The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How Cities Are Responding to Rising Commercial Rents
A new report examines how high rents are shuttering businesses and stunting entrepreneurship, exploring six strategies used by cities to create an affordable built environment, where local businesses can thrive.
Sound Transit Breaks Ground Today on the $3.7 Billion Light Rail Extension
Sound Transit begins construction on the East Link light rail extension. Next stop: 2023, when the line is expected to serve 50,000 riders a day.
One Million Solar Panels and Counting
The United States reached a milestone in solar panel installation earlier this year, after 40 years of the industry attempting to gain a foothold. Now the industry is preparing for "warp speed."
Friday Eye Candy: Where U.S. Roads Correct the Grid
Anyone who has traveled long country roads is familiar with the moment when a road makes a sharp turn to deviate from a direct path. Such "grid corrections" provide the subject for a photography project by Gerco de Ruijter.
Plans for World's Largest Methanol Plant Die in Tacoma
The massive and controversial Tideflats methanol plant proposal will no longer trouble environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest.
New Community Plan to Remake Canada's Capital of Sprawl
Abbotsford is the fifth-largest city in British Columbia by population but the largest by land size. The city's most recent community plan is designed to accommodate new growth without sprawling any farther.
Artists Plan a Mini Golf Course to Teach About Zoning and Gentrification
An art installation called "The Back 9" is planned for Los Angeles' Skid Row to tackle the issues of gentrification, zoning, and back room deals for development rights.
A Special Place for Ugly Buildings
A paradoxical encomium of sorts for the benefits of ugly buildings to the experience of cities.
Silicon Valley Preparing for Switch to a High Frequency Bus Grid
A Silicon Valley columnist debates the tough political questions inherent to the process of redesigning local bus service.
Invest STL's Community Development Efforts Have Regional Scope
The St. Louis region now has its first community economic development system. Invest STL, as its called, will work to create "a pipeline of place-based, neighborhood-led development projects."
Early Review of the U.S. DOT's New Performance Measurement Rule
An initial review by City Observatory's Joe Cortright doesn't find much to indicate that the new U.S. DOT 's performance measurement rule for transportation systems will set a new transportation policy agenda.
Business Groups Sue Portland Over Homeless 'Safe Sleep Policy'
The Safe Sleep Policy, enacted by the mayor in February without City Council approval, allows homeless people to sleep in tents in select public areas and on sidewalks. Now a coalition of business groups says the policy was an overreach of power.
Governor Who Vetoed Gas Tax Increase Happy to Use New Revenue for Road Construction
Among the ten state legislatures, mostly Republican controlled, which passed gas tax increases last year, the one that stood out the most was Nebraska's because it had to override Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) veto of the six-cent gas tax hike bill.
Houston's Floods a Reminder of the Importance of Wetlands Protection
The executive director of the Bayou Land Conservancy takes to the pages of the Houston Chronicle to describe the conservationist and landscape-focused efforts that can prevent floods like those that struck Houston this week.
Looking for Housing Solutions? Look to the Past
The development of Portland during the early decades of the 1900s reveals ideas for how to lessen the pressure on housing prices in the 2010s.
Now Arriving in the D.C. Area: Bus Rapid Transit
The newly opened section of the Metroway—already D.C. Metro's "premium bus service"—includes the region's first stretch of bus rapid transit.
BLOG POST
Primaries vs. Caucuses from a Planner's Perspective
In the middle of presidential primary season, the debate about the caucus vs. primary processes is hot with criticisms being leveled on both sides. What can planners learn about this debate to help improve community engagement for planning?
New York MTA Departs the American Public Transportation Association
Could the cancellation the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's membership in the American Public Transportation Association be the wakeup call the transit industry needs?
From Ideas to Action: Cheaply, Quickly, Fairly
Applying ideas of Lean Urbanism to the charrette process can establish an agreement about values and rules for planning in ways that make it renewable.
Anatomy of a San Francisco YIMBY
The New York Times provides an in-depth exploration of the politics and personalities behind the YIMBY organization known as the SF Bay Area Renters' Federation (BARF).
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
