The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Interior Department Wants to Hike National Park Entrance Fees
Two years after increasing entrance fees at national parks, The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to raise daily vehicle entrance fees at the nation's most popular parks to $70.

Study Finds Bus Rapid Transit More Comparable to Light Rail Than Previously Thought
A new study challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the superiority of light rail over bus rapid transit.

California Gas Tax Repeal Provokes Internecine Republican Conflict
Chances for a repeal of California's 12-cents gas tax increase have doubled in that two measures aim to qualify for the November 2018 ballot. The initiatives are opposed by the state's major business groups that usually side with Republican causes.
Public Transportation Provides a Vital Mobility Link in Rural and Small Towns
A new report describes the important roles that public transit plays in rural communities and small towns, current demographic and economic trends that are increasing these demands, and examples of successful rural transit development programs.

Ground-Level Grocery Stores Proliferate in Boston
Being able to get groceries without a car can be a big draw in walkable, mixed use neighborhoods. Many Boston grocers and developers are taking that to heart.

Op-Ed: Vancouver Needs a Land Value Tax
Labor leaders argue that curbing real estate speculation is Vancouver's best chance at lowering housing costs.

Study Compares Nearly 900 Inclusionary Housing Programs
The largest survey of inclusionary housing to date contrasts the efficacy of policies across the United States.

MacArthur Genius’s Mission: Enliven the Planning Process
Damon Rich wants constituents and professionals alike to get excited about the bureaucratic slog.

EPA Launches Long-Awaited Cleanup of Gowanus Canal
Gowanus Creek was channelized in the 1800s and has been accumulating sludge ever since.

The World Series of Housing Markets
Comparing the housing markets of Houston and Los Angeles—two of the nation's metropolitan area's most commonly associated with auto-centric sprawl—before their respective Major League Baseball teams square off in the 2017 World Series.

Future Floods May Test Tokyo's Defenses
Despite the presence of a formidable (and expensive) underground flood control system, Tokyo may confront floods and rainfall that will challenge the city's capacity to protect itself.

Small Oregon Town Welcomes Robotic Deliveries
The town of Philomath, Oregon has just approved the testing of robotic deliveries on public rights-of-way.

2018 Conferences in Planning and Design
An annual sampling of some of the best professional development conferences in the coming year for the planning and design professions, by L.A. County Planner Clement Lau.
Prototypes for Trump's Border Wall Now on View in California
The U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana received eight controversial additions over the weekend.

Report: Dallas Public Transit Fails Equity and Access
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have produced a scathing report on the inadequacies of public transit in Dallas.

Minnesota Town Halts All Multi-Family Construction for One Year
Anoka, Minnesota decided it has enough rental housing.

New York's 'Bus Forward' Plan to Add 21 Select Service Bus Routes
Critics of the Bus Forward plan say the it does not reflect the urgency of the need for better buses in New York City.

Dearth of Data Masks Scale of Distracted Driving Fatalities
Bloomberg links the uptick in traffic fatalities throughout the United States to rising smartphone use while driving.

Analysis Debunks Equity Criticism of Congestion Pricing
Oregon's recently approved gas tax legislation also calls for tolling of I-205 and I-5 in the Portland metro area, with the application of value or congestion pricing so peak period tolls would be higher, which have raised equity concerns.

Wine Country Wildfires Put Spotlight on Transmission Lines
No cause has yet been attributed to California's deadliest wildfires, but the connections to fallen power lines and exploding transformers, maintained by PG&E, have been exposed in a series of reports by the Bay Area News Group.
Pagination
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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