The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How Gabe Klein Steered Chicago Towards More Sustainable Transportation
Late last week, Chicago Department of Transportation head Gabe Klein announced that he would be resigning to return to the private sector. During his two and a half years on the job, the city made impressive gains in sustainable transportation.
Top 20 Weird & Wonderful Urban Bridges
Though meant to unite, bridges can be divisive structures. What should a bridge really be? Does clever design matter, or is it all about function? Here are 20 bridges from around the world that stand out as interesting, if not always functional.
English Town Prepares for Invasion of the Pod Cars
A fleet of 100 self-driving pod cars are set to appear on the streets of the English town of Milton Keynes by 2015.
Slow-Growth Santa Monica Poised for Rapid Redevelopment
With 30 projects totaling nearly 3 million square feet of development in the pipeline, L.A.'s famously laid-back neighbor is in for an intense period of growth. Will new development enhance or alter the city's alluring character?
BLOG POST
The Irony of Ring Roads
One way to address traffic congestion is to provide a bypass for vehicles around city traffic machinations. Ring roads, by definition, are meant to perform that function. In reality, they ignore the supply and demand model of traffic management.
Fracking Bans Fare Well in Colorado Elections
Fracking bans passed overwhelmingly in the Front Range cities of Boulder, Fort Collins and Lafayette but appeared to be losing by a mere 248 votes in Broomfield as of 11 p.m. on election night.
One of D.C.'s Prime Parcels Gets a Developer and a Vision
Two years after the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed its doors, the transformation of one of the city's prime development parcels took a giant leap forward this week with the selection of Hines Interests to lead the redevelopment.
Is Your City One of America's Most Walkable?
Walk Score has released its 2014 ranking of Most Walkable U.S. Cities and Neighborhoods. Though New York's position at the top of the list would be easy to explain, one surprise made the top five.
Why New Yorkers Should Prepare for a de Blasio Building Boom
If you liked the pace of development during the Bloomberg administration, you're going to love Bill de Blasio. Development-related revenues will be necessary to fund the new mayor's priorities and inherited challenges explains Josh Barro.

FEATURE
What Is Planning?
By analyzing the areas of expertise and interests of 851 undergraduate and graduate planning faculty members, Tom Sanchez investigates what planning is, what it is not, and what it could be.
Mixed Results for Urbanism in Yesterday's Elections
Sustainable transportation in Seattle, a streetcar in Cincinnati and an Astrodome in Houston were among the policies and projects at stake in local elections across the U.S. yesterday. Here are some of the winners and losers.
What Does it Take to Play Paris's Biggest Stage?
Not just anyone can (legally) perform for the millions of passengers who ply Paris's mammoth subway system every day. Liz Alderman looks at the competitive process to land a highly coveted, and potentially lucrative, permit to play Paris Métro.
L.A.'s Next Superhighway
Could Los Angeles get a private company to spend $3 billion to $5 billion to connect every residence and business in the city to a fiber broadband network? City leaders seem to think so, and are planning to move forward with an RFP.
Ambitious Network to Cover 40% of Hamburg in Green
Imagine being able to traverse a major city surrounded entirely by bikes, pedestrians, and green spaces. That vision is poised to become reality in Hamburg within the next two decades as the city pursues plans for a vast Grünes Netz (Green Network).
As Cities Benefit from Streetcar-Spurred Development, Atlanta Asks: Where's Ours?
New streetcar lines in cities like Kansas City, Tucson and Cincinnati are already generating residential development, long before the first passengers hop on board. As Atlanta lays the track for its new system, ATL Urbanist asks: Where's ours?
We Can't Afford to Ignore Manufactured Housing Anymore
A negative perception of manufactured housing persists, though the industry has changed drastically. Winton Pitcoff tells community developers that these homes need to be taken seriously as solutions for the affordable housing crisis.
Will Mayor Garcetti Be Able to Maintain L.A.'s Multimodal Momentum?
Antonio Villaraigosa’s successes earned him a reputation as L.A.'s transportation mayor. Can Mayor Garcetti weave together high-profile projects with back to basics governance to integrate L.A.'s neighborhood development and transportation planning?

The Metros Where Millennials Have the Most Opportunities
Uninterested in outdated suburbs and excluded from the most desirable places, Millennials are in need of alternative options for establishing themselves. Nona Willis Aronowitz's new series examines four types of cities where Millennials can make it.
D.C.'s Metro Pursues Joint Development Opportunities Around Five Stations
With developers clamoring to build near D.C.'s expanding subway network, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) is seeking to cash in on its real estate holdings.
NYC: 7 Things at Risk, Post-Bloomberg
As Mayor Bloomberg gets set to leave office in New York, here are 7 things that may dramatically change under a new administration.
Pagination
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State 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.