The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Movement on the Walk Score Leaderboard

The newest rankings of the most walkable cities in the United States, courtesy of Walk Score, contains a few surprises along with its standard annual recognition of New York City.

April 9 - CityLab

Management, Not Technology, Will Solve California's Drought

It should come as no surprise that Eduardo Porter, who writes the Economic Scene column for The New York Times, is not enamoured by technological silver bullets like desalination as ways for California to survive it's four-year plus drought.

April 9 - The New York Times - Economy

Study Finds Economic Value in Urban-Dwelling Birds

Researchers at the University of Washington and Humboldt State University have produced evidence value added by birds in urban settings.

April 9 - UW Today

Complete Street Vancouver

Florida Backs Miami Complete Streets Initiative

The Florida DOT has approved Miami's plan to rework busy Biscayne Boulevard. In the spirit of Complete Streets, vehicle lanes will be reduced and pedestrian/bike spaces expanded.

April 9 - Miami Today

Los Angeles Releases Ambitious 'Sustainable City Plan'

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has ambitious plans to modernize the city. This week his administration laid out a sweeping sustainability agenda on matters of critical importance to the future of the nation's second largest city.

April 9 - Los Angeles Daily News


TOD Sign

Quality Public Transit Benefits Land Use Outcomes

New research quantifies public transit impacts on urban development patterns, and resulting benefits. Current transit services reduces U.S. urban land consumption by 27 percent, which reduces VMT, fuel consumption and pollution emissions 8 percent.

April 9 - Quantifying Transit’s Impact on GHG Emissions and Energy Use—The Land Use Component

Visioning Edges in Cities, and the Spaces Beyond

In an inspirational essay about the undeveloped boundaries of the public domain (such as street-ends), Chuck Wolfe urges innovation in city spaces where we "blend the familiar with the edge of the unknown."

April 9 - The Huffington Post


Streetsblog 'Golden Crater' Goes to Camden, New Jersey for Waterfront Parking Abyss

Angie Schmitt announces the results of the 2015 "Parking Madness" tournament, which pits the country's worst examples of parking.

April 8 - Streetsblog USA

Preservation and Revitalization in Latin America

Urban city centers have been decaying for years in Latin America, however, with renewed interest by Latin American governments, these city cores are once again being revitalized. Arup Connect spoke with urban design leader Pablo Lazo to learn how.

April 8 - Arup Connect

Controversial Propane Export Terminal Moves Forward in Portland

The city of Portland is considering a propane export terminal project for the Port of Portland. The export terminal is just one of many energy export facilities under consideration in the Pacific Northwest.

April 8 - KUOW

Should We Expect Transportation Network Companies to Make Airport Trips?

Only a few cities allow transportation network companies (TNCs) to pick up and drop off passengers at airports. According to one line of thinking, that service separates "first-tier" cities from the rest.

April 8 - The Indianapolis Star

Fall Sprawl

Study: Transit, Density Can't Overcome Sprawl on Carbon Emissions

A new study explains how building new transit and density along transit corridors isn't enough alone to reduce carbon emissions in metropolitan areas.

April 8 - Climate Central

Minneapolis Green Line University of Minnesota

Minneapolis' New Urbanism Success Story

A case study in how New Urbanist principles helped transform the neighborhood around the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

April 8 - Streets.MN

Louisville Two Way Streets

FEATURE

'Two-Ways' to Fix Our Neighborhoods

Expanding on earlier research about the impacts of one-way streets on outcomes such as public health and property values, a new study examines a citywide case study in Louisville.

April 8 - John Gilderbloom and William Riggs

Transit Ridership

U.S. Subway Car Design Behind the Curve

Yonah Freemark examines U.S. subway systems and notes the lack of "open gangways" (i.e., the space between the cars). Only in the U.S. do doors separate cars. What gives?

April 8 - the transport politic

Apartment renter

Where 20-Somethings Can Expect the Highest Rents

HotPads, an apartment listing site, has produced a new study finding the cities with the highest rent burden for residents in their 20s. Ana Swanson reports on the study and provides insight into its findings.

April 8 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Recession Success Story: Walkable Commercial Areas

New data show the resilience of walkable commercial areas through the recent recession. Parking minimums, however, prevent new projects from taking advantage of the strengths of such development patterns.

April 8 - Vox

'Most Endangered River' in the United States: the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

American Rivers' list of the "Most Endangered" U.S. rivers provides an annual reminder of the abuse waterways bear in the name of the country's economy and culture.

April 7 - American Rivers

One Town's Crackdown on Sidewalk Bikers

As Columbia, Missouri prepares to crackdown on bikers riding on sidewalks in the city's business district, not much attention is given to their safety on the street.

April 7 - Columbia Daily Tribune

How to Get Los Angeles' Jewish Communities on the Bus

Jewish communities in Los Angeles, though well served by public transit, tend to shy away from buses and trains. It's a familiar trend that's due for a change.

April 7 - Jewish Journal

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.