The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.

Legislation Introduced to Support Adaptive Reuse of Federal Buildings
The proposed bill would promote the conversion of vacant and underused buildings into affordable housing.

US, Japan Governments Express Support for Texas HSR
A proposed high-speed rail project would link Houston and Dallas using Japanese Shinkansen technology.

Anchorage High-Speed Highway Project Met With Skepticism
The Alaska Department of Transportation and its consultants are working on a Planning and Environmental Linkages study of the Glenn-Seward Highway that bisects the middle of Anchorage, Alaska.

USDOT Issues Grants for Resilient Transportation Infrastructure
The department issued $830 million in grants for improving roads, bridges, and other infrastructure vulnerable to extreme weather and other climate impacts.

BLOG POST
Housing and Equity Take Center Stage at NPC24
With discussions centering on how to solve the housing crisis and create more equitable communities, Minneapolis is a fitting host city for APA’s annual National Planning Conference.

Best Practices for Outsourcing Transit Operations
Contracting with private sector vendors can help transit agencies improve efficiency and provide better service.

Opinion: Unhoused People Need Housing, Not Law Enforcement
The sharp increase in the unhoused population calls for urgent action, not criminalization.

BLOG POST
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.

Houston Supportive Housing Development Sparks Debate
Critics say a proposed apartment building would negatively impact the neighborhood’s walkability.

Friday Funny: Gated Community Doubles Down
The Onion skewers suburbia.

‘Cut the Tape’ Report Takes Aim at Inefficiencies
A set of recommendations from the Chicago mayor’s office calls for streamlining city processes to stimulate more residential and commercial development.

Alexandria’s Hopes for Stadium Deal Dashed
The city hoped a stadium for DC-area teams would anchor a new, high-density development in a vacant lot.

Western Solar Plan Charts Course for Development on Public Lands
The BLM’s proposed maps could open up as much as 55 million acres to solar installations.

California Water Plan Readies State for Climate-Impacted Future
A wet winter will replenish the state’s snowpack and reservoirs, but could also increase flooding and wildfire risk in some areas.

Chicago Trains Make More Room for Bikes
Since Metro launched a new bike-friendly policy in February, the number of bikes on its trains rose by 70 percent.

FEATURE
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.

Transit Ridership Continues its Slow Recovery
Ridership grew by 16 percent between 2022 and 2023.

California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.

When Driving Isn't an Option: Steering Away From Car Dependency
Disability advocate Anna Zivarts' new book, “When Driving Isn't An Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency,” explores why and how transportation planning can better serve nondrivers to create a better quality of life for everyone.
Pagination
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
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.