The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A large reservoir and its dam are shown in golden foothills.

Bay Area Development Encounters the Limits of the Water Supply

A development battle pitting Contra Costa County against the East Bay Municipal Utility District illustrates the challenges of developing new housing supply in a time of drought.

August 25 - The Mercury News

A map showing Bell Gardens, California in focus, with all surrounding cities and roads blurred.

Two L.A. County Cities Approved Rent Control in August

Bell Gardens and Pomona booth voted to approve rent caps of 4 percent this month in Southern California.

August 25 - LAist

The Interstate 10 freeway cuts through residential neighborhoods in the city of Alhambra. Downtown Los Angeles is visible in the background,

Report: CEQA Lawsuits Challenge Almost Half of All Housing Development in California

A new report details the reach of California’s controversial environmental regulation, and warns of more consequences to come.

August 25 - Center for Jobs & the Economy

New York transportation carbon footprint map

CoolClimate Policy Tools

The CoolClimate Network's Interactive Policy Tools calculate and compare the GHG reductions provided by various emission reduction policies. These tools can help households, businesses and communities identify the best emission reduction strategies.

August 25 - CoolClimate Network Smart Tools for a Cooler Planet

Bus stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with blue bus and passengers boarding

Pittsburgh Launches Guaranteed Basic Mobility Pilot

The program aims to improve access to jobs and economic opportunities for some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.

August 25 - Smart Cities Dive


Urban Living

D.C. Could Lead the Downtown Office Conversion Trend

Many urban cores around the country are faced with increasing office vacancies concurrently with a housing affordability crisis caused, at least in part, by a lack of supply. D.C. is particularly primed for a wave of adaptive reuse.

August 25 - Archinect

View of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte Approves Protections for Housing Voucher Recipients

The city became the first in North Carolina to enact fines for landlords who fail to rent to recipients of federal housing vouchers.

August 25 - Governing


Bus riders standing on crowded city bus, holding top rail

Report: Improved Service Key to Growing Bus Ridership

A NACTO report highlights the importance of bus-friendly policies and infrastructure for boosting ridership numbers and reducing urban congestion and pollution.

August 24 - Smart Cities Dive

Children playing in a Los Angeles schoolyard

Los Angeles Parents Demand Greener Schoolyards

With asphalt temperatures reaching as much as 150 degrees, parents and advocates are asking the city’s school district to provide more shade, trees, and other heat mitigation features on its schoolyards and playgrounds.

August 24 - CBS Los Angeles

Bus riders wearing masks

Opinion: Free Transit Opposition Is Tone Deaf

Critics of free transit programs argue that free fares may not decrease driving or fight climate change. Dr. Destiny Thomas explains why that argument ‘misses the point.’

August 24 - Streetsblog USA

Red Metrorail train in downtown Houston, Texas

Houston Inches Toward Reduced Car Dependency

The city is investing more in biking, walking, and public transit, but a lack of funding and counterproductive moves from the Texas Department of Transportation are slowing the process of shifting away from personal automobile dependency.

August 24 - Houston Public Media

Chicago Suburb

Chicago Renters Struggling to Afford Housing

Experts have little hope that growing rent costs will stabilize anytime soon.

August 24 - Chicago Tribune

A view over the tops of the historic brick buildings of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Ends Parking Requirements in the City’s West End

The West End neighborhood of Cincinnati is home to 6,000 residents but only one dine-in restaurant.

August 24 - Cincinnati Business Courier

MBTA Green Line

Massachusetts Releases Transit-Oriented Multifamily Housing Rules

Communities near transit stations will have to comply with a new set of regulations that support multifamily development and increased housing density.

August 24 - The Lowell Sun

A pair of electric cars plugged into charge at facilities in the corner of a shopping center parking lot.

FEATURE

Electric Driving Is the Future; Now Is the Time to Price It

EVs are great, but they’re not perfect. Let’s end their free ride.

August 24 - Adam Millard-Ball and Michael Manville

Children playing in a splash pad

World’s First Municipal ‘Heat Officers’ Combat Extreme Heat

As extreme heat threatens infrastructure and public health, municipal ‘heat officers’ work to develop cooling strategies to keep urban residents safe from increasingly hot temperatures.

August 23 - Next City

Boise, Idaho

Idaho’s Growth Obscures Massive Demographic Turnover, Study Says

Quick population growth is remaking Idaho, but focusing only on raw population numbers masks the demographic changes at work.

August 23 - KMTV News

Tenant Protections

NLIHC Report: Wages Don’t Cover the Cost of Housing in Every Corner of the Country

The “Out of Reach 2022” report, published recently by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, paints a dire picture of a lack of housing affordability in the United States.

August 23 - SaportaReport

The trees, benches, and other landscape elements of a park are submerged in brown flood waters.

Fort Worth Spending More on Flood Control; Still Well Short of What’s Needed

Fort Worth could spend $136 million on stormwater infrastructure and flood control over the next five years. In all, the city needs more like $1 billion of investment.

August 23 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

RTD train pulling into a station in Denver, Colorado

Commerce City Approves Transit-Oriented Development

An isolated train station north of Denver could become a hub of housing and commercial activity.

August 23 - The Denver Post

Post News

Top Books

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The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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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.