The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Where Have All the Oil Trains in California Gone?
While many California were protesting oil trains carrying the hazardous Bakken crude, a funny thing happened—they stopped coming. While protests may have delayed the construction of new oil terminals, economics is at the root of the slowdown.
Businesses Band Together to Rebrand Their Block
It's just one block, but a block disrupted by changes happening just a quarter-mile away. So these businesses came together to rebrand their street and bring customers back.
Places Journal Launches New Tool for Public Scholarship
Places Journal has just launched Reading Lists: a new, interactive tool that enables readers to create and share topical lists of articles, books, and other media from diverse sources.
How Los Angeles Will Update its 1946 Zoning Code
Tom Rothmann explains how and why Los Angeles is updating antiquated language governing land use in the city.
From the Golden Gate Bridge: How Many Bikers Is Too Many Bikers?
A city councilmember in Sausalito in the North San Francisco Bay Area is ready to limit the number of tourists riding rental bikes into her city from across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Millennial Advisory Panel Convened for Atlanta's Regional Planning Effort
The Atlanta Regional Commission is engaging Millennials in an ongoing planning effort that will determine the shape of the region through 2040.
Friday Funny: Your Subway Train Says a Lot About You
Clickhole, the Buzzfeed-style spinoff of The Onion, has produced a listicle of what the New York Subway line you're riding says about your personality. Prepare to learn nothing and laugh a little.
Renzo Piano on the Potential of Suburbs
In an interview, architect Renzo Piano says European suburbs are not desolate. He argues they shouldn't be treated as such in the quest for cohesive cities.
Urban Renewal District Ready to Pay Off in Beaverton
An urban renewal district established in 2011 in the city of Beaverton, Oregon has so far fallen short of its 150-million potential. But as the local economy improves, so too does the tax increment and bond financing potential of the district.
Denver's Building Boom Happening on the Fringes
According to a Denver Post article, the Denver metropolitan area has 31,000 homes in the development pipeline. All but 2,600 of those homes would be built in suburban counties surrounding Denver.
Obama Administration Would End Tax-Exempt Bonds for Sports Stadiums
Ending the use of tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of pro sports facilities has high level support from President Obama's 2016 draft budget, but it's too early to tell if the proposed ban on such financing mechanisms will be approved.
Arlington's Market-Rate Affordable Housing will Disappear by 2020
Planners have undertaken the task of protecting market-rate affordable housing in Arlington County. The need for action was made clear in an Affordable Housing Study recently released to inform the preparation of a new Affordable Housing Master Plan.
SB 32 to Pick Up Where AB 32 Leaves Off
California's landmark climate legislation, AB 32, ends in five years; i.e., the target year for emissions reduction is 2020, after which there will be no comparable legislation targeting a future year. SB 32 sets emission reduction goals for 2050.
On the Re-Orientation of Los Angeles
Aaron Paley, the man who brought Ciclovia to the United States, wants Los Angeles to be a model for the transition from auto-dependent to car-optional.
Finding the Right Mix of Uses for Former Industrial Sites
The Philadelphia City Council is tinkering with a novel land use created by its 2012 Zoning Code update to help guide mixed use development on former industrial sites.
The Keys to Virginia's Urban Revitalization: Live/Work/Play
An op-ed makes the case for the benefits of mixed-use development in Virginia, namely the creation of 24/7 environments for living, working, and playing.
The Four Phases of New Urbanism
Robert Steuteville discusses the slow, phased emergence of the New Urbanism. We are only partway through a change that will take generations. We are now immersed in the revitalization of cities. More phases will come.
200 Years of Faster Travel Times
A post on Vox collects a series of maps from the "Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States" showing how travel times changed over the past 200 years of U.S. history.
Wyoming to Finance Out-of-State Coal Ports
The state of Wyoming sees more potential than risk in financing coal industry infrastructure projects in the state of Washington.
GPS Technology Chosen for Oregon's Road Usage Charge
Oregon's much heralded mileage fee program, known as OReGO, has selected the technology to record the miles driven by participants. A French and Canadian company will collaborate to provide a telematics road usage charging framework to begin July 1.
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.
