The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

How to Develop a 'World Class Waterfront': a Letter to the San Diego Unified Port District

Downtown San Diego’s waterfront is undergoing major changes. Regarding the latest proposal, the San Diego Environment + Design Council has some words of advice in this open letter to the Port District.

July 20 - UrbDeZine

#TransitTrends Asks: 'Where Did City Planning Go Wrong?'

The transportation planning app moovel (formerly known as Ridescout) has created a YouTube series called Transit Trends that brings "explainer posts" to a new format.

July 20 - moovel

Cleanest Diesel Locomotives to Join Southern California Commuter Rail Fleet

Forty so-called Tier 4 locomotives, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designation requiring a dramatic reduction in particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions, will be joining Metrolink's fleet covering 512 track miles in six counties.

July 20 - Los Angeles Times

Tudor City

BLOG POST

Visualizing Hyperdensity

The most dense neighborhood in Manhattan is surprisingly low-key.

July 20 - Michael Lewyn

New Subway Cars

Ambitious Design Overhaul Proposed for New York Subway Stations and Cars

Some of the New York Subway's stations and cars could be getting a drastically updated look—as soon as 2020.

July 20 - CityLab


Centennial Olympic Park

20 Years Later: the Redevelopment Legacy of the Atlanta Olympics

It's been 20 years since the city of Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics. The city's National Public Radio station is exploring the legacy of the games.

July 20 - WABE

Vancouver Protected Bike Lane

Study: More Bike Infrastructure Leads to More Bike Riders

File under "build it and they will come."

July 19 - Fast Co.Exist


Seattle

Reports See Continued Job Growth, Demand for Tech Office Space

A recent spate of reports has examined the up-and-down U.S. economy and predicted the need for more office space to fuel the growing workforce.

July 19 - National Real Estate Investor

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg Struggling to Keep its Sewage out of its Bays

A writer for the Tampa Bay Times critiques the city of St. Petersburg's response to repeat storm events that have sent millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into its public waters.

July 19 - Tampa Bay Times

Railroad Crossing

Faster Chicago to St. Louis Trains Likely to Increase Car Traffic

Next year, trains traveling at up to 110 mph will speed through grade crossings faster than the current trains traveling at up to 79 m.p.h, and motorists need to prepare for crossing gates that will stay down up to three times longer.

July 19 - The State Journal-Register

Griffith Park

Key Facts from L.A. County's Park Needs Assessment Study

L.A. County's Parks and Rec Dept. has just completed a major study of the county's park needs. Departmental Facilities Planner Clement Lau explains the study and below are a few things that came to light.

July 19 - UrbDeZine

Bay Bridge Toll

Op-Ed: Highway Tolling Can Have Multiple Benefits

The editorial board of the Toronto Star picks a side in the policy debate over highway tolling.

July 19 - The Toronto Star

Community Engagement Book

BLOG POST

The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up

Dave Biggs interviews author James Hoggan about his new book, "I'm Right and You're An Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up."

July 19 - Dave Biggs

Which Came First: the Road Diet or the Reinvestment?

According to a recent article in Urban Milwaukee, plans for a road diet have preceded a wave of reinvestment in the Walker's Point neighborhood.

July 19 - Urban Milwaukee

Dallas City Hall

What Mayors Talk About When Everyone Is Listening

An annual report analyzing the "State of the City" speeches of 100 mayors finds remarkable consistency in messaging.

July 19 - Next City

Disneyland, Main Street

Urban Taxidermy: When Authenticity and Artificiality Collide

A new breed of preservation has sprung up in Toronto, where existing structures are partially preserved to give new building's old facades. But is this attempt to preserve the existing streetscape actually succeeding?

July 19 - Treehugger

Intersection

FEATURE

Macabre Ethical Dilemmas: Just the Tip of the Iceberg for Robot Cars

The ethical quandaries that will confront self-driving cars as they navigate the world pose a lot of difficult questions. Antonio Loro charts a course for answering these tough questions.

July 18 - Antonio Loro

Ground Transportation

Taxis Taking a Back Seat to Uber and Lyft at Airports

The Bay Area provides a case study of the effect of transportation network companies on ground transportation to and from airports.

July 18 - The San Jose Mercury News

Telephone Pole

Broadband Inheriting the Discriminatory Patterns of Previous Infrastructure Systems

The challenges of bridging the digital divide are exacerbated by the racist legacies of previous infrastructure systems, according to a recent presentation to the New York Regional Plan Association.

July 18 - RPA Lab

Opening of Denver's B Line Bittersweet for Commuters From Northwest Suburbs

The 6.2 mile, two-station electrified commuter rail line is opening as expected next Monday, July 25, but future service to the northwestern counties of Broomfield and Boulder will be delayed due to an unexpected funding shortfall.

July 18 - The Denver Post

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.