The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Ontario May Strip Protections from Toronto Greenbelt
A proposed bill would open nearly 2 million acres of protected land to commercial and industrial development.

EPA Targets Co-Benefits in Rulemaking—Public Health to Suffer
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a critical change in the cost-benefit analysis used in the mercury rule that applies to coal-fired power plants. By eliminating the principle of co-benefits, public health impacts would be severe.

LA Times: Poor Planning Sealed Paradise's Fate
The planning history of Paradise, California is blamed for the destruction of the city in the Camp Fire. Can planners find new models for both limiting carbon emissions and preparing for the effects of climate change?

Legislation Would Loosen Zoning for TOD and ADUs, Require Housing Plans From Cities in Utah
State preemption, in the form major zoning reforms and mandates for local housing targets, are on the table in the Utah Legislature this year.

Breaking: Gov. Cuomo Cancels L Train Closure
Surprise, shocking news from New York City, as Governor Andrew Cuomo steps in at the 11th hour to change course on the highly anticipated (and dreaded) L Train closure scheduled to begin later this year.

Seattle Releases RFP for Lid I-5 Study
The plan to top I-5 in Seattle with a cap park—what writer Natalie Bicknell calls "the most ambitious effort in our region"—is moving ahead with a $1.5 million feasibility study.

Apple Is Going Suburban Rather Than Urban in Austin
Apple has plans to build a new campus and expand its Texas workforce. The decision to expand to an Austin suburb points to both regional and national trends and outcomes.

BLOG POST
Transportation 2019—Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Some thoughts on what we might have learned in 2018 and what it might mean going forward.

Showdown Over Proposed Service Improvements for D.C. Metro
The state of Virginia won't let Washington Metro increase services that surpass a three percent subsidy cap implemented this summer.

Transit Oriented Development Planning Funding Awarded to 20 Agencies
The Maryland Department of Transportation was the big winner in the Federal Transit Administration's Transit-Oriented Development Pilot Planning Program, with $2 million in grant funding.

Learning the Wrong Lessons From France's Yellow Vest Movement
The widespread Yellow Vests protests, which initially involved hundreds of thousands of protestors in November, are wrongly being interpreted as a movement against carbon taxes and climate action, rather than a revolt against social inequities.

The Data-Driven Plan to Cool Down Dallas
Dallas's resiliency plan analyzed the best ways to combat heat in every neighborhood.

The State of Florida Set a Zero Traffic Fatality Target
Florida set a goal in to eventually eliminate traffic fatalities on state roads and highways as part of its 2018 Highway Safety Plan. Neither a timeline nor the words vision zero were included.

Positive Train Control Deadline: Rail Systems Go 4 for 41
A decade after Congress set a deadline for rail systems to implement positive train control, only 4 rail systems were able to get the job done on time.

Level of Service Reform Takes Step Forward in Seattle
The city of Seattle is making more room for alternative transportation modes in its level of service calculations.

Mayor of San Jose Struck by Driver While Biking, Hospitalized
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, an "avid biker," spent Tuesday night in the hospital after the driver of an automobile struck him as he biked through the city.

Democrats Take Steps to Address Climate Change in 116th Congress
Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi has selected Rep. Nancy Castor (D-Fla.) to chair the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Two bills that could advance in the House: the Green New Deal and a carbon tax-and-dividend bill, H.R. 7173.

A New Pedestrian Plan for St. Paul
The city of St. Paul released a draft Pedestrian Plan in November, its first-ever addendum to the city's Comprehensive Plan to focus specifically on pedestrian safety.

Bikeshare Startup Ofo’s Future Is Looking Dim. What Went Wrong?
The Chinese company seemed to be dominating its corner of the shared mobility market—until its dramatic downfall.
Pagination
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.