The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Hoover Dam Downstream

California's Use of the Colorado River Projected to Hit a Record Low

Water use is going down in California, and the state is leaving more of the Colorado River in the watershed, for now.

December 10 - John Fleck

Seattle

Seattle Councilmember Calls for Transit-Oriented Density

Seattle Councilmember Abel Pacheco writes on opinion piece for The Urbanist to make the case for transit-oriented density on The Ave in the city's University District.

December 10 - The Urbanist

Jaguar Self-Driving Car

Year One of Waymo

Waymo, like Google a company of Alphabet Inc., has been offering self-driving ride-hailing service to the public for a year, providing 100,000 rides in the Phoenix area in the process.

December 10 - Smart Cities Dive

Jane Jacobs

Comic Illustrates the Capitalist Co-option of Jane Jacobs's Teachings

A new illustrate comic strip published by the Nib examines "Jane Jacobs vs. The Power Brokers."

December 10 - The Nib

New York Street Parking

The N.Y.C. Free Parking Giveaway Needs to Stop

Free street parking in much of New York City means lost revenue, but it also affects the urban landscape and the quality of people’s lives. So how much is all that street space really worth?

December 10 - Bloomberg Opinion


Suburban Home

Updated: Journal Article Calls for the End of Single-Family Zoning

An article published by the Journal of the American Planning Association argues that single-family zoning "exacerbates inequality and undermines efficiency," and should be eliminated entirely.

December 9 - Journal Of The American Planning Association

Boston transit station

Report Documents Safety Concerns on Boston's T

Safety is not the priority at the T, according to a report released today.

December 9 - The Boston Globe


Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Light Rail Repair Project Falls Short of Promises in Los Angeles

The former Blue Line, now the A Line, with service from Log Beach to Los Angeles, was shut down in segments for ten months (originally scheduled for eight) for repairs. The weeks since the reopening have been marred spotty, slow service.

December 9 - Los Angeles Times

Security Cameras

Use of Private Surveillance Grows With the Help of Cheap AI Tech

As the technology gets cheaper, AI surveillance systems are gaining popularity in some parts of the country, like the neighborhood of Magnolia in Seattle.

December 9 - The Seattle Times

California State Water Project

New Oil and Gas Drilling in California May Be Subject to Moratorium

Gov. Gavin Newsom pleased environmentalists by doing what his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, refused – halting all new oil and gas fracking and placing a moratorium on another extraction method linked to a massive oil spill in Kern County.

December 9 - Los Angeles Times

gaslamp Quarter

San Diego Could Eliminate Height Limits Near Transit

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is following up on an idea first pitched during a State of the City address, but with a few teaks.

December 9 - Voice of San Diego

New Orleans, Louisiana

Public Art and Resilience Planning

A neighborhood in New Orleans, badly damaged after Hurricane Katrina, is providing a test bed for an innovative new approach to urban planning.

December 9 - Next City

Terminal Island Freeway Commodore Schuyler F Heim Bridge

Infrastructure Policy Reform, From the Ground Up

Brookings provides a manifesto, of sorts, to suggest an entirely new path forward on infrastructure policy.

December 9 - Brookings

New York City Traffic

E-ZPass Could Limit the Effectiveness of NYC's Congestion Charge

The known quantity of the EZ Pass system could prevent innovations in congestion pricing that would prevent the challenges since London enacted a similar policy.

December 9 - Wired

Homeless Seattle

Supreme Court Could Decide on Homeless Public Sleeping

The Supreme Court will be considering for the first time whether the Constitution gives homeless people a right to sleep on the sidewalk.

December 9 - Idaho Statesman

Bus Priority Zones

Mapping Portland's 'Rose Lane Vision' Bus Priority Program

It's a draft map, but it's a big, bold draft map.

December 8 - The Oregonian

Commuter Rail

New Train Station in North Bay Brings Commuters One Step Closer to S.F.

The new Larkspur Station on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system brings commuters much closer to a ferry across the bay.

December 8 - San Francisco Chronicle

Brooklyn

Report: 'Racialized Displacement' Followed Rezonings in New York City

The rezonings in question occurred during the Bloomberg administration, but advocates are seizing on the relevance of that experience to the rezonings of the de Blasio administration.

December 8 - Curbed New York

Construction Worker

Homebuilders Aren't Keeping Pace With Millennial Demand

Places with a lot of Millennials are building homes, just not enough to keep pace with the large number of Millennials coming of homebuying age.

December 8 - CNBC

Washington D.C. Row Houses

'Gentle Density' to Save Neighborhoods

Cities looking to follow Minneapolis's lead in overturning the status quo of exclusionary zoning should consider "gentle density," according to this article.

December 8 - Brookings

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.