The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
State of Emergency Declared in Flint Water Crisis
A crisis that stretches back for several months escalated this week, bringing this news of the very bad variety to national attention.
The 'Both/And' of the Housing Debate
Planners and community development housing activists and professionals need to start thinking about housing policy as "both...and." It is not reasonable to couch housing policy as either unfettered building or only rent.
Texas Rangers Caught in Pickle: Develop Ballpark Parking Lots or Move to Dallas?
A public-private partnership could bring new development to some of the parking lots outside the home of the Texas Rangers. It's not the first grand plan to get floated for the ballpark's ancillary areas.
Order Up: Massachusetts Has a New Food System Plan
With economic, employment, and social benefits, food is much more than what we eat. Now Massachusetts has completed a comprehensive food plan in the hopes of doing better with the systems by which food is manufactured, bought, and consumed.
First There Were Electric Vehicles—Will Electric Roads Be Next?
Two Texas universities received a federal grant to embed sensors in road asphalt to create renewable electricity from the wind created by passing vehicles to power roadside lights and traffic signals.
Shell Companies Rule Los Angeles Luxury Real Estate
For all the intention New York gets for foreign investors buying up rarefied air, Los Angeles has allowed shell companies to completely control the luxury real estate market—and the neighborhoods where it locates.
Chicago's Lawrence Avenue Is Changing—Is the Neighborhood Ready?
The Lawrence Avenue corridor in Chicago is poised to evolve into "New Lawrence," but as development proposals follow a streetscape improvement project, the community is still sorting out what exactly "new" should mean.
Have We Been Wasting Affordable Housing Money?
It might seem like 10, or even 30, years is a long time to require affordability—until it's over and your public investment is lost.
Confronting Climate Change, Rethinking the City
Overcoming our carbon dependence should be seen as an opportunity to rethink for the better an institution largely shaped by and for fossil fuel: our cities.
Power to the City
As the presidential election season gears up, Mortimer B. Zuckerman's op-ed offers a cynical and weary electorate hope by invoking a transformative political vision of the role of the city.
Rail Stations Shortchanged as Homeland Security Focuses on Airports
Rail travelers are not subject to the same degree of security measures as air travelers according to security experts, reports Ron Nixon for The New York Times. Yet far more travel by rail than plane, and rail has been a terrorist target abroad.
The Curious Case of a Solar-Power-Hating North Carolina Town
A simple case of City Council rejecting a zoning change for a new solar facility blew up into an international case of clickbait trolling.
What Makes San Diego's Climate Plan Different From All the Others
It's been a month of historic announcements in the effort to combat climate change. But a vote today in San Diego might set the standard for ambitious, enforceable action.
Seattle as the 'Next Detroit'
As the automotive industry of Detroit once inherited the wealth and assets of Pittsburgh's steel industry, one writer argues Seattle has now inherited the wealth and assets of the Silicon Valley.
Land Use Policies and the Future of Cities
Land is perhaps the most fundamental consideration in every variety of planning process—the cost of land, the availability of land, the condition of land, etc. A new e-book studies the importance of land to the global urban future.
On the New Era of Planning in Houston
The approval of the Plan Houston comprehensive plan was one of the biggest planning news stories of the year. A new podcast digs deeper into the significance and details of the new plan for the city of Houston.
Vancouver Hands Residents the Keys to Granny Flats
Leading other expensive cities in North America, Vancouver, British Columbia is quickly adding accessory dwelling units as a result of permissive regulations approved in 2009.
A New Theory for Traffic Engineering
If transportation officials embrace a new approach backed by science, safe and effective mobility no longer need conflict with the multidimensional role of streets as public spaces and with people's varied modes of travel.
Report: 'Pop-Up' Businesses Ring Up $50 Billion in Yearly Revenue
Temporary storefronts—for everything from high fashion to big-box retailers to "foodie"-favored restaurants—are all the rage. A new study quantifies the economic clout of pop-up businesses.
The Quest for Accuracy in Predicting Bus Arrivals Has a New Friend
With better predictions, an app may help alleviate the urban annoyance of waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago.
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
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.
