The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

If you forget to bring a bag, pay a dime for either a paper or reusable plastic bag. Single-use plastic bags will disappear from grocery stores and pharmacies on July 1, convenience and liquor stores a year later. A composting bill was also signed.

October 3 - Los Angeles Times

One possible frame though which to consider the ongoing evolution of cities like San Francisco: the measures (sometimes) taken to preserve the historic fabric of the city.

October 3 - Socket Site

Developers, public officials and others complain about the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). But the law doesn't change because everyone—even developers and public agencies—has something to gain from the leverage it offers.

October 3 - California Planning & Development Report

New Jersey's gas tax has been stuck at 14.50 cents per gallon since 1988; only Alaska's is lower. An Assembly committee began hearings on increasing the tax to fix crumbling roads and improve transit. It's high-end benchmark: a 31-cent increase.

October 3 - NJ.com

More cities around the country are embracing skateparks as a vital part of park design, leading to a new wave of urban design standards tailored for skateboarders.

October 3 - Next City

Despite plans to create a uniform bike sharing program through the three New Jersey cities of Hoboken, Jersey City, and Weehawken, in the end Jersey City will join the Citi Bikes program while Hoboken and Weehawken partner with Next Bike.

October 3 - The New York Times

The American Planning Association (APA) has released its annual list of 10 Great Neighborhoods, 10 Great Streets, and 10 Great Public Spaces.

October 2 - American Planning Association

John King has reason to believe a cultural shift toward taller buildings and mixed-use neighborhoods is underway in the Bay Area. How? The language used by opponents of those causes.

October 2 - San Francisco Chronicle

Following a year when 80 pedestrians were killed by cars in the city, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has proposed a new strategic plan that sets Vision Zero goals for pedestrian fatalities and reflects new priorities for the city.

October 2 - Los Angeles Daily News

A new cross-disciplinary report cites 32 case studies to offer practical solutions for integrating trees into civic spaces and surface car parks.

October 2 - Trees in Hard Landscapes: A Guide for Delivery

FEATURE

By focusing on their common interest in working toward the public good, the gap between faith-based institutions and the planning processes of their communities can be bridged.

October 2 - Milton Friesen

The latest example of a coastal city designing urban resilience as both amenity and infrastructure—a plan to build Venice-style canals in Boston.

October 2 - The Boston Globe

Not to be outdone by West Hollywood, San Francisco's premier gay neighborhood has painted crosswalks on Castro Street in rainbow colors. However, it's only one part of a much bigger streetscape improvement project that involved huge community input.

October 2 - CBS

The high-profile Downtown Project in Las Vegas, led by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, made the wrong kind of news this week.

October 2 - Re/code

Gavin Mueller writes a withering critique of the forces behind gentrification and the liberal justifications that allow poverty and racism to persist.

October 2 - Jacobin

A recent survey of the Initiative on Global Markets Economic Experts Panel found clear and broad support for the economic benefits of transportation network companies.

October 2 - The Initiative on Global Markets

Scott Beyer argues that more compact, vertically-oriented cities, like Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C., should sell the air rights above public projects.

October 1 - Governing

Looking for a mapping tool that makes it easy to reference news about which agencies are buying what kind of rolling stock and when?

October 1 - Next City

The American Public Transportation Association's Director of Policy Development and Research responds to Eric Jaffe's question: "If So Many People Support Transit, Why Do So Few Ride?"

October 1 - American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

An op-ed column by Dana M. Lerner, a New Yorker whose 9-year-old son was struck and killed by taxi while crossing the street earlier this year, explains the legal precedent that lets drivers get away with murder.

October 1 - New York Times