The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Here Comes Portland's New Orange Line

TriMet will get a new addition to its rail system later this month, when it opens the new Orange Line.

September 4 - The Oregonian

Sign Most Likely to Send Mixed Messages: "Share the Road"

For some reason, many drivers think "Share the Road" means bikers should stay out of their way.

September 4 - Streetsblog USA

Meet Chicago's New Northerly Island Open Space

Chicago gains a new open space today, located on an island on Lake Michigan just across from Soldier Field and Burnham Harbor.

September 4 - Chicago Tribune

Technology Enables a New Understanding of the World's 3.04 Trillion Trees

A news study, combining satellite imagery and field study, dramatically increases the estimated trees in the world. What has not changed: how quickly humans are killing those trees off.

September 4 - The Washington Post

View of Portland, Oregon from Pittock Mansion

Land Sparing Protects Urban Ecosystems Better Than Land Sharing

A study of two cities at opposite ends of the urban spectrum demonstrate how density matters for a number of ecological services.

September 4 - Pacific Standard


Kids Crossing the Street

Surgeon General Warning to Local Governments: Stop Being So Auto-Centric!

No, those will not be the precise words of the forthcoming "Call to Action" by Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, but he will call on cities to "design and build roads and public places to make walking easier, safer, and more pleasant."

September 4 - T4America Blog

Friday Funny: How to Break Up With (Your City Name Here)

The only thing as ubiquitous as love letters are break up letters. Now it's even easier to break up with your city, using real data from the U.S. Census.

September 4 - Tiny Subversions


Bed Stuy view

Problems With New York City's Temporary Shelter Program

With a surging homeless population, the city's cluster site program incentivizes slumlords and reduces the supply of affordable housing.

September 4 - The New York Times

Commuter Train

FEATURE

A Tale of Two Neighborhoods: TOD, Fair Housing, and Economic Mobility

"Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing"—as a new rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposes to do—can vary widely, even in the same city.

September 3 - Kyle Smith and Brendan Saunders

Honolulu's Congestion-Fighting Strategy: Build Protected Bicycle Lane Network

Honolulu's one protected bike lane on King Street, while still a pilot project, has proven so successful that the city plans a major expansion to form a protected bike lane grid that will also tie-in with the new bike share and rail transit.

September 3 - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Speed Cameras Have Proven Record of Reducing Speeding, New Study Says

A study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on September 1 showed steep reductions in speeding in Montgomery County, Maryland, where speed cameras has been in effect since 2007, reducing fatalities and severity of injuries.

September 3 - The Detroit News

Project Housing

BLOG POST

What HUD's Been Up To

The new "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" rule may impose additional paperwork burdens on local government, but is unlikely to cause major policy changes.

September 3 - Michael Lewyn

'Vision Zero' Requires More Data in Washington, D.C.

Advocates say traffic safety data collection practices in Washington, D.C. don't meet national standards. They also say it will be hard for the District to meet its vision zero goal by 2024 if the problem persists.

September 3 - WAMU

NPR Headquarters

10 of the Best Adaptive Reuse Projects

A list of adaptive reuse projects completed in the last five years includes a diverse collection of breweries turned hotels, a dry dock turned into a museum, and much more.

September 3 - Urban Land Magazine

Same Source Data, 'Contradictory Conclusions' on Congestion

A curious discrepancy between two major congestion reports using the same data: There is a profound and unexplained discrepancy between the travel trends in the latest Urban Mobility Scorecard report and the data provided by Inrix.

September 3 - City Commentary

The Influence of Public Works on Gentrification

New research examines the role of public investments in gentrification.

September 3 - CityLab

How the 'Internet of Things' Is Changing City Operations

The potential of "Smart Cities" is still very much under negotiation. Data-Smart City Solutions at Harvard University surveyed what cities are doing so far to take advantage of the Internet of things.

September 3 - Data-Smart City Solutions

Pittsburgh Project Could Include Corridor for Driverless Vehicles

A massive redevelopment project moving forward in Pittsburgh would provide in-demand office and tech space near local universities. An innovative transportation infrastructure project could be a part of the deal.

September 3 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Klyde Warren Park

The Google Street View Perspective on Public Space Transformations

A recent trend in returning the use of streets and other public space to the use of humans and other modes of transportation other than the car is more striking with some historical perspective.

September 2 - Tech Insider

Lessons from Washington's Record Breaking Wildfire Season

The largest fire in the state history is burning in Washington. This year's particularly bad fires had predictable, perhaps preventable, origins.

September 2 - The Seattle Times

Post News

Top Books

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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.