3 Global Examples

Three case studies of robotics technology integrated into the design and management of urban settings offers a glimpse of a potential future.

May 10 - Independent (UK)


San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio Turns 300

Alamo City enters the 300 club.

May 9 - Texas Monthly

Pedestrians

Insurance Institute: Pedestrian Fatalities Jump 46 Percent from 2009

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study on May 8 that attributes the increased number of pedestrians killed in part to road design that allows for higher speeds, fewer intersections and pedestrian crossings and more SUVs.

May 9 - The Washington Post

Sound Transit Rendering

Planning Work Beginning on Sound Transit's Tacoma Dome Link Extension

Sound Transit is hard at work with a busy planning schedule for several light rail projects in the Tacoma area. A post on The Urbanist focuses on the scoping project for the Tacoma Dome Link extension.

May 9 - The Urbanist

Colorado Water

Growth Requires New Water Supply Solutions in Colorado

Colorado cities located north of Denver consider the future of water as the region grows. New infrastructure and new partnerships will be necessary to meet demand for water in the future.

May 9 - The Denver Post

Brooklyn Queens Connector

BQX Streetcar Lacks Funding in de Blasio's Proposed Budget

It's been awhile since the proposed BQX Streetcar project had any forward momentum in New York City.

May 9 - Crain's New York Business

Denver, Colorado

Denver Bans 'Slot Homes,' But Not Before They Changed Neighborhoods

Aerial photos show just how completely some areas of the city were transformed before the building typology was eliminated earlier this week.

May 9 - The Denver Post

Accessory Dwelling Unit

Portland Makes ADU Incentives Permanent

Development fees can add some $15,000 to the cost of building a home in Portland. Residents adding an accessory dwelling unit to their property won't need to worry about those expenses, as long as they don't use the limit for short-term rentals.

May 9 - Portland Tribune

Interactive Map of Boston

New Citywide Mapping Tool Marks a New Era for Planning in Boston

The Boston Planning & Development Agency released a powerful new map of the entire city—complete with layers like shadows, flood plains, and zoning districts—to the public.

May 9 - The Boston Globe

Target Parking Lot

6 Ways Big Box Stores Harm Communities

A compendium of big box dissent.

May 9 - Strong Towns

Free Floating Bikeshare

Dockless Bikeshare Has More Bikes Than Riders

Private bikeshare companies have rolled out large fleets of bikes in cities around the world and United States, but despite their ubiquity, dockless bikeshare is actually much less popular than traditional bikeshare.

May 9 - Governing

Driverless Vehicles Set to Pick Up Passengers in Texas

The biggest state in the union is making room for self-driving cars, starting with four self-driving vans.

May 8 - Quartz

New York City Ferry Service

Mayor de Blasio Would Spend $300 Million on Improvements to NYC Ferry Fleet

NYC Ferry, which opened in May 2017, would double in size if Mayor Bill de Blasio's budget proposal moves forward.

May 8 - Crain's New York Business

golf course homes

Report: More Mortgage Interest Deduction Goes to the Wealthy After Changes

Changes to the Mortgage Interest Deduction ostensibly made the housing subsidy more progressive. The real consequences of the change, however, make the deduction "significantly more inequitable that it was in years past."

May 8 - Greater Greater Washington

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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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.