The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Do Good Techies Make Good Neighbors?

Who wouldn’t want the many benefits that a thriving digital workforce can bring? Growing wages, agile thinking, and jeans and ping pong in the office! Oh, but wait...

December 20 - Rooflines

Woman in Bike Lane, Toronto, Canada

The Top Bike Lane Projects of 2014

Bike lanes are hot right now in cities all over the country. As more and more cities build more and more miles of bike infrastructure, which projects are exemplary?

December 19 - People for Bikes

U.S.-Mexico Agreement Returns Water to the Colorado River Delta

National Geographic details the effects of the "Minute 319" agreement that will return water to the Colorado River Delta.

December 19 - National Geographic

Searching for Middle Ground in the Urban-Rural Divide

Aaron Renn responds to a column in the Kansas City Star lamenting the political inequities of Kansas City's urban setting relative to nearby rural communities.

December 19 - Urbanophile

Philadelphia Waterfront Revitalization follows the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk

It might lack the High Line's design ambition, but the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk will fill an appreciated role in the network of trails along the Philadelphia waterfront.

December 19 - The Architect's Newspaper


Study: Youth Learn Reckless Driving Habits at the Movies

Researchers in the Behavioral Science Institute at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands produced evidence that movies like Fast and the Furious influence the driving of young people.

December 19 - Pacific Standard

New Mayor, New Agenda for the Port City of Long Beach

Recently elected Mayor of Long Beach Robert Garcia, 37 years old, outlines his priorities: education, climate change, and economic development.

December 19 - The Planning Report


Arctic Lovers Can Thank Falling Oil Prices for this Gift

The high cost of drilling for oil in the Arctic, combined with the lowest oil prices in five years, have caused Chevron Corp. to drop their test well drilling program in Canada's Beaufort Sea.

December 19 - The Wall Street Journal

Significant Jump in California Driving

Mirroring a previously reported increase in gasoline consumption in California, the vehicle miles traveled increase over last year is the largest in a decade. The reasons are the same: cheaper gas and an improved economy with more people working.

December 19 - The Sacramento Bee

Tech Urban Design

5 Ways Technology Can Improve Urban Design

Technology is a great benefit for urban design and urban planning. Not only does it help boost productivity for design and urban planning teams, but it also increases team collaboration, citizen engagement, attention to detail, and accuracy.

December 19 - Civicly

Friday Night Lights: NASA Can See Your Holiday Lights from Space

One of the first things researchers noticed when nighttime images from the Suomi NPP satellite were beamed back to Earth: the planet's ambient lighting changes drastically during certain holidays, like Christmas and Ramadan.

December 19 - Vox

Downtown Cincinnati

60 Years of Midwestern Urban Renewal

Researchers at the Institute for Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma prepared a set of images to show the indelible impact of mid-20th century urban renewal on Midwestern cities.

December 18 - Institute for Quality Communities

On the Importance of Bike Parking to Bike Commute Adoption

A blogger writes that bike advocates should think outside the bike lane to bike parking facilities—only when the costs of biking are externalized will a critical mass adopt biking.

December 18 - Bike Portland

Boomers Drive Home Sales; Millennials Still on the Sidelines

Bloomberg produced an article describing what it sees as the dominant narrative of the for-sale housing market as the country slowly emerges from the recession and adjusts to its new demographic realities.

December 18 - Bloomberg

America's Growing Transit Love Affair

A trend piece by CNN examines Americans' increasing embrace of transit. Although the subject matter is familiar to Planetizen readers, the article also reveals insights into mainstream perceptions of the contemporary mobility discussion.

December 18 - CNN

Six Employees Indicted in West Virginia Water Contamination Debacle

Six chemical company employees have been charged, under the Clean Water Act, for an incident earlier this year that left 300,000 West Virginia residents without safe drinking water for more than a week.

December 18 - Associated Press

Arlington Virginia

Urban vs. Suburban: The Debate Continues

However your read the tea leaves, if it's true the 'burbs are reinventing themselves in the new era, it’s walkable, compact urbanism that's providing a game plan.

December 18 - PlaceShakers

Smart Growth Communities Require Less Pavement

Recent studies indicate that current planning practices require economically-excessive road and parking supply. This research provides practical guidance to help communities devote less land to vehicles and more land to people.

December 18 - Access Magazine

750-Mile Trail Network Near Philadelphia Receives $8.6 Million Gift

The William Penn Foundation has awarded $8.6 million in support for The Circuit—a planned regional network of bicycle and pedestrian trails for greater Philadelphia.

December 18 - Philadelphia Inquirer

New York Bans Fracking for Good

Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally made a decision—make it permanent in 2015. Fracking foes won an important battle as the Empire State has massive natural gas reserves in the Marcellus shale play. In the end, health issues trumped economics.

December 18 - Vox

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.