The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Chattanooga's Unique Approach to Innovation Districts

Bruce Katz says something special is going on in Chattanooga—where a uniquely situated innovation district is setting an example for more traditional approaches to the concept.

October 5 - Brookings Institution

The Dallas City Councilmember Standing Up for Pedestrians

A hearing on pedestrian infrastructure in Dallas—which is proving exceptionally deadly this year—reveals the sharp political divide on how to make streets safe for walking.

October 5 - The Dallas Morning News

New Jersey Golf Course Gives Way to Sprawl

Once upon a time, golf courses were a popular component of development plans. Much more common now: single-family detached housing on the former site of a golf course.

October 5 - The Record

America's Second Protected Intersection Now Open

The first protected intersection opened in August in Davis, Calif., a university town with the nation's highest percentage of bike commuters. Salt Lake City's new protected intersection is explained on NPR's "Here & Now" report with audio and videos.

October 5 - WBUR

5 Tips for Analyzing Transit Service

Esri offers insights into five new ways to analyze the success of transit service in cities of all kinds.

October 5 - ESRI


More Americans Living Next Door to Fire Danger

A summer of drought and devastating fires has demonstrated the dangers of allowing residential developments to sprawl ever farther into wild, natural environments.

October 5 - CityLab

Bloomingdale Trail

BLOG POST

Substance, Style, and the Success of the 606

The Bloomingdale Trail, the star attraction of the 606 in Chicago, has been compared to NYC's High Line. But with its restrained design and focus on high-use activity, it is nothing like it, and, in certain ways, it's even better.

October 5 - Mark Hough


Road Diet

Reaching Vision Zero: Road Diets and Wider Lanes?

Slowing traffic by reducing the width of lanes should not be a one-size fits all approach to reaching Vision Zero.

October 5 - The Urbanist

Bike Commuting

How Commutes Influence Happiness, Health

More evidence is piling up that commuting by anything but private automobile can increase happiness, social capital, and health.

October 5 - Gizmodo

urban park

Pavement Parks: a Better Parklet Alternative

Too often, street-side parklets become little more than semi-private patios for the businesses that sponsor them. Pavement parks, replacing dangerous intersections, may be a more worthwhile option.

October 4 - Next City

Bus Bunching

New Tracking System Tackles Bus Bunching

Washington, D.C.'s DOT has adopted TransitIQ, a straightforward tracking technology, to help dispatchers keep buses on schedule.

October 4 - Mobility Lab

Bay Area Extreme Commuting for the Love of Larger, Affordable Single Family Homes

It's a tradeoff that 3.9 percent of the Bay Area workforce are willing to make to own an affordable home. It's often not even a choice between living in the city or the suburbs, but the close-in suburbs or the exurbs or San Joaquin Valley.

October 4 - San Jose Mercury News

Seeing Eye People

Distracted Walking: Finally, Some Hard Data

It's serious, and the data is surprising. You need not be a pedestrian to experience injury while walking using your cell phone: half of all injuries occurred in the home. Two thirds of all walking-using-cell phone injuries were females.

October 4 - The Washington Post

Amtrak Gateway Planning Is Coming Together

Initial planning steps toward replacement of the 105-year-old tunnels under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York's Penn Station are underway, with New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, and the Port Authority of N.Y & N.J. all playing key roles.

October 4 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Seattle Waterfront Condos

Seattle's Struggle to Build Affordable Housing

The Emerald City's affordable housing difficulties mirror those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others: too much demand and too few resources.

October 3 - Crosscut

Sierra Nevada Melted

Sierra Nevada Snowpack at 500-Year Low

Unusually scarce precipitation last winter has left little snow on the mountains, endangering a key California water reserve.

October 3 - KPCC

Cracked Sidewalk

Who Will Pay to Fix San Diego's Broken Sidewalks?

San Diego quest to find solutions to repairing damaged city sidewalks continues, with home and business owners potentially facing liability for trip-and-fall accidents

October 3 - Voice of San Diego

Audit: Arizona DOT Facing $62.7 Billion Budget Shortfall through 2035

Something needs to change if Arizona is going to be able to pay the bills for maintaining and building new roads, according to the findings of an audit by the state.

October 3 - Phoenix Business Journal

Emergency Sign

Educational Level Linked to Traffic Fatalities

A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has linked an increase in the likelihood of being in a traffic fatality to a person's educational level.

October 3 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Standards of Scrutiny for Transit Projects Not Extended for Highway Projects

A case study of media coverage in Connecticut finds a double standard between the CTFastrak and Interstate 84 projects.

October 2 - Tri-State Transportation Campaign

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.