The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Historic Transit

St. Louis Trolley Hoping to Increase Hours

The St. Louis Trolley should begin operating later this year, but planners are hoping for additional funding to allow the service to operate longer hours.

August 6 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Good Side of the Downside: The End Is (Only) Near

Depressed by city planning in your neck of the woods? Ben Brown says to lower your expectations.

August 5 - PlaceShakers

U.S. Steel Plant

An Ambitious Plan for New Housing on Chicago's South Side

A South Chicago neighborhood will get 20,000 new residential units if a plan goes through.

August 5 - Chicago Tribune

User Fees and Sales Tax Dollars Finance $1.9 Billion Four-Lane Freeway Widening

A 16-mile express lane and general purpose lane will be added in each direction of the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. A $629 million TIFIA loan will be repaid by toll-paying motorists, while all taxpayers pay most of the remainder.

August 5 - Daily Pilot (Los Angeles Times)

Condos Smart Growth

Novel Solutions for Affordable Housing

The housing crisis calls for creative solutions.

August 5 - Curbed


Token Gestures Don't Attract Bike Riders—Connected, Safe Bike Infrastructure Does

A project touted as the "largest pop-up bike grid in the world" achieved rare levels of success on getting people on their bikes in Macon, Georgia.

August 5 - Bicycle Times

The World's First Autonomous Train

Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) was created to provide affordable mass transit for communities that find fixed rail investments outside of their price range.

August 4 - Modern Cities


Downtown Detroit

Detroit's Future

By 2040, Detroit will be bigger, more urban, older, and whiter predicts a report from the New Urban Institute that looks at trends, challenges, and assets of the Michigan city.

August 4 - CityLab

City Hall

Impacts of AVs and E-Commerce on Municipal Budgets

A new report from Urbanism Next/SCI takes you through a city’s budget—both revenues and expenditures—and describes the areas that will be affected as AVs become commonplace and e-commerce takes on an even larger role in retail

August 4 - Urbanism Next

Brooklyn

MIA or DOA? The Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Fading Fast

The lack of news on the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) is hardly a death knell, but that doesn't mean no news is good news, either.

August 4 - Village Voice

HART Rail Honolulu

Financial Stress Plagues Honolulu Rail

The Honolulu Rail Transit Project was slated to cost $5.2 billion. That figure has doubled as construction progresses, leaving the city scrambling for funds amid public outcry.

August 4 - CityLab

The Incredible Story of Frances Gabe and Her Self-Cleaning Home

The New York Times pays tribute to an American inventor, builder, and feminist who, more than anything, hated housework.

August 4 - New York Times

La City Hall Cycling

Editorial: Ambitious Plans Don't Work Without Political Leadership

The Los Angeles Times critiques the political culture in Los Angeles. In this case, it's the failure of a road diet project that provoked the criticism, but these lessons apply to the city's bicycle plans and homeless housing plans, too.

August 4 - Los Angeles Times

New York Manhattan Chinatown

Glut of New Rentals Expected to Reset the New York City Market

When vacancy rates rise, rents should fall. In New York, reports disagree about how much vacancy rates are about to increase, and whether rents will drop at all.

August 4 - The Wall Street Journal

Eating and Driving

Friday Funny: Sarcastic Responses to Honolulu's 'Distracted Walking' Ban

The Onion's always-sardonic "American Voices" feature allows some totally fake people to respond to Honolulu's recent decision to make it illegal to text while crossing the street on foot.

August 4 - The Onion

Los Angeles in 1939, as determined by the  Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC).

New Mapping Tool Illuminates the Consequences of Redlining

According to Next City, a new mapping tool from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition reveals the roots of gentrification in addition to making stark a history of discrimination.

August 4 - Next City

Minneapolis Bridge

10 Years After Minneapolis Bridge Collapse, 'Fracture-Critical' Bridges Abound

The nation mourned the ten-year anniversary of the tragic collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis this week.

August 3 - Route Fifty

Amtrak Pennsylvanian

Lyft Partnering With Amtrak for First-Last Mile Connections

Amtrak is partnering with Lyft to offer train passengers a discounted option for first and last mile needs. New Lyft riders qualify for a $5 savings on each of their first four rides.

August 3 - The Verge

Marijuana

San Francisco Creates 'Office of Cannabis'

A "one-stop shop" for marijuana businesses will open in time for the statewide legalization of the industry this January.

August 3 - San Francisco Chronicle

Kapan

Finding Solace in the Uniqueness of Landscape

Decades ago, Walter Benjamin theorized that pretty much everything could be reproduced—and, therefore, nothing was unique. This dismal conclusion, however true it may be, ignores the uniqueness of landscape.

August 3 - Common Edge Collaborative

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.