The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

To Solve Sao Paulo's Water Crisis, Collaboration Is Key

Brazil is rethinking it's approach to water infrastructure. Brazilian think-tank Arq Futuro and Arup's Pablo Lazo give their take on the state of South America's most populous country.

December 4 - Doggerel

Portland, Maine

Maine Partnership Connects Transportation Design and Public Health

Planners and public health professionals in Maine are working together to increase opportunities for physical activity and active transportation.

December 4 - Maine Association of Planners Front Page

Housing Construction

Three Design Basics to Stop the Ugly Building Epidemic

Too many new buildings today are simply ugly—with little to add to urban streets, and resembling buildings in every other city. Jason Hart, AIA reviews some design basics, which he hopes will arrest the ugly building epidemic.

December 4 - UrbDeZine

Empty Parking Garage

The Citizen Kane of Parking Cartoons

The City of Ottawa (Canada) has produced an animated video to engage the public as it goes about reviewing its minimum parking standards, some of which date back to the 1960s.

December 4 - City of Ottawa

Kid on Bus

Public Transit May Boost Mental Health

A new study based on an analysis of the residents of Turin, Italy, a city of over 900,000, reveals that walkable access to public transit and urban services benefits mental health, particularly for women and seniors.

December 4 - CityLab


Urban Explorers

The Great Debate: Which Infrastructure System Most Needs Repair?

The New York Times created a "Room for Debate" feature offering four points of view on the subject of infrastructure repair.

December 3 - The New York Times

New Ruralism: Sustainability Matters in Rural New England

New Ruralism is about rural communities finding new and sustainable approaches to create economic opportunities, provide livable-wage jobs, improve access to local foods, and offer better aging-in-place options.

December 3 - Maine Association of Planners Front Page


Demolition

Seattle Is Teardown Town

Mansionization, that conspicuous manifestation of the demand for larger homes, is alive and well in Seattle.

December 3 - The Seattle Times

Calls for Better Emergency Plans for Denver's Oil Trains

The sight of trains passing by luxury condos might be foreign to some cities, but not Denver. The risk posed by crude oil shipments passing on those rails, however, is too much for some residents to accept without a plan.

December 3 - The Denver Post

Refugees

Urban Planners Have a Role to Play in Humanitarian Crises

"Humanitarians are conditioned to think about people, urban planners are conditioned to think about how the place affects people."

December 3 - International Rescue Committee

Coming Soon to Detroit: An Urban Livestock Ordinance

Planners and citizens in Detroit are wrapping up a year's worth of research and community engagement before drafting an urban livestock ordinance.

December 3 - The Detroit News

25 Years of Rails-To-Trails Success on St. Petersburg's Pinellas Trail

A bike trail can be much more than a bike trail.

December 3 - Tampa Bay Times

Roberto Clemente Bridge

Pittsburgh Launches Complete Streets Planning in Earnest

With a planned pace of ten new miles of bike lanes every year for the next five years, Pittsburgh is already making over many of its thoroughfares in the complete streets model. A formal city policy certainly won't hurt, however.

December 3 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Atlanta

FEATURE

Atlanta Has Plans to Lead the New South

The latest installment of the Planners Across America series interviews Charletta Wilson-Jacks, director of the Atlanta Office of Planning, who focused on new strategies to engage community members in the city's planning efforts.

December 3 - Josh Stephens

The Seat of Government

Transportation Reauthorization Now a Done Deal

The plan, now five years rather than six, still needs the sign-offs from both chambers before being sent to the president for his signature on Friday according to POLITICO. Ironically, another extension will be needed to allow a signing ceremony.

December 3 - Politico Morning Transportation

Community Land Trusts Laying Down Roots in Baltimore

There are 200 community land trusts in the country, so the idea clearly has traction. With three organizations pursuing new community land trusts, the model might soon have a new test bed in Baltimore as well.

December 2 - The Baltimore Sun

Details on Cincinnati's Ambitious Wasson Way Bike Trail Proposal

There's still a long way to go to get to the finish line on the conversion of a rail corridor into a bike trail that could connect important parts of the city, but Cincinnati is currently pulling lots of purse strings to make it happen.

December 2 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Living Alone Now the Most Common Type of Household

A revealing examination of demographic data shows a country that bears little resemblance to the 1950s era that bequeathed its housing and transportation models to current generations.

December 2 - Stat Chat

Not in my back yard

Will Millennials Remake Suburbs in Their Image?

The "hipsterification" of cities is a well-known phenomenon. But as the millennial generation ages and settles down, will they import that same cultural ethos to locations more suburban?

December 2 - The Washington Post

Young Crowd

The Not-So-Bright Side of Millennials

Guess which group is losing faith in the American Dream? Washington Post Wonkblog reporters Jim Tankersley and Scott Clement write on a Fusion 2016 Issues Poll released December 1 that surveys millennials on their chances for upward mobility.

December 2 - The Washington Post Wonkblog

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.