The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The leadership at the city of Seattle has noticed that the people representing neighborhoods on the city's district councils don't reflect the population of the city.

July 14 - Publicola

Emily Badger, writing for The Washington Post's Wonkblog, doesn't let planners off the hook for the racist history of highway planning around the country.

July 14 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Clocking in at less than 500 square feet, tiny houses are in greater and greater demand. They've been touted as a means to address affordability, inequality, homelessness, and environmental concerns. But regulatory issues are holding them back.

July 14 - Pew Charitable Trusts

In California and much of the rest of the country, says Andrew Said, the laws governing speed limits and enforcement are dangerously outdated, especially where pedestrians and cyclists are concerned. What could we change?

July 14 - Streetsblog LA

When gas prices fall, discretionary transit riders also spend less on transit according to an analysis of credit and debit card bills by the JP Morgan Chase Institute.

July 14 - Marketplace

Craft beer aficionados take note. Bloomington, Illinois now allows businesses selling artisanal products to manufacture their goods on-site. The ruling blurs a distinction between industrial and commercial zoning.

July 14 - Pantagraph

The "housing first" approach to homelessness is building a track record of success in Milwaukee.

July 13 - Urban Milwaukee

The White Oak Bayou in Houston joins a growing list of urban watersheds that could be freed from its concrete shackles.

July 13 - Houston Chronicle

A recent study discovered that towns and cities around the country had removed the pavement on thousands of roads in the last five years.

July 13 - Wired

Next City introduces the key concepts included in TransitCenter's "Who's on Board" report.

July 13 - Next City

A brief by the Cato Institute describes historic preservation laws as arbitrary and ambiguous. A case before the Supreme Court could decide on either side of the issue.

July 13 - Market Urbanism

A proposed expansion project is intended to expand passenger rail capacity around the Boston area.

July 13 - Progressive Railroading

BLOG POST

Planners across the globe have been exploring opportunities to use augmented reality to enhance the way the public engages with the city. Over the last few days Pokémon Go took off, and now people are wandering across cities to catch Pokémon.

July 13 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Two commuter trains traveling toward each other on a single track crashed in the Puglia region of southern Italy on Tuesday morning. Human error is suspected. The trains and track lacked automatic train control and automatic braking.

July 13 - The New York Times

In this New York Times opinion, health issues correspondent Meera Senthilingam writes that too much of New York City is not designed for physical activity, including walking. Imagine what the suburbs and less vibrant cities are like!

July 13 - The New York Times - Opinion

FEATURE

It has been 20 years since the city of Birmingham, Michigan approved the Birmingham 2016 Master Plan. Robert J. Gibbs, one of the planners on a team that included Andrés Duany, describes the decisions and process that contributed to the plan.

July 13 - Robert J. Gibbs

A new study identifies the disconnect between employees and employers in the Twin Cities region. The report also predicts dramatic improvements if the region's long-term transportation plans are realized.

July 12 - Star Tribune

Big development news for two of the biggest names in the Silicon Valley.

July 12 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Two suburbs of Cleveland provide a case study in how older, inner-ring suburbs can compete with the newer suburbs on the fringes of the region.

July 12 - Cleveland.com

Yonah Freemark provides a comprehensive explainer of the nuts and bolts of population analysis, applying that expertise to an examination of downtown population change.

July 12 - the transport politic