The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Where Community Development Block Grants Money Goes
A Forbes contributor provides analysis of how much states stand to lose if the Trump Administration succeeds in cutting funding for the Community Development Block Grants program.

Nextdoor Looking to Expands its Influence on Local Politics
A decade into its history, the hyperlocal social media site Nextdoor is looking for feedback and hoping to expand its reach before the 2018 and 2020 elections.
Providence Ditches Streetcar Plans; Goes With High-Frequency Buses Instead
A decade ago, Providence considered a streetcar for land that once moved cars along the former path of Route 195. Now transit planners have once again shifted gears, targeting a high-frequency bus corridor for the area.

How Apple's Headquarters Got More Parking Spaces Than Employee Spaces
Parking is back in the news, with a high-profile case study: the new spaceship-shaped headquarters of Apple in Cupertino has devoted a larger footprint to parking spaces than office space.

A New Earthquake Warning System for the Pacific Northwest
Oregon and Washington are implementing sensors that can detect and report an earthquake to communities with as much as a minute or two of warning.

Opinion: Gondolas Distract From the Realities of Transit
Gondolas seem to find their way into the public transit investment conversation again and again over the years, taking up space and air that could be devoted to more substantive issues of investment, maintenance, and operation.

Can Public Transit Run on Solar Power?
California's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has recently been exploring ways to power its system using renewable energy sources, but is it really possible to power one of the state's "top 10 power consumers" with alternative energy?

Best Fuel to Power Buses: Renewable Natural Gas or Battery-Electric?
Next month the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority will decide what type of buses to purchase to replace 1,000 aging diesel buses. Two op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily News present alternative viewpoints.

Trump's Border Wall Would Bring 'Ecological Disaster'
Vox offers a feature length article, with lots of visual references, that tells the story of the ecological risks inherent with any plan to build a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico.

A Few Ideas for Planning and Governance in the Digital Age
The Guardian samples prominent examples of digital natives bringing new expectations for the use of technology to the public sector.

A Toolbox of Green Infrastructure Solutions to Flooding Risks
A new one-stop shop for green infrastructure solutions is available to planners and engineers challenged by flooding.

Oakland Hoping to Provide Safer Pedestrian Infrastructure at Construction Sites
"Every reasonable effort should be made to avoid and minimize construction impacts on pedestrian, bicycle, and bus facilities in Oakland," according to a guidance released by the city of Oakland earlier in 2017.

Baltimore Sets a Goal to Recycle More
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has set a goal for the city to recycle twice as much as it currently does, and one advocacy group already has ideas about how the city can do so.

Design Activism, Texas-Style
With suburban sprawl a long-standing issue in Texas, one San Antonio-based architecture firm is aiming to strengthen and revitalize its city's downtown core.
'Farm-to-Condo' Urban Agriculture Finds Roots in Brooklyn
Urban agriculture and market-rate multi-family housing developments could be a perfect match.

Americans Are Ready for Tax Reform; But at the Cost of the Mortgage Interest Deduction?
Kenneth R. Harney reports on the possibility that lawmakers in Washington, D.C. could target the mortgage interest deduction as part of a Republican tax reform plan.

Grade Crossings Racking Up Costs on Denver's New A-Line
In a region with a full calendar of transit construction projects and high hopes for a positive stream of news, a premier and historic project has not gone as smoothly as hoped.

A Big Legal Win for the Climate Change Fight in the Golden State
The nation's only state-run cap-and-trade program survived a legal challenge by the California Chamber of Commerce and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation when a state court of appeal ruled 2-1 that the program doesn't amount to an illegal tax.

New Second Avenue Subway Stations Making Locals Smile
Light, airy, and filled with art, the new subway stations for the first phase of the long awaited Q subway extension, i.e., the Second Avenue subway, breaks away from the mold of other NYC subway stations.

Support for Highway Tolls Building in Massachusetts
If Republicans at the federal level succeed in pushing more transportation funding to the state level, more states will have to consider the path of states like Rhode Island, Texas, and, now, Massachusetts.
Pagination
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
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