The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

As Tax Increment Financing Districts Sunset in Iowa City, Questions Abound
Iowa state law requires tax increment financing to sunset after 20 years. Cedar Rapids is in the process of evaluating some of its TIF districts after they expired this summer.
D.C. Mayor Proposes New Enforcement Measures to Support Vision Zero
Making a speeding ticket a lot more expensive might convince drivers to slow down.

Proposed Density Bonus Program Evolves in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is sweetening the deal in a proposal that would offer developers density bonuses if they send money to the city's Housing Trust Fund.

Tampa Bus Project In Jeopardy, Waiting for Funds From Trump’s Federal Transit Administration
The St. Petersburg Bus Rapid Transit is waiting for funding promised by Congress but yet to be paid out by the Federal Transit Administration.

Another Bus Rapid Transit Planned for L.A.—Connecting North Hollywood to Pasadena
More details have emerged for yet another large transit project in Los Angeles County.

Bike Commutes at a Ten-Year Low in Seattle
Commute trips by bike are flat in Seattle, despite investments in high quality infrastructure. The city will have to do more for bikes to cut into the overall share of commute trips in the city of Seattle.

Five Miles of Temporary Bike Lanes in New Orleans
Volunteers and quick work translated to a total cost of $75,000 for the whole project.

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Case Threatening the California Coastal Act
A conservative and partisan court handed a victory to public access and California's environmental law by refusing to hear an appeal sought by billionaire Vinod Khosla.

A New, Renter-Friendly Politics Emerges
There are signs that politicians at every level are responding to the concerns of renters like never before. If only renter-friendly housing policies were matters of simple consensus.
Opinion: Make Austin's Accidental Scooter Lane Permanent
Austin scooter traffic is rising, so why not make room for them?

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Win-Win Solutions for Climate Protection and Health
The Call to Action on Climate and Health is an ambitious plan to achieve both global climate and health goals. Planners can help identify win-win solutions that provide multiple benefits and so can build broad implementation coalitions.

Miami-Dade Wants to Add 13 Miles to the Dolphin Expressway
The extended tollway would cut beyond the Urban Growth Boundary into the Everglades.

'The Users' Guide to Zoning Reform' Published by the Congress for New Urbanism
The Congress for New Urbanism's Users' "Guide to Code Reform" leads planners through the code reform process, providing tools for governments lacking the capacity to develop a full form-based code.

Open for a Month, San Francisco's Transit Terminal Shut Down Due to Cracked Beams
The $2.2 billion Salesforce Transit Center, which opened to much celebration on Aug. 11, closed down abruptly Sept. 25 after workers found a cracked steel beam. A second cracked beam was later found. Work began Sunday to shore up the structure.

World's First Autonomous Tram Now Operating in Germany
A Siemens tram is carrying passengers now, but the project remains a pilot as the tram is not commercially available.

BART Development Law Signed
Under a law signed today by Governor Jerry Brown, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) gains the power to rezone its properties. It's a decisive victory for state preemption over local control in the face of California's housing crisis.

Waiving Development Fees to Spur Apartment Construction
One way to increase housing supply is to make it cheaper to building multi-family housing, like Toronto recently decided to do.

Triplexes Replace Fourplexes in Revised Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan
Minneapolis planners have released a revise draft of the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, cutting back on some of the plan's most controversial aspects, but still maintaining an ambitiously urban approach.

Downtown San Jose Could Get Taller
In the Bay Area's biggest city, the debate over density pits two economic drivers against each other.

San Francisco’s Housing Woes: How the Past Informs the Present
A zoning history dating back to the 19th century still has significant impacts on the city’s housing in the present day.
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New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.