The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

U.S. Mayors List Infrastructure as 2023’s Top Concern
The National League of Cities (NLC) has published an analysis of mayoral speeches from various U.S. cities, along with Census data and resident sentiments, in the latest edition of the annual “State of the Cities” report.

Where Have all the Kit Homes Gone?
Buying a house through the Sears catalog was, for a brief historical moment, a popular and affordable way to become a homeowner.

FEATURE
The Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists
The 100 people making an impact on planning and cities today.

Strategies for Speeding Up Bus Service
A new report will highlight solutions for making bus service faster, more reliable, and thus more attractive to riders.

When Traffic Enforcement Makes Roads More Dangerous
A new book makes the case that revenue-oriented traffic policing has far-reaching negative impacts and often fails to improve traffic safety.

The ‘Lock-In Effect’ Keeping Home Prices High
Housing prices dropped slightly last year, but first-time and middle-income buyers found little price relief due to the “lock-in effect” of the historically low interest rates in effect for more than a decade prior to 2022.

Houston Transit Could Lose a Tenth of Sales Tax Revenue
Agency officials say they will continue to make expansion plans in the face of a potentially dramatic reduction in funding.

BLOG POST
Watch Out for Green Class Backlash
Low emission zones, like that implemented in London, face backlash from critics on all sides of the political spectrum for impacting the poorest drivers and putting a burden on small businesses.

Rent Control Approved for Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Council has approved a new law that sets limits on how much landlords can raise rents from year to year.

Why Can’t Citi Bike Keep its E-Bikes Running?
Citi Bike’s e-bikes are becoming too popular for their own good as Lyft struggles to keep up with maintenance and charging.

New REM Light Rail Launches in Montreal
The first day of public service on the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) light rail route was marred by a closure and delays.

Using Cellphone and Fitness App Data for Park Planning
Data from smartphone apps and fitness trackers are helping planners to better understand park usage patterns and plan for new and improved parks.

California Ballot Measures Would Aid the Mentally Ill and Drug-Addicted Homeless
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in March a two-part ballot initiative to tackle homelessness, focusing on mental illness and substance abuse, which would provide 10,000 beds in new, voluntary treatment facilities—but one funding source is controversial.

Community-Based Organizations Advancing Park Equity
July is Parks and Recreation Month and CBOs should be recognized for the important role they play in supporting parks and recreation in communities across the U.S.

Biden Administration Announces Federal Heat Safety Policies
As extreme heat waves become more common and widespread, the administration is directing federal resources to heat mitigation efforts.

Federal Rule Update to Speed Clean Energy Approvals
A regulatory change at the federal level will shorten the time it takes clean energy projects to gain approval and start providing energy to the grid.

Report: More Than Half of Harris County Households Cost-Burdened
Using a measurement that takes into account more factors in addition to housing costs, a new report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research sheds light on the true crisis facing Houston-area renters.

D.C. Buses to Begin All-Door Boarding
Some bus lines will start letting riders board through both front and back doors this fall as part of Metro’s efforts to improve service speed and reliability.

FTA Rejects North Carolina Commuter Rail Funding
As commuter patterns shift, so too do the transit funding preferences of the federal government.

Election 2024: California Oil Drilling Referendum
Environmentalists gear up for battle to reject a referendum funded by Big Oil on a law passed last year that would ban oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.
Pagination
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
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.