The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Beachside basketball couty with ocean view and blue painted court at Angel Gate Park in Los Angeles, California on a sunny day

Los Angeles County's 30x30 Strategy Earns National Recognition

L.A. County's Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+) received a 2023 achievement award from the National Association of Counties (NACo).

June 6 - National Association of Counties

A spraling subdivision of single-family detached housing in a desert setting.

Albuquerque Poised to Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units

Allowing ADU construction on parcels previously zoned exclusively for single-family detached housing is one component of the Housing Forward ABQ initiative, a larger effort to reform zoning practices in Albuquerque.

June 6 - Albuquerque Journal

"Welcome to Texas" road sign with Texas flag and "Drive Friendly - the Texas way" slogan

Report: Austin’s State Roads Deadlier Than City Roads

Traffic fatalities and serious injuries grew on state-owned roads in the Texas capital, even as city-owned streets saw death rates plateau.

June 6 - Smart Cities Dive

View from lakeside with green grass and pink blooming flowers

Who Benefits Most from Land Conservation Efforts?

A new study estimates that recent land conservation generated $9.8 billion in wealth nationally through the housing market and that wealthier and White households benefited disproportionately.

June 6 - PNAS

Close-up of black parking meter with blurred street in background

Richmond Repeals Parking Minimums, Encourages Off-Street Parking and Transit

The Virginia city is replete with underused off-street parking lots, which city councilors hope to make available for parking at more times while encouraging transit use.

June 6 - Next City


Multi-Family Housing

Lack of Multi-Family Zones Contributes to Nashville’s High Housing Costs, Study Says

Nashville and surrounding communities allow for a relatively small amount of multi-family housing, according to a new zoning atlas of Middle Tennessee. A regionally focused nonprofit is using the atlas to push for zoning reforms.

June 6 - Axios Nashville

Close-up of black and white Livonia Avenue subway sign with blue accessibility symbol

New York Subway Begins Accessibility Improvements

The MTA is putting its effort to improve the system’s century-old stations to make them more universally accessible in high gear, adding elevators, boarding upgrades, and mechanical improvements.

June 6 - The City Life


Empty Muni underground train platform

Activists Mourn Potential Death of Bay Area Transit With Mock Funeral

In an action meant to draw attention to the financial crisis facing California’s public transit agencies, activists held a mock funeral for BART and Muni, citing the cause of death as ‘neglect.’

June 5 - SFGate

Close-up of phone screen with Airbnb app screen

Proposed Short-Term Rental Tax Would Fund Affordable Housing in California

A state bill would impose a tax similar to a hotel tax on short-term rental owners, with the revenue funding affordable housing projects.

June 5 - Cap Radio

Elderly woman enters house with help from caregiver who is holding her hands

The Challenges of Aging in Place

Seniors in one Bay Area community want to stay in their communities, but many find the cost of living and maintaining older homes prohibitive.

June 5 - Palo Alto Online

View of busy street at night with full moon in background in Stockholm, Sweden

The Rise of the ‘Night Mayor’

More cities are acknowledging the unique role of nighttime activities in urban life and the need for special ‘night governance.’

June 5 - Governing

Blue Connect 1 bus at nighttime in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee’s First BRT Line Celebrates Grand Opening

The nine-mile route covers the city’s busiest east-west corridor and will offer free rides through the summer.

June 5 - Urban Milwaukee

Google street view of historic one-story Chase Bank building (now PNC Bank) in Washington, D.C. with drive-through banking kiosk

D.C. Preservation Board Includes Parking Lot in Historic Designation

The decision to protect a non-historic parking lot as part of designating an adjacent historic bank building is being derided by critics as another form of exclusionary zoning.

June 5 - Greater Greater Washington

Empty Decatur Square plaza with fall trees in Decatur, Georgia

Decatur Approves New Food Cart Program

Mobile food vendors can now apply for permits to operate in several of the city’s public spaces.

June 5 - Eater Atlanta

Person in black hoodie sleeping on green park bench in New York City park

New York’s ‘Right to Shelter’ Mandate Threatened

A rule requiring the city to provide shelter for unhoused people is being eroded as city officials claim local agencies can’t keep up with growing demand.

June 5 - Bloomberg CityLab

Vacant storefront in historic building on Powell Street in San Francisco, California

Few Landlords Pay San Francisco Vacancy Tax

Less than 3 percent of properties potentially subject to a new vacancy tax were filed as vacant in the last year, but empty storefronts in the city persist.

June 4 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of manufactured home being dropped off or moved by red truck in mobile home park

In Spite of Affordability Crisis, Richmond Rejects Manufactured Housing Plan

After declaring a housing crisis, the Virginia capital’s city council voted against a proposed manufactured home warehouse that would distribute replacements for aging manufactured housing stock.

June 4 - Greater Greater Washington

Graphic for '1000 Joys of Planning' with The Planning Commission Podcast

A Planning Commission Podcast Journey: The 1,000 Joys of Planning

The Commissioners explore the facets of the planning profession that fill their cups with joy.

June 4 - The Planning Commission Podcast

Route 6 highway in Massachusetts with fall trees on either side

Provincetown Proposes New Car-Free Trail

An underused highway could become a pedestrian and bike trail connecting the Cape Cod town to its beaches.

June 4 - Streetsblog Mass

Self-driving Mercedes semi truck on highway with white semi truck behind it

California Moves to Limit Autonomous Trucks

A bill passed by the State Assembly and moving on to the Senate would require autonomous semi trucks to have a trained human operator in the vehicle.

June 2 - The Sacramento Bee

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