The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Can Seattle Build 20,000 Affordable Units in 10 Years?
Frank Chiachiere provides some advice on how Seattle can achieve its ambitious goals for affordable housing over the next decade: build transit to places where land is less expensive.
Counties Seek State Aid as Drought Deepens in Oregon
California's drought is getting all the press, but much of Oregon is in the fourth year of drought, with this year now qualifying as "exceptional drought."
Study: Income Inequality Lowers Life Expectancy
Research suggests a correlation between regional income inequality and poorer health. Several statistical and sociological causes may come into play.
Property Rights, First Amendment at Issue Over Confederate War Memorial
150 years ago yesterday Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac, ending the Civil War. The ancestors of the Confederacy not live in a country protected by the First Amendment.
Bike Share on San Francisco Peninsula in Jeopardy
Palo Alto may be one of America's most bike-friendly small cities, but when it comes to bikeshare, it's been a flop. It's not alone—ridership has been low in Mountain View and Redwood City as well.
Friday Funny? The Onion Imagines the Future of the Hit and Run
Satire is supposed to make us uncomfortable. A recent totally fake news report imagining hit-and-run technology for self-driving cars (called the "Culpability-Evasion System") definitely succeeded there.
Friday Eye Candy: Mapping the Country's Seasonal Bloom
Wondering when and where spring will bloom? The U.S. Forest Service has just the map to lead you to the fruits of your seasonal desires.
Inside Controversial Jersey City Bikeshare Plans
The New Yorker looks into the motivations of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop—who takes the bike route less traveled.
BLOG POST
Libertarian-Friendly Drought Control
Arid states can both reduce water use and avoid intrusive government by eliminating zoning regulations that mandate or encourage water-wasting lawns.
Federal Dollars Still Erasing Sandy's Footprint
Subway restoration and resilience efforts depend for a large part on federal relief. South Ferry Station, still new when the storm hit, will basically be rebuilt from scratch.
First Mexico-U.S. Rail Crossing in a Century Almost Complete
Governing details a historic new infrastructure addition across the Rio Grande in Texas. The railroad crossing required a massive coordinated effort—just on the U.S. side of the border.
Movement on the Walk Score Leaderboard
The newest rankings of the most walkable cities in the United States, courtesy of Walk Score, contains a few surprises along with its standard annual recognition of New York City.
Management, Not Technology, Will Solve California's Drought
It should come as no surprise that Eduardo Porter, who writes the Economic Scene column for The New York Times, is not enamoured by technological silver bullets like desalination as ways for California to survive it's four-year plus drought.
Study Finds Economic Value in Urban-Dwelling Birds
Researchers at the University of Washington and Humboldt State University have produced evidence value added by birds in urban settings.
Florida Backs Miami Complete Streets Initiative
The Florida DOT has approved Miami's plan to rework busy Biscayne Boulevard. In the spirit of Complete Streets, vehicle lanes will be reduced and pedestrian/bike spaces expanded.
Los Angeles Releases Ambitious 'Sustainable City Plan'
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has ambitious plans to modernize the city. This week his administration laid out a sweeping sustainability agenda on matters of critical importance to the future of the nation's second largest city.
Quality Public Transit Benefits Land Use Outcomes
New research quantifies public transit impacts on urban development patterns, and resulting benefits. Current transit services reduces U.S. urban land consumption by 27 percent, which reduces VMT, fuel consumption and pollution emissions 8 percent.
Visioning Edges in Cities, and the Spaces Beyond
In an inspirational essay about the undeveloped boundaries of the public domain (such as street-ends), Chuck Wolfe urges innovation in city spaces where we "blend the familiar with the edge of the unknown."
Streetsblog 'Golden Crater' Goes to Camden, New Jersey for Waterfront Parking Abyss
Angie Schmitt announces the results of the 2015 "Parking Madness" tournament, which pits the country's worst examples of parking.
Preservation and Revitalization in Latin America
Urban city centers have been decaying for years in Latin America, however, with renewed interest by Latin American governments, these city cores are once again being revitalized. Arup Connect spoke with urban design leader Pablo Lazo to learn how.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
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.
