The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
The Future of Ground-Floor Retail
With demand for housing growing and for physical storefronts waning, do the restrictions imposed by ground-floor retail zoning still make sense?
PLANOPEDIA
What Is Traffic Calming?
Traffic calming is a set of design interventions aimed at slowing or diverting car traffic to reduce the chance of crashes and improve safety for all road users.
The Beginning of the End of the Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle?
The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously on August 25 to begin a phased ban on the sale of passenger vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel beginning in 2026 when over a third of new vehicles sold in California must be zero-emissions.
San Antonio Considering Major Development Code Overhaul
Neighborhood registration and accessory dwelling units are among the hot button items included in a package of 193 proposed amendments to the San Antonio Unified Development Code.
Closing the Homeownership Knowledge Gap
An Oakland program geared at Black homeowners wants to empower households to understand the opportunities in building and renting accessory dwelling units.
Americans Have Fallen in Love With Outdoor Dining
Started as a response to pandemic restrictions, al fresco dining has taken off as customers, restaurant owners, and city officials realize the social and economic benefits of outdoor dining spaces.
New Yorkers Weigh in on Congestion Pricing
Hundreds of people signed up to speak at the city’s first public meeting on the long-delayed plan to charge drivers entering Manhattan’s Central Business District.
BLOG POST
How Locals Are Planning to Spend $2.2 Billion in RAISE Transportation Grants, Part Two
Part two of a series of post providing specific information for 164 of the 166 projects recently awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Transportation's RAISE grant funding program.
Maryland Toll Lane Plan Gains Federal Approval
In a victory for Governor Larry Hogan, who has championed the project, the Federal Highway Administration is allowing the Beltway expansion project to move ahead.
Funding for Two Transit Projects Approved for the Valley in Los Angeles
Local funding for a new light rail line and upgrades to the G Line (née Orange Line) bus rapid transit route have been approved for the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.
Alternative Railroad Electrification
Rather than building costly overhead electrification infrastructure to convert a Chicago-area commuter rail line from polluting diesel power to emission-free electricity, the Metra Board of Directors chose a far less expensive and quicker route.
The Declining Appeal of Lawns
Long held as a symbol of middle-class success and the American Dream, homogenous, monocultural lawns are quickly falling out of favor as people opt for more ecologically friendly gardens that conserve water and increase biodiversity.
BRT Stations Cut, Project Delayed in Atlanta
Inflation is taking a bite out of planned transportation projects in Georgia. The state's first ever bus rapid transit project provides the latest example of scaled back ambitions.
Redondo Beach’s Housing Element Failed. Now a Developer Is Planning 2,300 Residential Units.
Anti-housing development planning now has consequences in California.
Shared Mobility Ridership on the Rebound
Ridership on shared bike and scooter fleets showed numbers higher than before the pandemic in the second part of 2021, according to a new report.
Ohio Counties Can Now Ban Renewable Energy Projects
A new state law allows counties to deny wind and solar projects in their jurisdictions, and at least ten counties have already moved to implement bans.
Connecticut Legislator Pushing for Statewide Rent Control
Extreme price hikes in the for-sale and rental markets are pushing the state of Connecticut to consider statewide rent controls like those adopted by Oregon and California in 2019.
The Unequal Impacts of Traffic Crashes
Rates of traffic deaths vary widely among racial and economic groups but continue to rise across the board.
Bay Area Development Encounters the Limits of the Water Supply
A development battle pitting Contra Costa County against the East Bay Municipal Utility District illustrates the challenges of developing new housing supply in a time of drought.
Two L.A. County Cities Approved Rent Control in August
Bell Gardens and Pomona booth voted to approve rent caps of 4 percent this month in Southern California.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
