The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The former parks commissioner for Bogotá, Colombia is throwing his hat in the ring in Toronto’s mayoral race.

July 15 - Toronto Star

The auto-centric county has been building new bike trails and pedestrian facilities, but more improvements are necessary to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries, planners say.

July 15 - The Washington Post

Lake Street’s designation as a ‘slow street’ is overwhelmingly popular with residents. Why does the city plan to dismantle it?

July 14 - Streetsblog San Francisco

A growing number of cities in California have prohibited the construction of new gas stations. Los Angeles could soon consider an ordinance to do the same—in a landmark move for the city some believe to be a symbol of car-dependent sprawl.

July 14 - Los Angeles Times

With the city getting ready to update its comprehensive plan, one writer examines some models for improving affordability, accessibility, and community in Seattle.

July 14 - The Urbanist

Boise was considering allowing up to four units by-right on any residential parcel in the city, but has since rolled back the scale of the proposed zoning changes.

July 14 - Boise Dev

A new mapping tool underscores inequities in infrastructure that lead to higher rates of heat-related illnesses in low-income neighborhoods.

July 14 - Los Angeles Times

The latest Streetfilms release offers an in-person, on-bike tour of Minneapolis.

July 14 - Streetfilms

Tampa Bay’s first bus rapid transit line, the SunRunner, has an official opening date.

July 14 - Tampa Bay Times

Large Wall Street investors are increasing their footprint in the housing market, like they did after the Great Recession, and some local and state governments are inventing new ways to prevent these institutional investors from cornering the market.

July 14 - Route Fifty

PLANOPEDIA

A non-conforming use is an existing building that would not be built under current land use regulations. While esoteric, the term is nonetheless critical to understanding the changes in development regulations over time.

July 13 - James Brasuell

Despite the common belief that drug abuse and mental illness are some of the main factors that cause people to become unhoused, a new book concludes that high housing costs and low availability, more than anything else, push people into homelessness.

July 13 - Los Angeles Times

The Aspen City Council hopes the stricter regulations on short-term rentals and new home construction will stem the astronomical rise of housing costs in the mountain town.

July 13 - The Colorado Sun

A new analysis indicates that many big cities saw their biggest population declines in at least a decade, with suburbs also showing a slowdown in growth.

July 13 - Brookings

The Fed’s recent decision to raise interest rates is causing a slowdown in the housing market, but rents are poised to remain high as demand for rental housing continues to outpace supply.

July 13 - Bay Citizen via The New York Times

The city’s newly approved Strategic Mobility Plan highlights the need for better options when it comes to walking, biking, and public transit, setting a goal to reduce driving to half of total trips.

July 13 - Smart Cities Dive

After the city instituted a ban on cashless businesses, calling the model discriminatory against poor New Yorkers who rely on cash transactions, a study found that more than 80 percent of new fast-delivery stores don’t accept cash.

July 13 - Gothamist

The scenic road has been closed to car traffic during the pandemic, but the park service could begin allowing through traffic nine months of the year.

July 13 - DCist

The state is slowly starting to curb water consumption, but progress has been ‘disappointingly slow’ as water supplies across the West diminish to historic lows.

July 12 - Los Angeles Times

The report ranks the most dangerous states and metro areas for pedestrians, who died at higher rates during the pandemic despite reduced driving.

July 12 - Smart Growth America