The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
New Evidence of the Superiority of Bike Lanes Over Sharrows
A study presented last week to the Transportation Research Board shows that the quality of the bike infrastructure has a significant effect for commuting rates and safety.
NIMBYs at Center of California's Housing Shortage
Sacramento Bee's political columnist, Dan Walters, writes that NIMBYs are among the main reasons for the state's chronic housing crisis, and one of their main tools is the California Environmental Quality Act, which must be reformed by politicians.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Tests Coming to Colorado
The Colorado Department of Transportation's RoadX pilot project will test early alerts to drivers on Interstate 70.
Ten Planning Career Growth New Year's Resolutions
Planner Clement Lau shares his New Year's resolutions: ten professional development and career growth goals for planners and urban design professionals.
Report Identifies 12 'Highway Boondoggles'
A new report by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group identifies the highway projects most likely to break the transportation funding bank.
City Nixes Idea to Shut Down More Streets for Cubs Games
Any open streets benefits for a proposal to shut down Clark and Addison streets near Wrigley Field would have been secondary to security concerns—but it's all conjecture after the Mayor's Office nixed the idea.
New York's Biggest Challenge for Emission Reduction Goals: Green Building
About 80 percent of New York City's greenhouse gas emissions come from its building stock, so the city's goal to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050 will hinge on aggressive retrofitting requirements in addition to new green building standards.
Calgary Ends the 'Sprawl Subsidy'
An op-ed by the mayor of Calgary, Canada celebrates the adoption of a new off-site levy that will change the financing formula for new development and the necessary infrastructure that comes with it.
Mortality Rate Increases Dramatically Among 25-34 Year-Old White Men and Women
Similar to a recent Nobel Prize-winning study that showed increased deaths in middle-aged whites from heroin, opiates, and alcohol, a New York Times analysis shows that deaths for whites aged 25 to 34 from drug overdoses has reached historic levels.
Targeting Another Gap in the System, L.A. Metro Looks to Expand Eastward
The potential 2.8 mile expansion of the Metro Green Line would connect light rail to the Norwalk MetroLink Station, opening up new transit options to users throughout the region.
A Critique of the Built Environment: How We Built Unhappiness
One writer's view of the modern city goes negative. If our environment affects our happiness, surely we're all suffering from depression.
Carrots and Sticks: Making Driving Alone the Worst Option
The build out of mass transit and bicycle infrastructure hasn’t been the cure-all for shifting commuters from single-person autos to alternate modes of transit, as many had hoped. Maybe it's time we start looking at how to disincentivize driving.
6 Ways Local Governments Can Prepare For the Arrival of New Migrants
At the UN’s Habitat III conference taking place this fall in Quito, Ecuador, the role of cities in addressing the movement of migrants will be a primary topic of discussion.
BLOG POST
How Lizards Can Teach Planners About Designing Cities
Ecologists offer scientific lessons in how to better build cities for humans and wildlife.
Detroit’s Rosa Parks Transit Center Not Living Up To Its Name
Inside the efforts to clean up and improve the centerpiece of Detroit’s transit system.
On Plans That Turn Out Like News Years’ Resolutions
A Dallas area writer finds parallels between the city’s planning processes and the New Years’ resolution practices of most human beings.
Case Study: Denver's Accessory Dwelling Units
Since a zoning code change in 2010, the city of Denver has added 66 accessory dwelling units in a city of 650,000.
Georgia Gov. Deal Wants to Spend $10 Billion on Regional Transportation
Commuters in the Atlanta region would benefit most by the $10 billion transportation plan proposed by Governor Nathan Deal.
BLOG POST
Getting Residents Engaged in Participatory Mapping
Participatory mapping has become an increasingly popular planning tool. The examples that follow highlight how communities are using participatory mapping.
Downtown Reno: A Place Where Nobody Dared to Go
Residents of Reno, Nevada participating in a rewrite of the city’s master plan have spoken out about the myriad of problems afflicting their downtown—it's dirty, dangerous, and deserted.
City of Mt Shasta
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)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
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.
