The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Freeway Construction

BLOG POST

Smart Planning for Economic Opportunity

The Center for Opportunity Urbanism has a wonderful goal—to improve economic opportunities for working class households—but uses terrible research to reach confusing recommendations about which policies are best. Please do better!

August 20 - Todd Litman

Environmental Justice

The EPA's Lackluster Environmental Justice Record

The Center for Public Integrity has released a report criticizing the EPA's environmental justice competence. In only 12 cases has the agency taken official action on behalf of communities affected disproportionately by polluters.

August 20 - Next City

Cities for People

Life and Form: An Interview with Jan Gehl

Danish Architect Jan Gehl talks about the intersections of architecture and social science.

August 20 - Metropolis

San Francisco Breaking Down Silos to Plan for Resilience

As San Francisco's Chief Resilience Officer, Patrick Otellini’s job is to beef up city defenses against crises—a broad mandate that has him tackling seismic safety and water security through capital planning, utilities, and housing affordability.

August 20 - The Planning Report

From the Ashes of a Freeway—a New Neighborhood Rising in Providence

A part of the city of Providence once lobotomized by the I-95 freeway is ready to be born anew as LINK, with three projects already in the works and 19 acres of developable land.

August 20 - The New York Times


HUD Decides to Evict 'Over-Income' Public Housing Tenants

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has shifted its response to an audit finding tens of thousands "over-income" residents living in subsidized housing.

August 20 - The Washington Post

Wichita State of the City Address

Mayors Are Taking an Interest in Infrastructure

Mayoral races and State of the City speeches highlight the growing political importance of local infrastructure initiatives.

August 20 - Next City


EPA Proposes Rule to Reduce Methane Emissions from New Oil and Gas Wells

On the heels of President Obama's Clean Power Plan rule that reduces carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, the new rule focuses on the other major greenhouse gas, methane, and rather than coal, it is focused on oil and gas drilling.

August 20 - The Atlantic

One Way

BLOG POST

America's Streets: Two Ways to Urban Regeneration

Dr. William (Billy) Riggs guest blogs about his new research in Journal of Planning Education & Research. Dr. Riggs is Assistant Professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo focusing on quantitative community analysis and urban planning policies.

August 20 - JPER

Kentucky Landfill No Longer Accepting New York's Trash

East Coast states will no longer be able to send their waste to a landfill in Kentucky—where regulators and residents clearly got more than they bargained for.

August 20 - The Courier-Journal

Texas Drought

BLOG POST

A State of Thirst

In the middle of a population boom, Texas is looking across state lines for more water. The U.S. Supreme Court said no the first time; does that mean it will say no again?

August 19 - Katharine Jose

Sound Transit's East Link Rail Line Needs $20 Million More for Engineering

Sound Transit had to deliver bad news last week about cost overruns in the design and engineering phase of the East Link rail project that will cross Lake Washington along the path of Interstate 90.

August 19 - The Seattle Times

Commute

Mapping the Country's 38 Million Epic Commutes

The Wonkblog team puts new American Community Survey data to good use.

August 19 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Baltimore's Big Idea: Schools as the Center of Neighborhood Transformation

The city of Baltimore is taking a new approach to an old idea: that schools should be the center of neighborhoods.

August 19 - The Baltimore Sun

The First Days of Houston's New High Frequency Bus Grid

Houston is making big transportation news this week with the launch of a newly replanned Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) bus system.

August 19 - Human Transit

Los Angeles Freeway

Next Steps for the City of Freeways

It is difficult to imagine a time when Los Angeles' freeways symbolized access, efficiency, and modernity. Now that the city's love affair with freeways is nearly spent, what future do we envision for them?

August 19 - Los Angeles Times

Traffic Deaths Soar—Is Cheap Gas a Culprit?

An August 17 press release from the National Safety Council indicates the United States is on track to exceed 40,000 road deaths this year, the highest since 2007. A January NPR report links the spike to decreased gas prices.

August 19 - CNNMoney

Stress Test: On the Connection Between Gentrification and Helicopter Parenting

A subject sure to hit close home to many readers: the relationship between the modern concerns of parenting and expense urban living. In other words: how gentrification leads to helicopter parenting.

August 19 - Next City

Visiting Urban Parks Makes People Healthier...but Wealthier?

Recent studies show that urban parks are healthy in surprising ways in addition to physical and emotional health, writes Jeff Caldwell of Litchfield Landscape Elements.

August 19 - UrbDeZine

Complex Traffic Signals Make for Dangerous Intersections

When it comes to intersections, adding more complexity can do more harm than good, according to a recent, detailed post on Greater Greater Washington.

August 19 - Greater Greater Washington

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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.