The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Denver Opts for BRT over 'Modern Streetcar'
The 10-mile Colfax Ave corridor has the city's highest bus ridership but plagued by traffic congestion. After a 2-year study, bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes was selected by city and county staff as part of a $115 million investment strategy.
Divvy Expands Bike-Sharing Stations
Adding 175 new stations by Spring 2015, the Divvy expansion would add 1,750 bicycles to the system in wards further away from the downtown core.
Hacking Traffic Lights with a Laptop
A study by computer scientists from the University of Michigan shows how easy it is to hack and control traffic lights.
New York City Does In Fact Sleep
Brian Wilt, a data scientist at Jawbone, the company behind many fitness trackers, aggregated sleeping patterns of people across the world to see how people's sleeping cycles compare.
Indexing Affordability and Walkability in the United States
Dave Munson discovered the neighborhoods throughout the United States that are both affordable by his salary and walkable.
The Solution to Los Angeles' Crumbling Sidewalks
Parking guru Donald Shoup discusses how the city of Los Angeles can fix its roughly 4,300 miles of sidewalk that require some degree of repair, for free.
Closing Gaps in the Florida Greenways and Trails System
The recent purchase of land to close gaps in the Florida Greenways and Trails System resulted from partnerships between state, regional and county governments to protect land for recreation and conservation in the Sunshine State.
Interpreting the 'Timeless and Time-Bound' in Cities
In his latest essay on interpretation of the urban environment, Chuck Wolfe suggests that if we take away context clues cities become matrices -- with blank cells to complete -- where each of us personalizes how space meets time.
The Paradox of Reduced Oil Reserve Estimates
Until recently, California's Monterey Shale was estimated to have the nation's highest amount of recoverable oil. Then the Energy Department revised their estimates, lowering it 96%, which turned out to be bad news for fracking moratorium advocates.
Social Mobility in America: Reality or Dream?
Richard Reeves explains the factors that limit or assist social mobility for people born into the lowest economic quintile in American society.
Why the Federal Government Should Require Minimum Service Standards for Rail
According to Yonah Freemark, there's folly in the way the federal government has been funding rail transit projects but failing to set standards for minimum service—a key indicator of transit ridership success.
White Flight Patterns Continue Within the Suburbs
According to a recent study, white flight proliferates even in the suburbs, as suburbs attract large numbers of middle-class minority residents and white residents flee so-called 'ethnoburbs'.
Bloomberg Offers $1 Million Annually for 'Innovation Delivery Teams'
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg began a new program via Bloomberg Philanthropies to invest $45 million for shaking up city halls.
Nine Women Leading the Public Interest Design Field
Rennie Jones of Architizer highlights nine women pioneering a variety of successful and poignant public interest design projects around the world.
How Can Rail Complete its Comeback in the United States?
Deepa Sanyal writes the second installment of a series devoted to the idea of "Rail Redux"—this time examining the question of what components are necessary to drive a "true rail resurgence."
How Small Lots Yield Urban Density
A recent article explains how, and why, small lot subdivisions get built in Los Angeles. Also, the city has recently updated a procedural glitch to make permitting easier for small lot projects.
How San Francisco Integrates Historic Rail Lines into its Transit System
San Francisco has managed to operate and integrate historic rail transit into its overall public transit system. Clement Lau explains how the City does it.
Designing Child-Friendly Cities: More Trouble than it's Worth?
With the Millennial boom in many urban centers, many cities are looking for ways to retain young families rather than losing them to the traditional suburban exodus. One columnist dares to ask: Do cities even need kids?
As Crashes Go Unreported, Boston's Pedestrians Lose Out
The refusal of the Boston Police Department to report crashes to the state's Registry of Vehicles means that the city misses out on state funding to improve pedestrian and traffic safety.
Arriving in Texas: the Shinkansen Bullet Train
The Houston to Dallas high speed rail train will be built with the cooperation of Japan's Central Railway, a longtime successful and profitable operator of Shinkansen bullet train lines. Securing the private financing is key to the project.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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.
