The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Abandoned buildings on Hart Island

New York Plans to Improve Access to Hart Island, the Nation's Largest Public Cemetery

Managed for decades by the Department of Corrections, the island could soon become a public park with regular ferry service and expanded visiting hours.

October 27 - Bloomberg CityLab

Bus Priority Zones

Bus Lane Plans Continue Retreat in New York City—This Time it's Fifth Avenue

The de Blasio administration caved to the interests of a Manhattan real estate developer and shelved a plan to prioritize bus transit over private automobiles on one of the most famous corridors in the world.

October 26 - The New York Times

Mass Vaccination

COVID Vaccination Strategy: What the U.K. and U.S. Could Learn from Israel

Cases are surging in the U.K. despite 68% of its population being fully vaccinated. Experts say that U.K. officials should observe how Israel, with 63% of its population fully vaccinated, managed to reduce transmission after a similar surge.

October 26 - Bloomberg Prognosis

San Francisco Bay Area

Plan Bay Area 2050, Approved Last Week, Makes the Opinion Page

A traditionally controversial planning exercise, the regular update of the 30-year plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, has crossed the finish line again. Opponents aren't letting the issues rest, however.

October 26 - The Mercury News

A Tesla Model 3 with a European license plate is connected to a Tesla Supercharger.

Tesla 3 Now the Best-Selling Car in Europe

For the first time ever, an electric vehicle was the most sold car in Europe—with Tesla's Model 3 outselling all other cars on the continent in the month of September.

October 26 - Reuters via U.S. News & World Report


New York Bus

What COVID Taught About Mobility Justice

Transit agencies are waking up to the inequities in transportation systems—highlighted by the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic.

October 26 - Grist

Empty living room/dining room in an apartment in a 1920s apartment house, Los Angeles, California.

Spiking Rents Putting More People at Risk of Eviction

Housing costs across the country are becoming more and more unaffordable for low- and moderate-income households, a trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 26 - The New York Times


Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Promises 'Net Zero' Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2060

Cue a grain of salt.

October 26 - The Washington Post

The exterior of the Civic Opera Building in Chicago, an art deco building built in the 1920s.

Signs of Financial Distress Among Office Properties

The foreclosure risk facing a pair of high-profile office buildings highlight the debt difficulties facing the office sector as it deals with the fallout of the pandemic. The trend could be on the verge of picking up steam.

October 26 - Cincinnati Business Courier

The exterior of a large Amazon distribution center located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Amazon Shifting From Land Lessee to Land Owner

Amazon has been tending to buy when previously it would have leased, and the trend has massive implications for the industrial real estate market.

October 25 - Bisnow

Intercity Buses

Greyhound Sold to the King of European Intercity Bus Operators

With revenue tanking during the pandemic, Greyhound has been sold from one European company to another—the new owner also happens to be the new kid on the Intercity bus block.

October 25 - The Dallas Morning News

Delivery Trucks

How Street Configuration Impacts Equity

With urban pollution and traffic violence disproportionately affecting communities of color, better management of public space and streets could improve equity in cities.

October 25 - Streetsblog USA

Tilikum Crossing

Portland and Multnomah County Push for Lower Speed Limits on Bridges

The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Multnomah County agree on a 30 mph speed limit on five downtown bridges, but the state's department of transportation denied the change on two key spans.

October 25 - Bike Portland

First-Time Buyers

Study: Half as Many Metro Areas Affordable to Low-Income Homebuyers in 2021 as in 2020

Over 13 million potential first-time homebuyers were priced out this year, putting homeownership out of reach for low-income households in most of the largest U.S. cities.

October 25 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Bike Lane New York

Watch: Even With Bike Lanes, 'Right Hooks' Are a Risk

An eight-minute video explains the importance of bike lanes for traffic safety and illustrates some of the risks for people on bikes even with higher-quality bike lane infrastructure in place.

October 25 - Cheddar via YouTube

Pedestrians circulate around a retrofitted development beneath the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

A Car-Free Vision for Downtown Brooklyn—Updated for the Covid-Era

In December 2019, the Downtown Brooklyn Public Realm Vision set ambitious goals for removing cars from one of New York's central business districts. Then came the pandemic and new tests for those ambitions.

October 25 - Bloomberg CityLab

A screengrab of the Caharlotte Future virtual open house.

FEATURE

Top Websites for Urban Planning – 2021

Planetizen's annual list of the best of the urban planning Internet.

October 25 - James Brasuell

California State Water project

California Governor Declares Statewide Drought Emergency

The declaration applies to all of California's 58 counties, with agencies and households urged to implement stricter conservation measures as the historic drought deepens.

October 24 - Los Angeles Times

California Houses

New 'Housing Accountability Unit' to Enforce California's Housing Goals

Part of the state's Housing and Community Development Agency, the unit will focus on enforcing existing laws around housing production and ensure cities build the housing needed to alleviate the current crisis.

October 24 - CALmatters

Atlanta

Widespread Neighborhood Opposition to Atlanta's Comprehensive Development Plan

A generational comprehensive planning effort hangs in the balance in the city of Atlanta.

October 24 - SaportaReport

Post News

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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.