The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Latest 'Muni Forward' Changes Mean Route Changes, Frequency Improvements
Muni will soon launch the fourth phase of improvement to San Francisco's transit system.

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.

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.
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

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.
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.
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.
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."

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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.
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.
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?
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.

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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.