The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Watch as the World Emits More and More Carbon

A French economist created a powerful visualization of the rise of carbon emission hot spots from a few locations in Europe to every developed and developing corner of the world.

December 28 - CityLab

Google Self-Driving Car smaller

BLOG POST

All I Want for Christmas Is a Driverless Car

An op-ed describes some of the not-so-hard to imagine drawbacks of a world full of a world full of self-driving cars.

December 28 - Steven Polzin

BRT in High Gear in Jacksonville

A car-dependent city is undertaking one of the most ambitious build-outs of bus rapid transit found anywhere in the United States.

December 28 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Rowhouses Have an Ally in Philadelphia

An important source of housing affordable to wide ranges of incomes has a new, well-funded ally in Philadelphia—the Healthy Rowhouse Project is hoping to make a big impact in 2016.

December 28 - PlanPhilly

Big Transit Happenings Expected for the Sun Belt in 2016

A streak of landmark years for public transit in Sun Belt cities from the West Coast to the Florida Panhandle will continue in 2016.

December 27 - The Urban Edge


Seattle Tunnel Boring

Bertha Awakens—New Hope After a Two-Year Delay for Seattle Tunnel-Boring Machine

Baby steps are an improvement for the tunnel-boring machine known as Bertha. The drill moved a total of 1.5 feet this week, but the symbolic distance probably felt like a mile.

December 27 - The Seattle Times

CEQA Abuse 'Choking' Good Development, Study Finds

A study of CEQA litigation revealed widespread abuse that experts say undermines California's environmental sustainability goals.

December 27 - The Planning Report


Portland Renter Protection Rules Backfire in Raised Rents

Rents continue to rise in Portland, and new rules have precipitated even more raised rents for populations that can least afford the new costs.

December 27 - The Oregonian

Meet the 'One-Man Community Redevelopment Machine'

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles a man in a small town in Pennsylvania that does a pretty good impression of Santa Claus, if you ask us.

December 27 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Popularity of Electric Vehicles Threatens Viability of Bay Area's Express Lanes

The California DMV announced that the maximum of 85,000 Green Clean Air Vehicle Decals had been issued to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, denying new Volt and plug-in Prius owners the coveted sticker allowing them free access to HOV and HOT lanes.

December 26 - San Jose Mercury News

New York City Zoning Map

A National Consensus on Zoning? Not So Fast

The issue of zoning might be a place for wonks of both the conservatives and the liberal variety to find middle ground, but zoning in the real world is more contentious than consensus.

December 26 - City Observatory

Portland Houses

Portland Updating Regulations for Infill in Single-Family Residential Neighborhoods

Portland is tackling a critical but often controversial issue: how to regulate infill development in residential neighborhoods when growth is pushing landowners and developers to build bigger and denser.

December 26 - City of Portland

Austin Transit Planners Regroup After Bond Defeat

The voters of Austin rejected a $1 billion transportation bond in 2014, but transit advocates and Capital Metro staff are already reorganizing to make a new pitch for transit in the quickly growing city.

December 26 - Community Impact Newspaper

Civil Rights Activists Target Baltimore Red Line Cancellation

A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation alleges that Maryland Gov. Hogan's decision to cancel the long-planned Red Line rail project violates the Civil Rights Act.

December 26 - The Washington Post- Wonkblog

Vote on 2015's Best and Worst Developments in Streets

Streetsblog is calling for voters in the 2015 Streetsie awards—make your opinion count about the year's biggest developments in multi-modal transportation.

December 25 - Streetsblog USA

Friday Eye Candy: Explore a Changing New York From Above

A little Christmas Day diversion for those who never stop thinking about cities.

December 25 - Urban Scratchoff

Endangered Places in 2015: Texas Dancehalls

Dancehalls—places for small-town Texans to gather for community—are struggling to survive in a changing Texas.

December 25 - The Dallas Morning News

For Christmas 2016: A Video Game to Explore the Physics of Architecture

Couldn't find what the perfect gift for the plannerd in your life? There's always next year.

December 25 - CityLab

All the Places to Celebrate Christmas in July

Make a note of these places for tomorrow when you realize Christmas is 364 days away.

December 25 - CityLab

Five Surprising Facts About L.A.'s Homeless and How to End Homelessness

Ever have questions about the homeless? Here's a fact filled outline you can use to dispel some common notions about the country's largest homeless population—and some solutions—by affordable housing adviser Michael P. Russell.

December 24 - UrbDeZine

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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.