The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
New Jersey's Transportation Legacy: Cheap Gas, Bad Roads and Bridges
NPR reports on the incipient movement among a dozen states considering raising gas taxes. It centers on New Jersey which arguably illustrates best the need to raise gas taxes to maintain roads and bridges, but it won't be easy, as the interviews show
Friday Funny: Cities Want to Be Cozy
Cities vie for all sorts of distinctions: greenest; friendliest; wealthiest; most innovative. Portland, Maine, is just tickled to bits about topping the "Top-10 Coziest Cities in America." Added bonus: it beat out its regional arch-rival Boston.
Tracking the Growth of U.S. Bikeshare Systems
A post on Greater Greater Washington takes inventory of the nation's bikeshare system, finding steady growth in the number of bikshare systems in 2014, but not the explosive growth of 2013.
New Jersey's Hackensack River Considered as a Superfund Site
The Hackensack River in New Jersey, suffering the ill effects of a century of industrial impacts, is badly in need of environmental remediation. The U.S. EPA announced this week that it will study the river as a potential Superfund site.
Dallas' New Suburban Developments Have an Urban Feel
Looking for evidence of the resurgence of suburban developments? Look no farther than the suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth, says a recent column in the Dallas Morning News.
Criticism of St. Louis' Riverfront Stadium Plans
A lesson for other cities as well: As long as cities give absurd subsidies to pro sports teams, pro sports teams will continue to expect absurd subsidies from cities. Case in point: St. Louis and the NFL's Rams.
Report: the American Economy is Running Cleaner and Greener
Tim McDonnell shares news of a recent report outlining how Americans are using energy that offers climate change activists plenty of encouraging information.
Op-Ed: New York's Affordable Housing More Corrupt than Helpful
A columnist takes the recent scandal involving disgraced former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as a particularly heinous example of how far astray affordable housing policy is from its intended goal.
Op-Ed: The Cleveland Clinic Chooses Sprawl over Healthy Communities
A scathing critique of the land use, development, and transportation decisions of the Cleveland Clinic calls out the medical center for neglecting its role in the prioritizing healthy communities.
Legislation would Require Bike Helmets, Reflective Clothing for Bike Riders
A newly proposed bill in California comes down hard on one side of a hotly contested issue regarding the necessity of helmets in ensuring the safety of bikers.
Urban Design for the Commitment-Phobe in All of Us
On the new Plan.Place blog, the author describes the ways that small-scale, temporary projects can have a widespread, lasting impact on the way that our communities evolve and change.
OPEC Sees U.S. Motorists as Their Ally
An IEA report suggests that oil prices have bottomed-out, are now on the rebound, and that demand for OPEC's oil will start rising next year. OPEC predicts that U.S. oil consumption will increase after years of decline, thanks to U.S. motorists.
Where Have All the Anti-Tech Protestors Gone?
In San Francisco at this time last year, Google bus protestors and Ellis Act rage were making the news everyday. The City seems a little more...adjusted these days.
What is a 'Placemaker' (Besides an Overused Buzzword)?
Placemaking is an overused term and under-comprehended subcategory of the urban design and planning fields. Howard Blackson explains what it means and how it has evolved in his own career.
Philadelphia Announces 'Indego' Bikeshare System—Opening this Spring
Indego will officially launch this spring with over 60 stations and 600 bikes. The city is already making plans to expand the system after its initial launch.
Better Design and a 'Level of Service' for the Blind
Scott Schafer pens a column inspired by watching a visually impaired woman navigate a busy corner of Minneapolis. The question raised by the column: How can we improve level of service for the blind?
Greenprint 2015/2040 Plan Calls for 500 Miles of Greenways in the Memphis Region
A regional coalition has spent three years planning a network of greenspaces that will span in the Tri-State area surrounding Memphis, Tennessee. The Greenprint 2015/2040 plan was released to the public last week.
Trains Are Always Better than Buses, Right?
Josh Barro provide examples galore of why the answer to that question isn't always yes—where costly rail investment has been to the detriment of existing transit. His column targets proposed projects, such as New York's LaGuardia Airport AirTrain.
Reading Cities Cover to Cover, and Why
Chuck Wolfe underscores the importance of a holistic view of urban places, referencing themes of common experience, aesthetics, feelings of happiness, safety, or security—a basic narrative of the city that often goes beyond first impressions.
Control of Farmland—City Style
Farm land ownership matters on the edges of metropolitan areas, where farmers can find lucrative markets for their products and yet, with ever escalating land prices, face daunting odds in securing land to grow on or even to get started.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
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.
