The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Everett, WA - houses

'Proptech' Companies Target Single-Family Rental Market

Startups aimed at streamlining the house-flipping process are seeking out rental property owners as the popularity of single-family rentals continues to grow.

March 21 - Bloomberg CityLab

Drought

NOAA Expects U.S. Drought To Continue and Spread

Low rainfall and unusually high temperatures are contributing to worsening drought conditions in more than half of the continental United States.

March 21 - The New York Times

Children Walking To School

School District Takes on Traffic Safety

A school district in North Carolina is leading an effort to improve road safety for students and school staff who walk or bike to school.

March 21 - ABC 11

SEPTA Station

Riders Getting Stuck in SEPTA Tunnels Due to Increased Security Measures

As ridership dropped during the pandemic, Philadelphia's transit agency started locking station doors to keep unhoused people from using the tunnels as shelter. Now, riders are becoming trapped inside.

March 21 - Billy Penn

A children's play area is busy with kids and their parents in Downtown Dallas.

FEATURE

Urban Highway Removal: 4 Considerations for Reknitting a City’s Fabric

Making the right decisions to create a positive urban legacy.

March 20 - Margaret Newman


Downtown Austin with Lady Bird Lake in the foreground. Multiple bridges are crossing the lake and small personal water-crafts dot the water.

'Micro-Apartments' Break Ground in East Austin

Averaging less than 400 square feet per unit, the Sixth and Chicon development is a new take on urban density.

March 20 - Austin Towers

Map of proposed project area

Detroit Plans Freeway Removal To Spur Economic Development

City and state officials hope the proposal to turn part of I-375 into a walkable boulevard will help bring back businesses and economic vitality to the area.

March 20 - WDET


Paris Street

Christopher Alexander, Influential Author of "A Pattern Language," Passes Away at 85

Christopher Alexander died on March 17, leaving behind a towering legacy of influence on the fields of architecture, planning, and urban design.

March 20 - CNU Public Square

Large pickup trucks are parked in neat rows extending into the fuzzy background of the image.

Bigger Vehicles, Blindspots Contributing to More Pedestrian Deaths

A new study links bigger vehicles to a sharp increase in pedestrian deaths over the last decade.

March 18 - Oregon Live

Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati To Electrify Municipal Fleet by 2035

The city of Cincinnati will beef up its efforts to shift to renewable energy starting next week with electric police cars, fire trucks, and other city vehicles.

March 18 - Cincinnati.com

Burj Khalifa

We Now Can Build Really Tall Skyscrapers. But Why?

The new book Super Tall, by architect and writer Stefan Al, explains how the new generation of skyscrapers are built and how they fit into their respective urban fabrics.

March 18 - CommonEdge Collaborative

Pedestrian Infrastructure

Census Data: Black Americans Leaving Cities for Suburbs

The trend of Black Americans leaving urban areas for suburban communities mirrors the White Flight of the mid-20th century but for vastly different reasons and with vastly different consequences.

March 18 - Associated Press via Los Angeles Times

Construction fo the California High-Speed Rail project is shown running parallel to Highway 99 in California's Central Valley.

California High-Speed Rail Status Check

The New York Times recently checked in with the California High-Speed Rail project and reported the current details, still in the process of a long evolution.

March 17 - The New York Times

A typical American shopping center, with a thrift store at one end and a parking lot full of cars.

One Maryland Thrift Store: 40 Pages of Zoning Documentation

A writer for Strong Towns offers a case study of "the byzantine development process" of many municipalities in the United States.

March 17 - Strong Towns

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge

Mapping Biodiversity Risk

A partnership of researchers has created the most detailed map yet of the places where biodiversity is most at risk in the United States.

March 17 - The New York Times

public transit streetcar at Milwaukee Public Market, Third Ward Station in Downtown Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Streetcar To Benefit from Extended TIGER Grant

With the extension from Congress, Milwaukee can continue work on its downtown streetcar.

March 17 - Urban Milwaukee

Riverside, California

Opinion: California's Article 34 Drives Segregation and Cripples Affordable Housing. It's Time To Repeal It.

A little-known provision in California's state constitution enables exclusionary policies under the guise of local control.

March 17 - Los Angeles Times

California Wildfire

Housing Affordability and Worsening Wildfires: Twin Crises

As wildfires grow more destructive, how far should states go to protect homes located in high-risk areas?

March 17 - The Atlantic

Chicago Suburb

Study: Foreclosure Main Factor in Chicago's 'Black Flight'

More than violent crime or employment rates, foreclosure has largely driven the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Black residents from the city.

March 17 - Governing

Virgin Trains USA

Tampa Bay Moves Forward With High-Speed Rail Plans

The Brightline will connect Orlando to Tampa and reach speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.

March 17 - St. Pete Catalyst

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