The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Swedish Bikes

Comparing How People in 12 Global Cities Ride Their Bikes

The workout-tracking app Strava provided generous access to its data to allow a compare and contrast exercise in how people ride bikes in 12 of the most famous cities in the world.

October 9 - Vox

The Law in New York: Close the Door When Running Air Conditioners

It's now illegal for businesses to use air conditioners on the sidewalks of New York City. Some see government overreach—some see common sense energy efficiency measures.

October 9 - The Washington Post

Myriad Botanical Gardens

Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City Awarded ULI's Urban Open Space Award

Oklahoma City has earned a big recognition. Myriad Botanical Gardens executive director Maureen Heffernan says know her team knows what it feels like to win a World Series.

October 9 - KOCO

Point No Point

Friday Funny: The Instagram Account of Saddest Place Names Is Actually Kind of Sad

Did you know there's a place called Point No Point, in Hansville, Washington? It's quite pretty, actually, but is that reason enough to go there?

October 9 - Quartz

South Park City

Friday Funny: South Park Gentrification Spoof Could Be Anytown, USA

The most shocking thing about the recent episode of South Park, "The City Part of Town," was that it took Cartman and company so long to poke fun at the effects of gentrification.

October 9 - Fusion


London Skyline

How to Reimagine the Skyscraper (and Why)

An essay identifies imperatives for a new theory of tall, dense construction, and begins to sketch out a theory that will reconcile the skyscraper with contemporary business ideals.

October 8 - Medium

Metro Expansion Map

D.C. Metro's Mea Culpa: Bad Service Responsible for Declining Ridership

While cities like New York and San Francisco's transit systems are bursting at the seams, D.C. Metro's rail system lost 5 percent of its ridership between 2010 and 2015. This week Metro acknowledged some of its fault in that trend.

October 8 - The Washington Post


Glut of New Supply Shaking Up the Apartment Market

An industry report finds rising vacancies rates and lots of new supply coming down the pipeline. Could the nation's renters finally be in the market for some relief on the cost of housing?

October 8 - The Wall Street Journal

Fayetteville Ends Minimum Parking Requirements for Commercial Uses

Fayetteville, Arkansas, home to the University of Arkansas and neighbor to Bentonville, home of Walmart, has taken a national leadership role in parking policy by ending minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses.

October 8 - Fayetteville Flyer

Ambitious Subway Agenda Endorsed by Transportation Secretary Foxx

When San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener proclaimed last month that his city "should always have a subway under construction," there were many doubters due to the funds required and unlikelihood of federal support. "Aggressive" is good, says Foxx.

October 8 - San Francisco Examiner

High Line with Denari

On the Perpetual Crisis of American Cities

A long and ranging article in the New Yorker surveys non-fiction, art, and other manifestations of intellectualism for insight into the plight of the city—to always be cast in some manner of morality tale.

October 8 - The New Yorker

From Taxi Industry Disrupter to Auto Industry Disrupter

Car ownership is far from "a thing of the past," as Uber's CEO plans on making it, but a new survey shows that a substantial number of people who have tried transportation network companies are forgoing the purchase of a car.

October 8 - Los Angeles Times - Technology Now

City Action on Climate Change

Can cities be at the forefront of tackling climate change? According to forthcoming research by Arup and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, cities play a crucial role in addressing this pressing issue.

October 8 - Doggerel

Suburbia

Pushing Back Against the Idea that Cities Can Become Full

The perception that a city has reached its maximum population and nobody else should be allowed in, or nothing should be allowed to change, is limiting the potential of our cities and increasing housing inequality.

October 8 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Elephant Butte Reservoir

BLOG POST

The Water Wars Are Here, Sort of

Ambiguity in a mid-century water compact has Texas and New Mexico before the Supreme Court.

October 8 - Katharine Jose

A Flood Zone Real Estate Boom in Post-Sandy New York

Has New York done enough to continue to build new high-end buildings in flood zones around the city?

October 7 - New York Magazine

When Too Many Farmers' Markets Are Too Much of a Good Thing

Few locations are such a natural fit for farmers' markets as Orange County—but the number of certified farmers' markets in the county are shrinking and others are struggling.

October 7 - Los Angeles Times

The 'Energy Atlas' of Los Angeles County Lets Planners and Citizens Track Energy Use

"Not knowing which kinds of buildings consume what is like not being able to gauge differences between a diesel truck and a hybrid car."

October 7 - CityLab

The Salt Lake City Recipe: Remove Parking, Add Bike Lanes, Watch Sales Increase

A new study of the benefits of a bike lane project in Salt Lake City adds to the body of work suggesting that complete streets overhauls are a good investment for both the public and the private sectors.

October 7 - People for Bikes

Seattle Bikeshare Going Public

The city of Seattle is considering a significant public investment in its bikeshare system, treading where some cities have feared to tread.

October 7 - The Urbanist

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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.