The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

California neighborhood

Community Benefit Agreements Help University Expansions Benefit Everyone

From USC to Columbia University, "town and gown" collaborations regarding university expansion have proven to benefit all parties, writes planning activist and affordable housing developer Murtaza Baxamusa.

August 28 - UrbDeZine

Highway Construction

'Rebuilding California': Controversy Over Signs Telling People Their Tax Dollars Are at Work

Caltrans says signs on transportation projects are nothing more than a useful way to show taxpayers that gas tax funds are being put to good use. But not everyone agrees.

August 28 - KPCC

Lake Powell

Arizona Revisits Plans for Withdrawing Water Reserves

Arizona has excelled at storing water in preparation for future droughts. The challenge now is how cities will access that water when they need it.

August 28 - Arizona Daily Star

Home Sold Sign

Family Money Boosts Chances of Homeownership for Californians

Buying a home in California is increasingly a matter of generational wealth.

August 28 - KPCC

Rural Studio’s 20K Homes and the Complexities of Affordable Housing

A research program at Auburn University in Alabama seeks to go national, but experience from the program’s evolution means a cautious move forward.

August 28 - Dwell


Eviction

An App to Fight the Eviction Crisis

In "America's Eviction Badlands," universities are developing web apps to help tenants stay in their homes.

August 28 - CityLab

St. Louis

Bridge Closure Will Reroute Traffic in St. Louis for a Year

The Martin Luther King's daily trip load has been greatly lessened by the opening of the Stan Musial Memorial Bridge in 2014, but all the drivers currently using the bridge will have to find another way to go.

August 28 - St. Louis Public Radio


Wildfire Season

Another Summer of Wildfires and Air Quality Emergencies

A third straight summer spent in a haze of smoke from nearby wildfires is taking a psychological toll on Seattle residents. A political response is also taking shape.

August 27 - CityLab

Twin Cities

Gov. Dayton Wants to Build 300,000 New Homes in Minnesota

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton recently issued a call to action to citizens, the private sector, and the public sector, to work together in ensuring the state has housing for everyone.

August 27 - Pioneer Press

San Francisco Bike Lane

Maybe 'Bike Lanes' Should Be Called 'Narrow Lanes' Instead

With the popularity of electric scooters, it seems like non-automobile travel is gaining a large new constituency. Making room for scooters raises big questions of infrastructure that might not be answered first by nomenclature.

August 27 - Human Transit

Flood Damaged Suburb

One Year After Harvey, Voters Approve $2.5 Billion Stormwater Infrastructure Bond

Eighty-five percent of voters supported the largest bond in Harris County history over the weekend.

August 27 - Houston Chronicle

Rental Construction

BLOG POST

How Filtering Increases Housing Affordability

Good research indicates that building middle-priced housing increases affordability through "filtering," as some lower-priced housing occupants move into more expensive units, and over time as the new houses depreciate and become cheaper.

August 27 - Todd Litman

irishtown bend

BLOG POST

Review: The Divided City

In the Rust Belt, neighborhood decline is much more significant than gentrification.

August 27 - Michael Lewyn

Multi-Family Housing

Annual Funding For Housing Vouchers Already Spent in Dallas

The Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) spent all the money it receives from the federal government for funding housing assistance programs in June. DHA officials says the funding situation was caused by increasing rents.

August 27 - The Dallas Morning News

Denver's Regional Transportation District Cuts Bus Service

Low ridership and driver shortages mean the Denver area's Regional Transportation District cut bus service.

August 27 - The Denver Post

Coal Ash Waste

Making Older Coal Power Plants More Efficient Without Making Them Cleaner

At the center of the EPA's newly proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule is doing away with a permitting process known as New Source Review that requires coal power plants to add scrubbers and other expensive pollution control equipment when upgraded.

August 27 - The New York Times

Toronto Subway

Celebrity Voices to Remind You to Keep Your Feet Off the Seats

From Judi Dench to Queen Latifah, CityLab writers match transit systems with the personalities they think would make the best announcements.

August 27 - CityLab

Balloons and Straws: Where's the Connection?

Think "The Graduate," but now the emphasis in the future of plastics may be on restrictions. California may become the first state to restrict access to plastic straws, and balloons could be next due to the harm they cause the marine environment.

August 26 - San Francisco Chronicle

London Crowded Street

The Many Benefits of Wandering Through Cities on Foot

Forget the countryside. Urban walking helps people understand their cities while at the same time encouraging urban landscapes where people actually want to walk.

August 26 - The Guardian

New Zealand Bars Foreigners from Buying Residences

Homes are getting more expensive in New Zealand, so they're making it illegal for foreigners to buy homes in the country.

August 26 - The Spaces

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.