The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

San Francisco MUNI

Latest 'Muni Forward' Changes Mean Route Changes, Frequency Improvements

Muni will soon launch the fourth phase of improvement to San Francisco's transit system.

April 18 - San Francisco Examiner

Expo Line LA Skyline

Los Angeles Looking for New Planners, New Community Plans

Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced his commitment to the planning process in Los Angeles by proposing a program that would hire new planners and launch new planning efforts at the community level.

April 18 - KPCC

Welcome to Kansas

Closer to a Truce in an Economic Development Border War

The border between Kansas and Missouri has long been the grounds for acts of "jobs piracy"—also known as offering larger and more lucrative tax and financial incentives to bring new business across state borders.

April 18 - Kansas City Business Journal

Seattle Mulls Selling Surplus Open Space

A 13-acre site considered excess by the city of Seattle could be sold to the highest bidder or become a park

April 18 - Crosscut

Highway Living

More Evidence That Living Near Highways Is Bad for Your Health

The findings of a new study based in Boston offer evidence of negative health outcomes connected to the collision of residential land use and transportation infrastructure.

April 18 - The Boston Globe


Texas Highway Opens Shoulders to Drivers—Congestion Disappears

An experiment in Irving on SH 161 is defying the rules of induced demand, but not by building new lanes.

April 18 - The Dallas Morning News

Pierce Transit in Washington on the Road to Recovery

The economic recovery is strongly evidenced by a proposal to restore thousands of hours of transit service in Pierce County, Washington.

April 18 - The Urbanist


Denver Ordinances Would Restrict Short-Term Rentals

Two proposed ordinances under consideration get to the heart of the matter in Denver by requiring that short-term rental services like Airbnb only operate in "primary residences."

April 18 - The Denver Post

golf course homes

BLOG POST

The Resource Cost of Where We Live

Environmental impact isn't just a measure of what people buy, where we live affects the environment more than what we own or choose to drive.

April 18 - Casey Brazeal

30-Story Mixed-Use Tower Planned for Downtown Austin—Without Parking

Thanks to the elimination of minimum parking requirements downtown, a vacant one-story building "could be transformed into a 30-story tower with 135 luxury apartments, office space, a restaurant and a bar," reports the Austin-American Statesman.

April 18 - Austin American-Statesman

A Watershed Moment for Ferries in the San Francisco Bay Area

With BART showing its age and struggling to meet growing demand, water-borne vehicles a potential panacea for transit in the San Francisco Bay Area?

April 17 - KQED

Methane Emissions Replace CO2 Emissions— Is This Progress?

For the first time, electricity generated from burning natural gas will surpass coal, largely due to fracking of shale. While that means that carbon dioxide emissions will continue to drop, it also means that methane emissions will increase.

April 17 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Anchorage Alaska

Anchorage Plans for the Future

Municipal officials and staff in Anchorage, Alaska, are hard at work drafting an updated land use plan that incorporates modern planning principles in the city's vision for development.

April 17 - Anchorage Press

Should San Diego Imitate Indianapolis by Building a Downtown Stadium?

In the debate over two ballot initiatives in San Diego that would facilitate a combined convention center and stadium project, proponents have pointed to Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium as a successful example. But is it?

April 17 - UrbDeZine

Looking for a Planning Job? Practice the Art of the Interview

Urban planning students at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill’s Department of City and Regional Planning recently participated in a valuable career–building workshop: the mock interview. Below are tips on how to organize a similar event.

April 17 - North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association

Transit May Not Reduce Congestion—But It's Still Important

Laura Bliss argues that rather than promise to reduce congestion, Los Angeles Metro should embrace its real beneficiaries: non-drivers.

April 16 - CityLab

Los Angeles' Plan to Keep 'Bootleg' Units Affordable

Los Angeles is moving toward creating a path to amnesty and affordability for habitable, but unpermitted residential units.

April 16 - Los Angeles Times

Colorado Releases New Resiliency Guide for Local Governments

Colorado Department of Local Affairs releases "Planning for Hazards: Land Use Solutions for Colorado," a guide and website to help Colorado agencies prepare for natural disasters and reduce risks through resilience and hazard mitigation.

April 16 - Colorado DOLA Press Release

California Environmental Law Continues to Frustrate Bike Planning (for Now)

Help is on the way. The law that requires the governor's planning office to devise an alternative method for measuring vehicle traffic for environmental compliance will also take up where an earlier law that exempted bike lanes from CEQA left off.

April 16 - Los Angeles Times

TOD: The 'T' Stands for 'Trail'

Planning for active transportation is the new trend in urban development, according to the Urban Land Institute—and it pays off.

April 16 - The Architects Newspaper

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.