The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Digital Billboard, Edmonton, Canada

Defining Qualities of Digitally Inclusive Cities

Brookings analyzes the characteristics of the local economy of eight American cities succeeding in bridging the digital divide.

November 15 - Brookings

Butte County, California

Planning for the Worst May Have Saved Thousands in the Camp Fire

The city of Paradise was prepared for the Camp Fire when it ripped through the town last week, and it still wasn't enough to save everyone.

November 14 - Los Angeles Times

Smart Cities World Congress Opens its Biggest Event

Organized by Fira de Barcelona at its Gran Via venue, the event is the largest to date, with over 840 exhibiting companies, 700 attending cities and a 31% increase regarding exhibition space, occupying two pavilions for the first time.

November 14 - Cities of the Future

Oil and Gas Extraction

Another State Rejects a 10-Cents per Gallon Gas Tax Hike

It was not your basic fuel tax hike. Utah voters were told that raising the tax would help education by redirecting revenue from the General Fund to schools that currently goes to transportation. Yet voters also passed decidedly liberal initiatives.

November 14 - Deseret News

Washington, D.C.

One Step Closer to Decriminalizing Fare Evasion in D.C.

The D.C. Council voted, 11-2, to decriminalize fare evasion on the D.C. Metro transit system. The council will have to vote one more time to confirm the new policy.

November 14 - The Washington Post


Arlington County, Virginia

New Virginia Tech 'Innovation Campus' Helped Woo Amazon to Arlington

According to an announcement by Virginia Tech yesterday, their plans to build a $1 billion innovation campus in nearby Alexandria helped win the HQ2 prize for Northern Virginia.

November 14 - WTOP

Portland Streetcar Bike

Advocacy Groups Have Their Say on Portland's Central City in Motion Plan

A downtown transportation plan designed to prioritize "transportation for everyone" will come before

November 14 - Bike Portland


Bus Stop and Bike Lane

Op-Ed: Change the Bike Planning Calculus to Include Women's Safety

The gender gap in walking and biking is deep and wide in Seattle. Here's a call to action.

November 14 - Crosscut

Chicago Riverwalk

Opinion: Environmentalism Is Good for Business

A thriving natural environment creates opportunity for private developers and local economies, an economist argues.

November 14 - New York Times

Shenzhen Crumbling Buildings

Speculation Leaves 50 Million Homes Empty in China

Experts say China has the highest vacancy rate on residential units of any country in the world. The roots of the problem lay in housing speculation, according to China's leaders.

November 14 - Bloomberg

King Street Streetcar

One Year Later: Transit Priorities Still Working on King Street in Toronto

By restricting car traffic and eliminating parking along a portion of King Street in Toronto, streetcar ridership and service performance have been greatly improved.

November 14 - The Star

Welcome Sign

Another Major Statewide Transportation Funding Loss on Election Day

Similar to Missouri voters, who rejected a 10-cents per gallon tax hike placed on the ballot by the state legislature, Colorado voters rejected two competing initiatives to finance transportation improvements placed on the ballot by citizen groups.

November 13 - Denver Business Journal

New York City Subway Platform

Transportation’s 'Pink Tax' Is a Cost Burden on Women

When women don’t feel safe using transit, they use other modes and end up paying the price.

November 13 - Wired

Seattle, Washington

Updated: Complete Coverage of Amazon's HQ2 Decision

The official news of Amazon's choices for its second location broke this morning, but hot takes were streaming in all day.

November 13 - Planetizen

Pilsen Chicago

The Problems With Tax Increment Financing and How to Fix Them

Tax increment financing (TIF) districts are common in municipalities across the country. However, the economic development tool is also poorly understood and often the target of criticism.

November 13 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Gated House

Real Estate in the U.S.: More and More 'Million-Dollar Neighborhoods'

A new report from Trulia reveals the quickly increasing number of neighborhoods in the country that have a median home price touching seven figures.

November 13 - Curbed

Miami Traffic Jam

Study Finds Fewer Young People Want Cars

Driving is often marketed as fun and liberating, but millennials aren’t buying it.

November 13 - Chicago Tribune

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Amazon Makes It Official With New York and D.C.; Throws Another Curveball With Nashville

The reported selection of New York and Washington, D.C. as the dual winners of the Amazon HQ2 competition was officially announced this morning. Still, Amazon wasn't done with the surprises.

November 13 - Planetizen

Residential Development

Citing Lack of ADU Development, Ann Arbor to Refine its ADU Ordinance

After legalizing accessory dwelling units in 2016, the city of Ann Arbor hasn't added many accessory dwelling units. Some regulations designed to limit the number of ADUs developed have made the building type impossibly cost prohibitive.

November 13 - MLive

Highway Interchange

Tools for Addressing the Suburbanization of Poverty

Suburban poverty is reading, here are a few ways to understand what that means.

November 13 - Build a Better Burb

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

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

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.