The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Eichler

The Silicon Valley Adds Another Single-Story Overlay District

The footprint of the so-called single-story overlay districts is growing in the Silicon Valley.

August 23 - San Jose Mercury News

The Village

Looking to Add More Trees? Mind the 'Sidewalk Gray Zone'

A case study provided by the MillionTreesNYC program offers insight into complicated territorial boundaries that can challenge urban greening projects.

August 23 - DeepRoot

Seattle

Critiquing the Implementation of Seattle's Pedestrian Master Plan

A status update of the Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan leaves a writer wondering if the backlog of pedestrian infrastructure maintenance will grow while only a few planned projects get built.

August 23 - The Urbanist

AirTrain

JFK AirTrain Surprise: Reduced Frequencies

Some inquisitive and interested observers noticed surprising changes to the schedule of the AirTrain, connecting Queens to JFK International Airport.

August 23 - Second Ave. Sagas

The Bronx

Poor Urban Planning and the Birth of Hip Hop

An architect known as the Hip-Hop Architect explains how the planning decisions of the 20th century served as muse and breeding ground for the multi-million-dollar industry of hip hop.

August 23 - Fader


Drinking Water

BLOG POST

Crowdsourcing Clean Drinking Water, Interview with Sean Montgomery

An Interview with Sean Montgomery, the inventor of CitizenSpring, an app that collects and maps data about safe drinking water.

August 22 - Casey Brazeal

Southwest LRT

Minnesota's Southwest Light Rail on its Last Legs

Republicans in Minnesota are ready to put the final nail in the coffin of the proposed Southwest light rail project, which would connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie.

August 22 - MinnPost


Sacramento

For Sale: Naming Rights to Sacramento-Area Light Rail Stations

Is anybody buying?

August 22 - The Sacramento Bee

LA Oldest Palm Tree

Study Examines the Effect of 'Holdouts' on the Development Patterns of Los Angeles

After building an argument that land assembly is key to reinventing cities for a new era, a new study identifies the impact of the landowners standing in the way of that progress.

August 22 - American Economic Association

Vancouver Waterfront

Vancouver Start-Up Wants You to Bid On Your Rent

The founders of Vancouver-based Biddwell are hoping to change the way landlords and potential tenants find each other, but a renters' advocacy body sees the new company as bad news for tenants in an increasingly tight housing market.

August 22 - The Globe and Mail

Preserving Las Vegas' Midcentury Residential Neighborhoods

In a region infamous for blowing everything up and starting over again, a growing constituency is interested in preserving the residential neighborhoods of yesteryear.

August 22 - Las Vegas Sun

Toledo

'Rust Belt Chic' Not Enough to Attract Millennials in Some Cities

The city of Toledo, Ohio provides a case study in how the best intentions of attracting degree-holding Millennials can come up short.

August 22 - Toledo Blade

New York Trash

Change Coming to the Way New York City Collects its Trash

The de Blasio Administration has recommended that the city of New York is ready to collect its trash in a new way, with a system known as franchising.

August 22 - Politico New York

Vintage Taxi

Massachusetts to Raise Money for Taxis from Levy on Uber and Lyft

A new levy on transportation networking companies in Massachusetts will raise funds to help level the playing field for taxi businesses.

August 22 - Business Insider

Suburban Woes Follow After Companies Depart for Cities

It's not bad enough that the Northeast is losing population to the South and West. As companies decamp from the suburbs, pristine communities, many where apartments are outlawed, are seeing a steady decline in housing values.

August 22 - The Atlantic

Missouri Pacific Trail

Omaha Stripped Away Pavement from Residential Streets, Controversy Ensues

Decades ago, developers installed sub-standard asphalt on residential streets in Omaha, with the understanding that residents, not the city, would maintain them.

August 21 - The Associated Press via The Denver Post

Helping the homeless

Homelessness Is Falling Despite Worsening Conditions. Why?

In 2015, compared to 2009, the nation had more people and lower incomes, but higher rents. All things being equal, the number of people who are homeless should have gone up. But it did not. It went down. What changed, and what's next?

August 21 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Wind Turbine

The Wind Industry Is Going Gangbusters

A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy shows a wind industry making large, positive strides in the country's energy market.

August 21 - Vox

Tesla

How Tesla Is Killing California's Electric Car Market

Sometimes market-based systems don't work as intended. This appears to be the case with the California Air Resources Board's program of awarding credits to zero emission and near zero emission vehicles. Tesla's success is bad for the market.

August 21 - San Francisco Chronicle

Communities of Faith Backing Indianapolis Transit Funding Referendum

Transit investments in Marion County, Indiana, could be funded through a proposed increase of income taxes. The proposed funding referendum has the backing, and the phone-banking, of a coalition of local church congregations.

August 21 - Indystar

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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.