The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Gov. Jerry Brown's High-Speed Gamble
To secure needed votes to pass a vital cap-and-trade bill, Brown made a deal with California's Republican lawmakers that could cost him his legacy infrastructure project—the high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Texas Bill Would Immunize Property Rights From Zoning Code Changes
The Texas Legislature and executive branch is continuing to wage a battle against local control, this time pursuing a land use law that would undermine zoning code changes, such as the current CodeNEXT process in Austin.
BLOG POST
First Mile-Last Mile, Intermodalism, and Making Public Transit More Attractive
As planners seek to leverage public transit investments with enhanced first mile-last mile connections, it is critical that market analysis guide those initiatives and that impacts and cost effectiveness are part of the performance assessment.
D.C.'s Circulator Bus System: Metro Out, DDOT In
The well-documented problems facing the D.C. Circulator bus system came to head earlier in July.
A National Day of Telecommuting
Companies and workers in the country of Japan are less likely to work from home than in the United States. The government hopes to increase the number of telecommuters during the 2020 Olympics, however.
FEATURE
To Learn About a City, Visit Its Neighborhoods
Tourists are often drawn to downtown museums, sightseeing tours, and high-end restaurants. But if these travelers want to truly understand a city’s full story, they may need to take a bit of a detour.
Study: 'Eyes on the Street' Have Real Value for Neighborhood Safety
The first study to make an attempt at quantifying the value of "eyes on street"—an idea most eloquently described by Jane Jacobs—offers reason to support a mix of uses, with businesses operating later in the evening.
State Transportation Officials Ask Congress to Hike Transportation User Fees
It's not funding Trump's much-talked-about infrastructure package, but the 2020 termination date of the FAST Act has state transportation officials urging Congress to hike fuel taxes to sustain the Highway Trust Fund.
Police Departments Budgets Grow, but Cities Aren't Any Safer
A Next City article argues that investing in job programs and other public goods would do more to make those communities safe than investing in police departments.
Reality Checking Elon Musk's Hyperloop Nothing Burger—Again
Elon Musk's desire to tunnel a path to freedom from congestion refuses to die.
Caltrain Electrification Broke Ground on Friday
Gov. Jerry Brown, Peninsula congresswomen, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and state legislative leaders gathered in Millbrae with shovels-in hands to mark the beginning of a four-year construction project to electrify Caltrain.
Are Form-Based Design Standards Easier Than Form-Based Codes?
Randall Arendt looks at how communities can achieve results similar to Form-Based Codes through a simpler set of form-based design standards (FBDS).
Amazon's Mobile Stores Rolling Out Nationwide
Amazon's Treasure Trucks hawk everything from GoPros to poke bowls and Harry Potter books.
Like City, Like Stadium
Beloved as it is, Dodger Stadium did not come easily to Los Angeles. Its development was fraught with protests, political rivalries, and debates over public investment and urbanism. Those debates continue today.
2018 Congressional Transportation Budget Begins to Take Shape
While reduced from current levels, the House Appropriations Committee budgeted far more than what President Trump had proposed, but they agreed with him to eliminate the TIGER grant program and reduce transit investments, though by a lesser amount.
Rising Tuition and Student Debt Keeping Young People from Buying Homes
Millennials have lower rates of home ownership, and higher tuitions are partly to blame.
Reservation System Possible for Zion National Park
The National Park Service is looking for solutions to overcrowding at its most popular parks. The idea of an online reservation system might get its first test in Utah.
Metra's Hyde Park Plan Leaves Too Many Behind
Chicago's Metra has the resources to create frequent transit for a large swath of the South Side. Instead, their plan supports only the most fortunate along that train line.
California Counties, City Sue Fossil Fuel Industry Over Sea Level Rise
Faced with "mounting costs" due to the impacts of climate change, a collection of coastal communities in California have taken legal action against the fossil fuel industry.
New York Could Launch an Urban Agriculture Plan, Zoning Overhaul
New York's ability to feed itself with locally grown urban agriculture is only being partially realized. Better planning, specific to urban agriculture, would help.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
