The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Washington State's First Express Toll Lanes Open
Washington has Express Lanes on I-5 and I-90 and HOT Lanes on SR 167, but the 17 miles of lanes that opened Sunday on I-405 from Bellevue to Lynnwood will be the state's first Express Toll Lanes.
Traffic Deaths in California Continue to Rise—How to Stem the Tide
Traffic fatalities in California have been rising since 2010, rising to 3,104 in 2013 after decreasing from 2006 to 2010. Experts point to several specific reasons for the increase; one of the most prominent may be in your hand right now.
Ghost Towns Remain After Rush to Build in North Dakota Oil Boom
Bloomberg details the sudden, catastrophic decline of the real estate market in North Dakota following the oil bust of the last year. Municipalities and investors are on the hook for thousands of new and approved building units.
Density Bonuses Proposed to Spur Affordable Housing in San Francisco
Mayor Ed Lee this week proposed a density bonus policy that would help the city build approximately 16,000 new units of housing, including 5,000 affordable units along select transit corridors.
Opening Tomorrow: Pier 68—Philadelphia's Newest Waterfront Park
The latest city to upgrade its urban waterfront into an open space amenity is Philadelphia, which will open Pier 68 to the public October 1, 2015.
Can Reduced Parking Requirements Generate Too Much Development Competition?
A new argument has appeared in the ongoing debate about parking requirements. A university in a college town objected to reduced parking requirements on the grounds that it would make the city too attractive to developers.
Study Quantifies Land Use Benefits of Transit Investments
A study by the Transportation Research Board calculates "land use effect" and "ridership effect" to show how much land is saved when cities include public transit.
Congestion as an Economic—Not an Engineering—Problem
Thinking about congestion as an economic problem generates new solutions for the problem as well as a response to accusations of social engineering.
Moving Day for Portland's 'Right to Dream Too' Homeless Camp Delayed
Two years of work by the city to move the location of the Right 2 Dream Too homeless encampment, including the purchase of land for a new location, has stalled in the final hour.
Transportation Bond Funding Divides Suburban County in Texas
It's a case of the haves vs. the have-nots in transportation spending for a rapidly growing suburban area of Houston.
More and More Americans Working From Home
In a pattern evident in communities all over the country, U.S. Census data shows more Americans are working from home. Researchers from the Brookings Institution are hoping that planners have noticed the trend.
New San Diego Regional Plan Focuses on Public Transit
The San Diego Association of Government on October 9 will consider a 35-year regional plan that prioritizes public transit in its management of an expected 1 million new residents.
The Dangers of Dumb Luck for Hurricane-Zone Transplants
The relative calm of the last decade may be luring hundreds of thousands of new coastal residents into a false sense of comfort.
Beyond the Big One: Real Recovery in San Francisco
What does it mean to be a Chief Resilience Officer for one America's largest cities? Doggerel spoke to Patrick Otellini, Chief Resilient Officer for San Francisco, to find out what it takes to make a truly resilient city.
$7 Billion Later, Shell to Withdraw from Arctic Oil Drilling
Environmentalists could have saved themselves a lot of demonstrating had they known that Shell Oil would pack up their drilling rigs after only six weeks of exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Insufficient oil and other reasons cited.
Three Parking Solutions for Three Growing Cities
As a new wave of people flood cities to live, work, and play, many arrive on four wheels: cars, which are creating massive headaches for city planners and drivers.
Sidewalk Cafes—Silver Bullets of Walkable Places
No single tool builds "walk appeal" as powerfully as sidewalk cafes, which are both a cause and an effect of places we love to walk.
How Chinese Immigrants Are Urbanizing a Connecticut Suburb
Next City provides a case study in the urbanization of suburbs—in this case the result of a large influx of Chinese immigrants.
Witness a Car-Free Paris
We call them Open Streets events. In French it's Journée Sans Voiture. On September 27, the world saw a car-free Paris.
How the Internet of Things Can Help Solve Water Woes
New tools and technologies of the so-called Internet of Things are helping cities get a better handle on water scarcity and overabundance.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
