The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Beijing Plan Model

The 3,000-Year-Old Document That Planned Beijing

The Guardian Cities details how the Kaogong Ji brought an ancient order to the sprawling city of Beijing.

March 25 - The Guardian Cities

New Jersey Considering Fines for Distracted Pedestrians

Having launched a pedestrian safety campaign focused on education, legislators may go a step further to tackle another 'E'—enforcement. But rather than drivers, pedestrians looking down at their smart phones will be the targets.

March 25 - NJ.com

Critic Sees 'Dallas Logic' in Latest Trinity River Plans

Mark Lamster has eviscerated the city of Dallas for its plans to build the Trinity Toll Road before—and he'll probably do it again.

March 25 - The Dallas Morning News

Friday Funny: Nation in Rapture Over Construction Project

Reading The Onion's latest satire of the built environment is a bit like the experience it describes: watching as a crane moves a large object on a construction site, otherwise known as being easily distracted by harmless fun.

March 25 - The Onion

Detroit Streetcar: Dan Gilbert Dubs Thee 'QLINE'

After purchasing the naming rights of the streetcar line formerly known as M-1 for $5 million, Dan Gilbert made a big reveal Thursday in Detroit.

March 25 - Detroit Free Press


How Not To Measure Traffic Congestion, Redux Again

TomTom's annual traffic congestion rankings predictably generated horrified, self-pitying headlines about awful congestion in top-ranked cities. But there are big problems with their methodology.

March 25 - City Observatory

Chicago Mayor Emanuel Announces Park Plans to a Skeptical Audience

In a much-hyped address earlier this week. Mayor Rahm Emanuel chose the title "Building on Burnham" to describe his survey of the Chicago's ongoing and future plans to develop parks and open space.

March 25 - Chicago Tribune


State Legislation Would Dramatically Reform Tolling in New York City

It remains to be seen if the ambitious changes in toll pricing around New York City proposed by AO9633 has the support it needs for approval, but at least the tolling agenda proposed by Move NY is now up for consideration by the State Legislature.

March 25 - StreetsBlog NYC

Population Growth Trends Return to Pre-Recession Norms

It's almost like the Great Recession and the Great Urban Renaissance never happened, as Americans are moving to the suburbs and the Sunbelt than to the nation's urban areas.

March 25 - Jed Kolko

Atlanta BeltLine

On Atlanta's BeltLine and 21st-Century Infrastructure

In an interview, Atlanta BeltLine visionary Ryan Gravel discusses the ongoing project and how it fits an emerging, multidisciplinary understanding of what good infrastructure can be.

March 24 - Streetsblog USA

Vehicle Assembly Building Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral in Flux

Caught between the end of the space shuttle and the potential rise of private sector spaceflight, Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center present a unique land use challenge.

March 24 - CityLab

Detroit Street Art

Backers Still Optimistic on Detroit Placemaking

After three years, an ambitious placemaking plan for downtown Detroit has delivered results, but not as quickly as its architects hoped.

March 24 - Crain's Detroit Business

Four-Lane Freeway

Reports of 'Mega-Commutes' Greatly Exaggerated

No one is denying that many Americans endure long, arduous commutes. But the data does not verify reports that "mega-commutes" are on the rise.

March 24 - City Observatory

U.S. DOT Announces First Year of Grant Funding for State VMT Fee Pilot Programs

$15 million in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program is now available for states to implement pilot projects based on a "user-based alternative revenue mechanism," aka vehicle-miles-traveled fee.

March 24 - Planetizen

Four Cities to Explore the Frontiers of Infrastructure Finance

City Accelerator selected four cities to test new options for financing the infrastructure investments of the 21st century and beyond.

March 24 - Governing

Chicago Spire

Chicago's Never Built Skyscraper—Now a Hole in the Ground and a Pile of Dirt

The high-water marks showing where the last boom broke under the pressure of the Great Recession are still visible in cities all over the country. The Chicago Tribune recently checked on a particularly poignant example in Chicago.

March 24 - Chicago Tribune

Albuquerque Approves 10-Mile Bus Rapid Transit Project

Now that the Albuquerque City Council has approved a plan to create bus-only lanes on Central Avenue, the city will seek federal funding for the project.

March 24 - Albuquerque Journal

Visualizing Parking in the City of Brotherly Love: Parkadelphia

An intrepid city employee created Philadelphia's first mapping tool for visualizing the layers of regulation and management that govern when, when, and how people park in Philadelphia.

March 24 - Plan Philly

New York City Council Approves Sweeping Zoning Changes

Politico New York reports all the important details on a big day for planning in New York City—as the City Council overwhelmingly approved two controversial zoning changes to help spur the construction of affordable housing.

March 24 - Politico New York

Robert Moses Parkway

What's In a Name? Not Robert Moses

Local officials in the area of Niagara Falls in New York say the name Robert Moses is a detriment to the local tourism industry—so they're removing his name from a local parkway.

March 23 - Politico New York

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.