The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Urban Forestry in L.A. Explained
Los Angeles County has inventoried their trees and devised a strategy for fostering an urban canopy. Park planner Clement Lau explains.
Faced With Declining Population, Japanese Village Is Repopulated By Scarecrows
The population of Nagoro, Japan has declined in recent years from 300 to just 30 people. Local artist Tsukimi Ayano has populated the village with scarecrows to replace some of the familiar community figures who are now gone.

Inside Tesla's $5 Billion, 5.8-Million-Square-Foot Gigafactory
The scale of Tesla's vision for the Gigafactory, already under construction in Storey County, Nevada, is unparalleled.
Air Pollution from Natural Gas Industry in Pennsylvania on the Rise
With a 32 percent increase in natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, it is no surprise that emissions are increasing as well, particularly sulfur dioxide. However, the increase was dwarfed by decreases from the power sector.

Peak Car Revisited
U.S. vehicle travel increased 3.2% (8.6 billion vehicle miles) in total and 2.0% per capita between Junes 2015 and 2016. That is a new peak in total VMT, but a 2.75% reduction in per capita VMT. Will these growth rates continue into the future?
Ride Hailing to Replace Former Bus Route
A small public transit company serving the East Bay will be the first in California to conduct a pilot project to use transportation network companies and taxis to service low density areas of Dublin in Alameda County.

Jamaica Bay: Wilderness in the City
Created so people could "experience nature in the midst of crowds," New York's Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge embodies the characteristics of all modern national parks: abundant, welcoming, and threatened.

Planetizen Week in Review: August 26, 2016
It only takes two minutes and 55 seconds to catch up on the biggest news stories from the week in planning.

Affordable Housing and the 2016 Election
The cost of housing affects millions across the country, but the issue has been conspicuously absent in the campaigns. Hillary Clinton's plan includes an imprecise remedy, while Donald Trump's pronouncements have been vaguer still.

Rust Belt Revival: Pittsburgh's New Economy
When Uber announced this month that it would test-run its fleet of self-driving cars in the Steel City, many probably asked, "why Pittsburgh?" Unlike other post-industrial places, it's been incubating a 21st-century economy.

The Danger of Buying By the Sea
Zillow has released research on how many of the nation's homes may be underwater (literally) by the year 2100. Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Louisiana are at the highest risk.

Climate Change Requires a Different Paradigm for California's Water Supply
Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, explains how the impacts of California’s historic drought are already changing the landscape of the American Southwest.
Earned Income Should Not Replace Public Funding for Community Development
Our plan was to seek out community-based organizations trying to back away from developer fees, pursuing recent implications that smaller organizations should consider leaving development work to more efficient, larger ones. We found none.

Sacramento Rising: Mayor-Elect Darrell Steinberg's Vision for Sustainable Communities
Mayor-Elect Steinberg enters City Hall as a leader with a unique opportunity to enact sustainable infill policies he championed in the California Legislature.

A Developer's Plan to Build a Mormon Utopia in Vermont Hits Opposition
Plans drawn up for a new, futuristic 20,000-person community in Sharon, Vermont, based on town plans originally conceived by Church of Latter Day Saints founder Joseph Smith, have hit a roadblock with locals and the church itself.

Boston Sets a Citywide Default Speed Limit of 25 MPH
Finally by the state of Massachusetts to set its own speed limits, Boston moved quickly to reduce to reduce its default speed limit to 25 mph.

Friday Funny: Souvenir Photos of Your New York City Bus Ride
A satirical post by ClickHole imagines a world where bus trips are treated like a trip to Disneyland.
When Architects Design Video Games
Not long ago, Deanna Van Buren was offered the position of lead architect on an unusual project—a video game called "The Witness."

For Host Cities, Olympic Legacies Are Mixed
The two-week competition is often touted as a galvanizing force for urban development. But that's only cities include the Games' legacy in their planning process from the start.

Study: Economy and Population Growing Faster Than Humanity's Footprint
The study compares data between 1993 and 2009.
Pagination
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
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.