The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Houston Metro Bus

Houston's First Bus Rapid Transit Line Sees Low Ridership

Hindered by the pandemic and other factors, ridership numbers have been disappointingly low on the city's first BRT, but Metro officials are undeterred in their plans for future BRT lines.

March 10 - Houston Chronicle

The San Francisco Bay Area is visible from San Carlos, across the bay to the East Bay. Mount Diablo looms in the background.

Formerly Redlined Neighborhoods Continue to Suffer Disparate Air Pollution

How did ZIP codes become such powerful determinants of public health? New new evidence of the disparate air pollution of redlined neighborhoods partly answers that question.

March 9 - Environmental Science and Technology Letters

A picture of two street signs with the Hollywood Burbank and hills int he background.

Airport's Lawsuit Could Stop California High Speed Rail in its Tracks

The Hollywood Burbank Airport has done what no one in the Los Angeles area had dared to do: sue the California High Speed Rail project.

March 9 - Los Angeles Times

The Prescott Passive House in Kansas City, Kansas

Passive Building Incentives Spur New Housing in Massachusetts

Two grant programs aimed at supporting highly efficient, affordable housing developments are yielding promising results.

March 9 - Energy News Network

Bus Stop

Nominate the Best Bus Stops in the United States

Rather than doing another round of the 'sorriest' bus stops in the country, Streetsblog USA is shifting its focus to the positive, and asking readers to send nominations for America's Best Bus Stop.

March 9 - Streetsblog USA


Driving

Road Usage Charges Face Staunch Opposition

The resistance to a proposed mileage-based tax in San Diego County highlights the challenges of passing road usage fees.

March 9 - Time Magazine

Refugees

BLOG POST

Planning For Ukrainian Refugees

Millions of Ukrainian refugees are flowing into European cities. This begs the question: how can cities like Przemysl, Poland, and many others, successfully integrate displaced Ukrainians as active members of local politics, economies, and society?

March 9 - Robert Fischer


Crosswalk

NHTSA Could Expand Safety Requirements to Include Pedestrians

In a radical shift from prior policy that singled out passenger safety, new cars could be required to include more features that protect people outside the vehicle.

March 9 - The Verge

A conceptual rendering of a high-rise apartment building in an urban area.

FEATURE

Vital Communities: Housing Quality for Social Equality

Transit-rich, “inner ring” neighborhoods with multi-family, mid- and high-rise housing (going beyond the limits of missing middle housing) will be necessary to deliver access to high-quality, safe, and affordable housing.

March 9 - Dan Kaplan

Rocky Mountains

How Zoning Reform Could Ease Montana's Housing Crunch

A new report recommends increased production of 'missing middle housing' in Montana, which, like other Western states, is experiencing rapid growth and an increasingly tight housing market.

March 8 - Daily Inter Lake

Port of Oakland

EPA Moves To Tighten Regulations on Emissions

Many environmental groups argue the EPA's proposed plan, which is less stringent than California's regulations, doesn't go far enough to support electrification and reduce GHG emissions.

March 8 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles STreet

Los Angeles To Reduce Speed Limits on 177 Miles of Streets

The city approved speed limit reductions on close to 200 miles of city roads in an effort to reduce traffic deaths and move closer to Vision Zero.

March 8 - Streetsblog Los Angeles

Electric Cars

Electric Car Production Could Slow Amidst Supply Chain Issues

With the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine upending supply chains, the cost of raw materials needed to produce electric car batteries is soaring.

March 8 - Reuters

Los Angeles and Coronavirus

Proposed Ballot Measure Would Require L.A. To Enforce Own Mobility Plan

The city's 2015 mobility plan was hailed as one of the nation's most ambitious, but progress toward its goals has been less than impressive.

March 8 - USC Annenberg Radio News

Williamsburg Brooklyn

NYC Rents Rising at Twice the National Rate

New York renters are being squeezed out as landlords raise rents by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars.

March 8 - The New York Times

A long farmhouse is visible in winter agricultural fields, Snow-covered mountains loom above low clouds in the background of the photo.

FEATURE

Toward Better 'Rural Places and Planning'

The authors of the new book "Rural Places and Planning" expand beyond stereotypes of the rural to describe a more supportive approach to rural planning.

March 8 - Menelaos Gkartzios

Main Street

The Conservative Case for Urbanism

Although walkable urbanism is often seen as a leftist priority, one writer argues that reducing car dependence actually closely aligns with conservative values.

March 8 - The Spectator World

Winter Construction in the City

Corruption Case and a Call for Reform: Aldermanic Privilege Under Scrutiny in Chicago

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is once again pushing to eliminate aldermanic privilege after a federal racketeering case ensnarled local and state elected officials.

March 7 - Chicago Sun-Times

High-Rise Development

The Land Value Tax as a Solution for Housing Affordability

A Vox explainer digs into one of the esoteric ideas of planning theory: a land tax.

March 7 - Tax the Land

Riverside, California

More States Consider Tax Breaks for Low-Income Housing Developers

Legislators in five U.S. states this year will consider laws that create a state tax incentive program for low-income housing developers.

March 7 - Pew Stateline

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.