The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Habitat for Humanity Building Revitalized Neighborhoods
Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity has already been hard at work renovating homes and improving communities, with an ambitious goal to renovate 100 more homes in the next three years.

Plenty of Parking to Be Found on the Biggest Shopping Day of the Year
Strong Towns completes another year of its critique of parking policies, brought to retail districts all over the country on the biggest shopping day of the year: Black Friday.
Federal Transportation Reauthorization Agreement Close at Hand
The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal is very near—maybe Monday—for a 6-year transportation reauthorization bill with funding for not three years, as both the House and Senate bills include, but five.

BLOG POST
Definitions (of Gentrification) Matter
Whether gentrification is common depends on how one defines it.
Community Choice Utilities Gaining Power in California
Talk about bringing power to the people: eight regional governments in California are in various stages of adopting "community choice" utilities to buy power from the grid in the hopes of cleaning up their energy portfolio.

Krugman Argues the Supply Side to Combat Urban Inequality
Paul Krugman, one of the most influential voices of liberal policy in the United States, has identified a culprit in the U.S. affordability crisis: over-regulation.
Two Regional Transit Planning Efforts Underway in Portland
With a light rail network now reaching 60 miles, the Portland region is ready to explore its next regional transit options.
A Quick Guide to the COP21 Climate Talks
World leaders are meeting in Paris this week for the United Nation's COP21 talks. But what exactly are the main topics of discussion?
President Obama Stakes His Legacy at the Paris Climate Conference
President Obama left for Paris on Sunday to partake in the climate talks known as COP21. Coral Davenport of The New York Times looks at the legacy implications for the president stemming from his commitment to fighting climate change.

BLOG POST
We Are Transport! We Have Solutions!
Smart policies can provide significant greenhouse gas emission reductions in ways that help achieve other planning objectives, including economic development, social equity, and public health. Who will implement these policies? We will!

Philadelphia Pushes Ahead with Changes to Zoning Code
Updates to Philadelphia’s zoning code are designed to "clean-up" the code, adopted in 2011.
Tel Aviv Expands its Smart City Leadership Role
This month, during the Smart City Congress, Hila Oren, CEO of Tel Aviv Global, announced an agreement with Tel Aviv to mentor, train, consult, and escort Indian city officials in their processes to become Smart Cities.
Report: China Clean Energy Investments Beat U.S., U.K, and France Combined
When climate change initially became a powerful political talking point, the dirty economies of developing countries might have made U.S. efforts seem inconsequential. Now the roles of reversed, and the U.S. has some catching up to do.
Pittsburgh Neighborhood Ready for Traffic Safety Solutions
A string of fatalities has residents and commuters alike ready to explore new options, such as a complete streets plan, to improve the safety of the neighborhood's streets.
Competing Visions for East Village—San Diego's SOMA
Downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood shares traits with San Francisco's SOMA, circa 1990s. However, there are competing visions for the area: academic and high tech vs. stadium and convention center expansion.

Urban Revitalization Through Highway Teardowns
Alana Semuels, staff writer for The Atlantic, examines highway teardowns beginning with the San Francisco Embarcadero in 1989 to see how they have worked in terms of revitalizing poorer areas or restoring the urban fabric that they destroyed.
Where Climate Change Means Diminished Snowpacks, Water Supplies
A new study by researchers at Columbia University estimates how predicted changes in the levels and locations of snowfall will affect water supplies.
Somerville, MA, an Urban Lab for Mobility
In Somerville, Massachusetts, Audi is working in partnership with the city and the Federal Realty Investment Trust, a developer, to build the infrastructure to test two new technologies, Car-to-X technologies and automated parking.
Deputy Mayor of London: Diesel Not the Right Thing for Cities
Matthew Pencharz, Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy for the Greater London Authority, does not see diesel as the right technology for driving in the city. Also blames the European Commission for for being too lenient with emission standards
Possible Competition for Bay Area Bike Share
With Bay Area Bike Share serving nearby Redwood City in San Mateo County, it might seem odd that the city of San Mateo would look elsewhere for starting a bike share program. However, the city of almost 103,000 did not want a "hub-based" model.
Pagination
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
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.