The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Georgia to Increase Gas Tax Through Conversion to Excise Tax
Gov. Nathan Deal will sign legislation to increase gas taxes through a state sales tax conversion to an excise tax. With new weight-based truck fees, motel fees, and electric vehicle fees, it will add $1 billion in new transportation funding.
The 'Little Asphalt' Solution for Better Communities
Little Asphalt minimizes pavement in cities, towns, and suburbs so that real estate can be used for higher value purposes—such as buildings and people-centered activities.
APA's Daniel Burnham Award Goes to Vibrant NEO 2040
The efforts of 12 counties, four big cities, and four metropolitan planning organizations, as well as universities, major foundations, cultural institutions, and some 10,000 residents in Northeast Ohio have been rewarded.
California Drought Makes History: Mandatory Restrictions, Record Low Snowpack
A wet December was all California got—but it wasn't nearly enough to put a dent in the state's drought. The problem, in fact, got much worse over the winter season.
A Mixed-Use Fire Station? Challenging the Limits of Mixed-Use Development
A visual essay exploring the emerging Potomac Yard neighborhood in Alexandria, VA and how one innovative project reinterprets the traditional definition of mixed-use development.
Learning from London's Mobility Achievements
Transport for London has a remarkable span of jurisdiction over transportation in the city—allowing TFL to pursue innovative projects with a relative degree of ease.
Obama Administration Drafts Transportation Bill; May 31 Deadline Looms
In all likelihood the $478 billion transportation bill proposed by the Obama Administration earlier this week is dead on arrival. But can the federal government get a long-term bill together by the May 31 deadline?
Florida Transportation Official Has Work Cut Out for Him
Florida would seem to be the ideal place for walking and biking. It's flat as can be. But the state developed very much with the car in mind. Billy Hattaway, at the Florida Dept. of Transportation, wants to change that.
Metro's Latest Light Rail Crash Sparks Rail Safety Debate
The March 28 crash on Metro's extensive light rail system shouldn't have happened. All the safety measures acted as they should have. Could more have been done to prevent the motorist's fateful turn across the tracks as a train approached?
Atlanta's Favorite Architect Inspires Science Fiction
Even movies set long ago and far, far away have to be filmed somewhere. With uncanny frequency, many of them, including "The Hunger Games" and "Insurgent," have been filmed in the futuristic/dystopian landscape designed by John Portman in Atlanta.
Harnessing Immigrant Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth
If the high level of entrepreneurship among immigrant populations is part culture, part economic necessity, what can community development organizations do to foster their success?
A Primer on Parklets in San Francisco: Past, Present, Future
The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic, John King, knows his San Francisco parklets—from the first ones that started the nationwide urban movement five years ago, to the ones currently in the hopper at the city planning office.
Big Changes, Additions for Citi Bike
Big changes are taking place at Citi Bike as the Big Apple looks to improve on its earliest efforts at bikeshare.
Building Capacity in Underserved Urban Areas
Seeing projects through—whether affordable housing, public space, or infrastructure—for low-income populations in cities like Los Angeles requires grit and coalition-building.
Can Gentrification Integrate Neighborhoods?
Hector Tobar argues that despite the well-documented ills of gentrification, under the right circumstances it can eat into long decades of racial segregation. Eastern Los Angeles may be a prime test case.
Urbanism: Nothing to Fear
Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, talks planes, trains, and automobiles, in an urban industrial context.
What do we want? COFFEE! When do we want it? NOW!!!
The City Observatory's new Cappuccino Congestion Index quantifies the delay that inadequate coffeeshop capacity imposes on caffeine consumers. For cappuccino-sucking urbanites, it is a more severe problem than traffic congestion.
Urbanism March Madness
The politicking and positioning over who will control the destiny of the land and infrastructure of the country never ends. It's like a dance. Or a tournament.
Study: Oil Prices to Remain Volatile Indefinitely
A new study from the Rational Assumptions think tank provides a completely unsurprising prognostication regarding the future of the oil market.
Tesla to Release Enviro-Premium Tesla-P
Tesla has revealed the specs on the Tesla-P, a new model that will be sure to excite the public realm-conscious urbanite.
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.
