The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Maryland Transit Administration

Express Bus Service Eliminated in Suburban Baltimore

The failure of suburb-to-suburb bus service run by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) offers lessons in regional transit planning.

January 21 - Greater Greater Washington

Chicago Public Housing

'Renewing Inequality': Mapping the Scars of Urban Renewal

A new interactive maps brings a visual reality to the scale of displacement effected by urban renewal of the 1950s and 1960s.

January 20 - Chicago Magazine

Yellowstone National Park

Mass Resignations From National Park Service Advisory Board

Nine out of 12 members of the National Park Service advisory board resigned this week, saying that the Department of the Interior "showed no interest in learning about or continuing to use the forward-thinking agenda of science," among other claims.

January 20 - National Public Radio

Red Light Camera

Legislation to Ban Traffic Cameras Creates Odd Political Alliances

Republicans and the American Civil Liberties Union back bills to ban red light and speed cameras in Iowa, while Democrats and law enforcement want to allow cities and counties to retain automated traffic-enforcement tools.

January 20 - Sioux City Journal

Orange County to Remove 1,000 Homeless People From the Santa Ana River

Responding to local homeowners and politicians, Orange County will clear homeless encampments from a riverbed and stormwater channel under its control.

January 20 - KPCC


Detroit

After Amazon: Planning for Regional Growth

The dichotomy in economic outcomes around the country won't be solved by one-off competitions like the bidding process to land Amazon's second headquarters.

January 20 - Brookings

Bezos Center for Innovation at the Museum of History and Industry

What About the 218 Left Behind By Amazon?

A CityLab article surveys Twitter for the seven stages of Amazon grief.

January 19 - CityLab


trax light rail train in foreground, snow-covered mountains in background

A 'Fare-Free-Friday' Is a Rare Thing

The Utah Transit Authority ran a one-time Fare-Free-Friday in December, thanks to sponsorship by the Salt Lake City Council and the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office. Another sponsor will be needed to support any future iterations of Fare-Free-Friday.

January 19 - KUTV

A private club located in Florida

Why Zinke Gave Florida a Break on Drilling

After announcing the coast of almost all states would be open for oil and gas production, the Secretary of the Interior changed his mind on one after meeting with Trump’s favored candidate for Senate.

January 19 - The New Yorker

Cincinnati Streetcar

Streetcars Out of Service in Cincinnati

It's been a rough week for the Cincinnati Bell Connector.

January 19 - WLWT

Brightline

Fatalities Mount from Brightline, South Florida's New Higher-Speed Train Service

A 51-year-old bicyclist became the second fatality in the first week of revenue service. It was the fourth fatality since the summer for the diesel train, which operates from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale.

January 19 - Sun Sentinel

Philadelphia Rowhouse

Philadelphia Loan Program Supports Home Repair

Philadelphia preserves affordable housing by investing $40 million into a new Housing Preservation Loan Program that will provide low interest loans of as much as $25,000 to fix up aging homes.

January 19 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Trump Campaign

Pushing Against HUD, Fair Housing Activists Look to Procedure

With the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule on the ropes, a legal strategy has emerged to challenge HUD's plan to delay enforcement.

January 19 - CityLab

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg's 'What Works Cities' Initiative Now Has 100 Participants

The What Works Cities initiative has grown quickly since it launched in 2015.

January 19 - Route Fifty

Speed Limit

Portland Lowers Most of its Speed Limits to 20 mph

Portland has implemented one of the most sweeping commitments to traffic safety of any city in the United States: 20 mph speed limits over the vast majority of the city's streets.

January 19 - Streetsblog USA

US 43 Historic Maps

Friday Eye Candy: Charting Road Maps By Hand

In the days before Google Maps, when AAA TripTiks and Thomas Guides ruled the planet…

January 19 - National Geographic

Seattle, Washington

The $5 Billion Question: Will Cities Win or Lose in the Bid for Amazon's Second Headquarters?

We asked more than a dozen urban experts: How will cities gain or lose from the competition to host Amazon's second North American headquarters?

January 18 - Penn IUR Urban Link

Solar Powered City

Residents Move Into America's First Solar Powered Town

Residents will live in solar powered homes and ride around the community in self-driving, solar-powered shuttles. Babcock Ranch outside of Fort Myers, Florida, has been in the making since 2005. A city of 50,000 is forecasted.

January 18 - CBS This Morning

Radar Speed Sign

Radar Speed Sign 2.0: How a Small Town Calmed Its Traffic

To get a handle on drivers whizzing through its main road, the small town of Betterton, Maryland installed a "smart" radar speed sign. The data it collected helped the local sheriff's department improve traffic enforcement.

January 18 - Governing

Internet Infrastructure

Private Telcos More Expensive Than Municipal Broadband 85% of the Time

A Harvard study found that, in 27 communities and cities with both private and city owned internet, the municipal broadband was almost always cheaper.

January 18 - Boing Boing

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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.