The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Philly's New Tallest Tower Earns Positive Reviews
The first building in Philadelphia to surpass 1,000 feet is now the tenth tallest building in the country. Here's what local media is writing about the Comcast Technology Center.

Infill Development Still a Tricky Proposition
Impact fess, also known as growth fees, are creating controversy in the Canadian city of Winnpeg, even as the city prepares new infill development guidelines to quell development controversies in older neighborhoods.

Frequent Rider Miles for Buses
In Minneapolis and San Francisco, public transit agencies are considering loyalty programs to boost ridership.

Philadelphia Unlikely to Follow Minneapolis' Lead in Zoning Reform
Minneapolis is setting a bold example by ending single-family zoning, but chances are a similar change won’t be coming to Philadelphia.

What to Expect From Transit Construction in 2019
Mixed results and high costs are to be expected among the 89 public transit construction projects underway in 2019.

Autonomous Driving Technology Might Have Saved Lives
It could have been a multiple-vehicle fatal car crash—a driver fell asleep at the wheel driving 70 mph—but the outcome was two DUI charges.
Delayed Opening for TEXRail Blamed on Federal Shutdown
Trinity Metro ended up delaying the opening of the new TexRail line for five days—from Saturday, January 5, until Thursday, January 10.

Denver Condo Project Aims for 'Permanent Affordability'
More often the province of rental housing, affordability policies are limited in the for-sale market. A partnership in Denver aims to change that with a mixed-use project including at least 86 condos destined to be "permanently affordable."

Experiences Designed Into Suburban Developments
Live music, skating rinks, and artificial beaches are now part of developments that want to go beyond just simple shopping and dining.

More 'Car-Rich' Households Mean More Car Ownership
More people are buying cars, even while more people are choosing to go without cars.

Tax Deal Paves Way for Atlanta's Gulch Mega-Project
The city of Atlanta approved its largest development project since the 1960s back in November, but still needed the school district to sign off on a funding plan to help for the $1.9 billion in public subsidies that will support the project.

Sources: Trump Administration Considering an Attack on Disparate Impact
The Supreme Court upheld the disparate impact doctrine at the heart of fair housing rules, along with many other anti-discrimination policies, in 2015. Still, the Trump administration is looking for ways to undermine disparate impact.

Massachusetts Tops California in Emission Reductions
California and Massachusetts use the same name for climate change legislation, Global Warming Solutions Act, and set the same target date for reductions, 2020. Both achieved their targets 2016, but the Bay State had a tougher goal to meet.

Nudging People to Keep Cities Clean
Philadelphia looked at how interventions can change recycling and littering behavior.

New Year's Law: Over 200,000 EV Drivers Lost Access to California Carpool Lanes
As many as 215,000 owners of mostly electric vehicles purchased before 2017 lost their privilege to access carpool lanes on New Year's Day. The main purpose of HOV lanes is to reduce congestion.

San Francisco Home Construction Expected to Slump This Year
Due to various market and industry factors, developers are not planning to start many new construction projects in 2019.

A New Day for the California Environmental Quality Act
The California Natural Resources Agency posted the final version of amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act, enabled by 2013's SB 743, at the end of 2018.

BLOG POST
Yes, There Are Still Carless Poor
Despite the decline in gas prices, cars are still a luxury for many low-income Americans, and low-income zip codes still tend to have low car ownership rates.

Report Tracks Transport Emissions Trends and Raises Transport Policy Ambition
The Sustainable Low Carbon Transportation ( SLoCaT) Partnership recently released the "Transport and Climate Change Global Status Report," a resource to help raise ambition on climate sustainable transportation policy actions.

Opinion: Maryland Governor's 'Road Warrior' Status Doesn't Excuse This Boondoggle
A Baltimore Sun columnist writes a scathing critique of Maryland's highway building program.
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