The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Business, Government, and Infrastructure in Brazil

With one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Brazil is at the cusp of major change. Arup's Gustavo Ferreria discusses the role that public-private partnerships are playing in modernizing and expanding the country's infrastructure systems.

March 11 - Arup Connect

New York City Parking

New York City Proposes Parking Requirement Overhaul

The New York Department of City Planning is working on an overhaul of its parking requirements with the potential to impact hundreds of developments.

March 10 - Capital New York

Crude-by-Rail's New Workhorse No Better than the Old Workhorse

The new oil tank cars were supposed to be key to preventing the fiery explosions associated with oil-train derailments. However, four recent explosions since Feb. 14, with two occurring last Thursday and Saturday, all involved the new tankers.

March 10 - The Wall Street Journal

Las Vegas Water Grab a 'Poster Child' for Urban vs. Rural Resource Conflict

In what has been described as a "poster child" for future water showdowns in the west, local interests in Las Vegas are attempting a water grab from ranch land 275 miles north of the city.

March 10 - Bloomberg News

Three Challenges for Multi-Modal Trip Planning Apps

A recent post on Mobility Lab explains some of the challenges developers encounter when creating the multi-modal trip planner apps of our dreams.

March 10 - Mobility Lab


Two New Transit Hubs Planned for Cincinnati Neighborhoods

Randy Simes reports on the latest fruits of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority's (SORTA) approach to transit planning in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

March 10 - Cincinnati Business Courier

San Francisco Resets the Bar with New Online Approvals Database

The online documentation of the San Francisco Planning Department's approval process received a huge upgrade.

March 10 - Curbed SF


Los Angeles' Plan to Minimize Displacement During Urban Revitalization

Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund an "Innovation Delivery Team" in Los Angeles to approach the challenge of revitalizing urban neighborhoods while also creating improvements for existing populations.

March 10 - The Planning Report

Project Housing

How a Philadelphia Mayoral Candidate Influenced U.S. Public Housing

Former HUD counsel and current Philadelphia mayoral contender Nelson Diaz laid the groundwork for "entrepreneurial" approaches to public housing. Whether the resulting projects were effective is up for debate.

March 10 - PlanPhilly

Suburban Office Building

A Deep Dive into Suburban Retrofits

An interview with Ellen Dunham-Jones, co-author of "Retrofitting Suburbia," and Hazel Borys.

March 10 - PlaceShakers

A stream of mobile apps

Why Coding Can Teach Planners How to Be More Creative

I want to learn HTML and CSS, or maybe get a refresher on the current state of web technology—where should I start?

March 10 - Civicly

A History of 'Urban Dashboards' and their Impact on City Governance

Welcome to the age of "Dashboard Governance"—when a good user interface offers the potential for performance advantages to city management.

March 9 - Places Journal

Oregon Bill Would Require Reflective Clothing for Bikers

State lawmakers in Oregon are the latest to consider a law that would require bikers riding at night to wear reflective clothing.

March 9 - Bike Portland

Teotihuacan

BLOG POST

How Ancient and Modern Cities Compare (and Why Planners Should Care)

A new scholarly paper argues that ancient and modern cities can be usefully analyzed in a comparative perspective. But what you do with the comps depends on how much you value similarities versus differences in urban form.

March 9 - Dean Saitta

Chicago to Scale Back Red Light Camera Program

The nation's largest automated red light enforcement program will get a trim. How much is mayoral election politics responsible for the change?

March 9 - Chicago Tribune

Banned Words at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection: 'Climate Change'

Top officials at the Florida state agency tasked with studying and planning for the impacts of climate change are taking a novel approach to avoiding the issue.

March 9 - Miami Herald

Report: 10.8 Billion Americans Rode Transit in 2014

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has released its annual report on public transit ridership. Although more Americans are taking public transit, the trend doesn't hold in every city.

March 9 - The Hill

Do Driverless Car Safety Features Merit Fuel Efficiency Credit?

Manufacturers say yes, arguing that the reduction in vehicle crashes decreases traffic congestion. Other features improve traffic flow. But these are safety technologies, not emission-reducing measures, that critics worry will water-down CAFE.

March 9 - The Wall Street Journal

A 'Good News' Air Pollution Study for a Change

Too often we report on new studies showing how air pollution worsens public health, often causing premature death. For a change, here's a study showing how efforts to improve air quality in Southern California have boosted public health in children.

March 9 - The Wall Street Journal

Woman Walking

Women Redefining the Boundaries of Urban Design

There is increased call for inclusion and diversity in architecture. This London exhibition profiles five female architects and urban designers at the forefront of their profession.

March 9 - The Guardian Cities

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.