The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Another Suburban Anchor Development Doomed by Fate in the Detroit Region
The Detroit Pistons recently played their last game in the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Ten Most Popular Millennial Moving Destinations
In addition to determining the most popular destinations for 18 to 35-year-olds, Mayflower (the moving company) found that 41 percent of this age group have no intention of staying at their selected cities permanently.

Driverless Van Tests Don't Pencil Out
While it might be easy to convince public officials to sell driverless technology as a flashy solution to mobility deficits—the math still doesn't justify the expense.
'NIMBY' Too Gentle a Word: How About 'New Urban Luddites'?
Richard Florida calls for the use of the term "New Urban Luddites" to describe the embedded interests that obstruct the growth of cities. The consequences of New Urban Luddite politics, according to Florida, are too severe for such an innocuous term.

Insurance Industry Reacting as Flooding Moves From Risk to Certainty
Federal legislation and rising sea levels are changing the way homes are insured against flooding. According to this feature article, in fact, flood insurance "is serving as a kind of advance scout into a more difficult future."
D.C. Zoning Code Change Will Further Limit Rear Additions
In a move that will restrict the building envelope of residential properties, the Washington, D.C. Zoning Commission approved limitations to the construction of rear additions.

Lawsuit Closes Popular Hiking Trail to the Hollywood Sign
Closing today: one of the most popular hiking trails in the Hollywood Hills, another case of the antipathy between public access and private property.

Clearwater, Florida to Expand Bus Use to the Beach
All but one Clearwater City Council member voted to move forward with a transit center on Clearwater Beach. The hope is for fewer drivers to clog the roads on the way to a beach day.

Next White House Struggle: Whether to Exit the Paris Climate Agreement
Ending Obama's so-called "war on coal" may go international with the exit from the December 2015 Paris Climate Agreement if EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has his way, but he may encounter formidable opposition from Trump's administration and family.

Dallas Employment Stagnant as Suburbs Boom
Between 1990 and 2016, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area added more jobs than New York City. The overwhelming majority of the new jobs are located in the suburbs.

Trump's Budget Still a Draft, But Officials Credit it for Demise of BRT Project in Michigan
Local officials have ended any hope of completing a bus rapid transit project in the Lansing, Michigan area, for fear of of the budget cuts for transportation investment projects promised by the Trump Administration.

Boston's Data-Driven Bus System Makeover
MIT's Transit Lab created a ridership model called Origin Destination Transfer (ODX) that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is using to make incremental changes to the region's bus system.

Opinion: Don't Forget the Benefits of Urban Freeways
After reading this recent opinion piece by Bill Fulton, some pro-transit and anti-highway advocates might be thinking, "Et tu, Bill Fulton?"

Want Commuter Benefits? Sometimes it Helps to Ask
A story about how a simple proposal, made by a resident, produced results in the New Jersey borough of Paramus.

Multi-Family Development in Portland Stalls at a Controversial Crossroads for the City
On the one hand, the city of Portland is facing pressure to add new housing and development to meet the needs of a growing population and an expensive real estate market. On the other hand, change is never easy.

Plan Bay Area 2040 Sets Ambitious Housing and Transportation Agenda
The last time the San Francisco Bay Area got together to set a regional agenda on housing and transportation, the Sierra Club and the Tea Party teamed up to oppose the Plan Bay Area. A draft of the new Plan Bay Area 2040 hopes to avoid the drama.

Incremental Development: The Craft Beer Model of Walkable Urban Places
An interview on the Congress for New Urbanism's Public Square examines the concept of incremental development—how it can benefit communities all over the country and how it improves on a century of large-scale development.

BART Extension Kerfluffle: East Bay Officials Pushing for New Rail Authority
If the city of Livermore and several state legislators gets their way, a proposed extension of BART to the city of Livermore would be planned and built by the Tri Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority.
New Facility Captures Atmospheric Carbon and Stores it Underground
On April 7, the illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage commenced operations, taking carbon that corn sequestered from the atmosphere and storing it safely almost a mile and a half underground in a sandstone formation.

The Nation's Energy Portfolio, Visualized
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) released its annual energy flowchart.
Pagination
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
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
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.