The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Portland Surpassing Its Housing Bond Targets
Three years after passing a $256 million housing bond, city officials in Portland, Oregon, report that over 1,400 units of affordable housing will result from planned and completed projects.

L.A. River Restoration Challenged by Gentrification, Environmental Concerns
A massive effort to restore the Los Angeles River to more public access and open space amentias continues to raise the specter of gentrification in neighborhoods already feeling the pressure of the housing market.

I-5 Freeway Lid Plans Take Step Forward
A plan to build a cap over Interstate 5 in Downtown Seattle has taken a small but significant step forward.

Editorial Sounds Alarms About the 'Illinois Exodus'
The Chicago Tribune sends a message to the political leadership of Illinois and Chicago about population decline, and its causes.

FEATURE
Three Studies That Show Density Doesn't Determine Car Travel
Thirty years after a seminal study attempted to connect increased density with decreased automobile use, several new studies are raising doubts about that central assumption of contemporary planning.

Three Years of New York's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program
One of the more aggressive inclusionary zoning programs in the country has been in place long enough to evaluate for lessons regarding the effectiveness of the controversial affordable housing development tool.

What's Hindering Regional Transportation in the U.S.?
Public transportation that serves regional areas makes sense, but the United States has been slow to pursue strategies and policies that foster these types of systems.

Op-Ed: Seattle Resilience Roadmap Feels 'Retrospective'
Natalie Bicknell notes several deficiencies in the roadmap that resulted from Seattle's participation in the Rockefeller Foundation's now-defunct 100 Resilient Cities program.

Op-Ed: Feds 'Obsessed' with Undermining National Monument
Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is under severe assault from the Trump administration, Stephen Trimble writes. Long the focus of preservation efforts, the protected land is being opened up for extractive uses.
Green Electricity for Lime Scooters
A new program that will incentivize scooter "juicers," the people who collect and charge electric scooters for a fee, to switch to green energy.
2004 Rezoning Didn't Predict the Wave of Residential Development in Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is New York City's third-largest central business district, and a 2004 rezoning was meant to increase the commercial footprint in the area. Instead there's been more residential development than planners anticipated.

Denver Suburb Bans RVs From Parking on Streets Citywide
Lakewood is taking an aggressive approach to homeless people sleeping in cars on public streets.

Seattle Tiny-Home Villages Facing Host of Challenges
The villages offer much-needed housing for homeless people, but controversy is brewing over their operations.

Changes for Big Pipeline Project to Connect Utah to the Colorado River
A hugely significant water and power infrastructure project in the works in Utah is now only a water project.

Brooklyn Navy Yard's Transformation in High Gear
A Curbed feature details the ongoing transformation of a formerly inaccessible and inhospitable corner of New York City.

How to Prevent 'Green Gentrification'
A new report examines a range of strategies that limit the displacement effects of park projects.

Not Enough Housing, Or Too Much of the Wrong Kind
Permits for new housing continue to lag despite a long economic boom. For coastal metros, it's a familiar story of job growth outpacing new construction. In some Sun Belt cities, sprawl is the bigger concern.

Report: Dangers of Pedestrian Texting Overblown
Distracted walking is never a great idea. But in New York City at least, texting while walking only led to 2 out of 534 pedestrian deaths from 2014 through 2017.

Behind America's Fixation on Big Houses
McMansion or not, the American home is a good 600 to 800 square feet larger than the average in most other countries. Possible reasons run the gamut from policy to culture to personal economics.

U.S. Lagging in Making Streets Safer for Pedestrians
Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the United States, but cities have been slow to implement effective policies and road design measures to change the trend.
Pagination
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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