The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

San Francisco Rethinks the Costs of Parking
The debate over the impacts of parking isn't new, but San Francisco planners are hoping that their approach to parking will provide new mobility solutions in a growing city.

Op-Ed: Investing in Cities Could Cure 'Short-Termism'
Bruce Katz argues that federal investment in urban areas fosters a public/private ecosystem that can prioritize long-term thinking, minimizing the "short-termism" endemic to corporations and governments acting alone.

Against Opposition, Arkansas Highways Expand
Although many local activists and officials oppose the trend, Arkansas state planners are considering major highway expansions in the Little Rock area. The state's highway department has demonstrated a pro-car, pro-suburb agenda.

The Root Causes of the D.C. Metro Crisis
The 40-year-old system, second busiest in the nation after New York's, has seen ridership decline since 2010 as the region grows. A major cause is "frequency delays." The Washington Post reporters state that the subway has entered a death spiral.

Los Angeles Reaps the Benefits of Restoring the Santa Monica Bay
Los Angeles has made major progress in restoring the Santa Monica Bay. Now, The Bay Foundation's Tom Ford sees opportunities for L.A. to capitalize on its natural resources.

What's a Tree Worth?
The U.S. Forest Service has continued to refine the valuable i-Tree software program, which allows cities to calculate the benefits, in dollar figures, of the urban forest.
Seattle Introduces New Urban Park Prototype
Seattle's 12th Avenue park offers a prototype for future urban parks. It is compact, doesn't require buying a lot of costly land, and can accommodate neighborhood scale events and programs

Esoteric No More: Facadism Explained
Facadism is a critical concept for evaluating projects that rehabilitate, renovate, or redevelop historic structures—but it's often considered too esoteric for conversation. It's time we all got on the same page.

New Storefront Index Reveals Evidence of Jacobs's 'Sidewalk Ballet'
City Observatory illustrates a key contributor to a vibrant urban environment by mapping all of the businesses in the urban cores of the nation's 51 largest cities.

Visions of Revitalization Compete in Baltimore
A grassroots housing plan in Baltimore would keep control over neighborhood revitalization, and its benefits, in communities.

Bringing Pedestrian Life Back to Little Havana
Planners have set their sights on the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami with the goal of turning the area's car-centric Calle Ocho into a ped-friendly Main Street.

PBS Takes on Urban Planning, Good and Bad, with '10 Towns' Special
Beginning with the first U.S. planned urban development, St. Augustine, Fla., and ending with one of Portland's newest neighborhoods, the Pearl District, host Geoffrey Baer takes us through ten developments that left their mark, for better or worse.

D.C.'s New Streetcar Not As Slow As Rumored
Washington D.C.'s new streetcar line opened to a chorus of media naysayers who mocked the slow moving transit, but reality shows it's not quite as slow as some would have you believe.

Oregon Governor Kicks Off State Gas Tax Campaign in Eugene's Bus Rapid Transit
A transportation funding proposal including a gas tax will be prepared for the 2017 legislative session. The media event in the EmX bus highlighted the need to have continuous, dedicated lanes for the Eugene-Springfield bus rapid transit system.

Self-Driving Cars Have Their Own Lobby Now
A coalition of the automated, if you will, as Ford, Volvo, Google, Uber, and Lyft have formed the new Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets to lobby for the causes of the nascent self-driving car industry.

Resistance Rising Against Port Authority's Manhattan Bus Terminal Plans
Nicole Gelinas writes a column that deliberately establishes an urban vs. suburban conflict over the issue of a $10 billion proposal to build a new Port Authority bus terminal on Manhattan's West Side.
Facebook's Live Video Has Consequences for Local Governments
Localities face differing requirements from state to state when it comes to using social media. Are you ready for live video?

Feds Finally Kill $400 Million Tongue River Coal Railroad Proposal
The unraveling of the coal industry, as exemplified by the demise of Arch Coal, was on display again as federal regulators put the final nail in the coffin of a proposed coal railroad.

How Planning Fails to Make Women-Friendly Urban Places
Planning decisions overwhelmingly don't address women's needs, according to an article in The Huffington Post.

Report: Dog Parks 'Lead the Pack' in New Urban Parks
The Trust for Public Land's annual City Parks Facts report finds cities around the country are adding dog parks with the enthusiasm of a pack puppies.
Pagination
Yukon Government
Caltrans
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Norman, Oklahoma
City of Portland
City of Laramie
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