The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Missouri

Pandemic Geography: Missouri Outbreak Driven by Delta Variant

With 65.4% of the nation's adult population at least partially vaccinated, daily new COVID cases have dropped to the lowest level since late March 2020. However, cases are increasing in some states, none more than Missouri.

June 21 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Dallas

Dallas City Council Approves Urban Forest Master Plan

The plan seeks to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands by preserving and growing the city's tree canopy.

June 21 - Smart Cities Dive

Amtrak Connects US

$75 Billion 'Connect US' Plan Would Expand Amtrak Service All Over the Country

New attention for a plan to greatly expand Amtrak service in dozens of cities and regions around the United States.

June 21 - The Washington Post

SMART Bus

Opinion: Detroit Area Stunted by Lack of Regional Transit

Improved connectivity and reliability in the region's public transit could stimulate growth and help build a more vibrant local economy.

June 21 - Michigan Advance

View east along Maryland State Route 927 (Montrose Road) at Interstate 270 (Washington National Pike) in Potomac, Montgomery Cou

Maryland Beltway Project Tentatively Moves Forward

The state transit authority has granted preliminary approval to the revised plan to expand the Capital Beltway and add new high-occupancy and toll lanes.

June 21 - DCist


Highway Speed

BLOG POST

Not So Fast! Slower Is Often Better

To create more affordable, healthy, equitable, accessible, and resource-efficient communities, planners must reform the way we value speed relative to other community goals.

June 21 - Todd Litman

Deliveries Truck

Cities Must Act to Curb Delivery Van Congestion

With more and more products available for doorstep delivery, Janette Sadik-Khan argues that policymakers have to proactively face the imminent "delivery deadlock" and take control of curb management.

June 20 - Bloomberg CityLab


New Urban Agenda

BLOG POST

Will Planners Lead the New Urban Agenda?

The United Nation’s New Urban Agenda has created a playbook for planning advocates. It opens possibilities for building inclusive, integrated urban planning in countries where planning has been top-down and limited in scope.

June 20 - Bruce Stiftel

Black Likes Matter

White House Marks Juneteenth by Pushing for Zoning Reforms

On a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, the White House marked the occasion by discussion exclusionary zoning.

June 20 - WhiteHouse.gov

Trick Biker

Sunday Fun: The Bicycle Powered Car

Mounting a tandem bike to the front of a Honda to generate the power to operate the car has never looked so fun.

June 20 - Life OD via YouTube

Vineyard, Napa Valley, California

Lawsuit by Malibu Wineries Challenges Ban on New Vineyards

A coalition of winemakers claims that the county ignored CEQA requirements in instituting a blanket ban on new vineyards in the Santa Monica Mountains.

June 18 - LAist

Car-Centric Planning

Mapping Environmental Justice Hotspots

A new map of Virginia illustrates the stark contrasts in pollution burdens depending on location.

June 18 - The Virginia Mercury

New York City

How the Built Environment Impacts Public Health

New research sheds light on how the brain responds to urban environments and architecture.

June 18 - American Society Of Landscape Architects

Loking down Flagler Street, Downtown Miami, Florida

Miami Funds Protected Bike Lanes With E-Scooter Fees

The city, which has some of the nation's most dangerous streets for pedestrians and cyclists, is installing 3 miles of new bike lanes and pedestrian ramps on some of its busiest downtown corridors.

June 18 - Smart Cities Dive

California Sprawl

PLANOPEDIA

What Is Sprawl?

Sprawl is one of the most common terms used to describe built environments in the United States and the world. It can be applied to urban, suburban, and exurban settings, and it's almost never a compliment.

June 17 - James Brasuell

Chicago Transit Authority Green Line Train at 35th-Bronzeville-IIT

A New Transit Equity Dashboard

New data technology has made it possible to measure transit equity in ways that were impossible before. TransitCenter is making good use of the new capabilities.

June 17 - TransitCenter

California Gas Statin

The Big Taboo of the Senate's Bipartisan Infrastructure Proposal

Ten bipartisan senators have proposed a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure deal with no new taxes, but it does include indexing the current gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, unchanged in 28 years, to inflation, thus potentially increasing gas prices.

June 17 - The Washington Post

Pacific Electric streetcar

PLANOPEDIA

What Are Streetcar Suburbs?

Named after the mode of transportation that made their existence possible by dramatically reducing travel times, streetcar suburbs are communities located along streetcar lines farther out from city centers, on the periphery of the urban areas in the late 19th century.

June 17 - Diana Ionescu

Springdale Green

New Building Heights Coming to East Austin

The center of commercial gravity will be located a little to the east in Austin after two six-story office buildings are complete.

June 17 - Urbanize Austin

The Gulch development

Now Nashville Plans to Tackle its Housing Affordability Challenges

A new report by the Metro Nashville Affordable Housing Task Force marshals local resources and advocates for coordination with the state and federal government to address the loss of affordable housing in Nashville.

June 17 - Tennessean

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.