The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Hospital Signs

Living (and Dying) with COVID: How Many Deaths are Acceptable?

Political analyst Philip Bump asks the "unstated, unpleasant question" that the U.S. has struggled with since the inception of the pandemic, more relevant now with the widespread availability of vaccines that are effective at preventing most deaths.

July 28 - The Washington Post

Place It Workshop

Community Land Trusts: Combining Scale and Community Control

Pitting the straw men of scale and community control against one another does the field more harm than good.

July 28 - Shelterforce

Sound Transit train

Sound Transit Facing Major Budget Shortfall for Light Rail Projects

Since voters approved a measure expanding Seattle's light rail network, construction and land costs have soared, adding billions to the projected price tag.

July 28 - Seattle Times

Empty Homes

Defining the 'Community' in Community Land Trusts

As community land trusts take root and expand, they face numerous questions on how to stay communally-focused while their geographic scope grows.

July 28 - Shelterforce

Multi-Family Housing

Millions of Tenants at Risk of Eviction, Billions in Rental Assistance Undelivered

What happens if the federal rental assistance money available to renters doesn’t make it to them before the moratorium expires? And how did the 2020 eviction predictions pan out?

July 28 - Shelterforce


Southwest LRT

Minneapolis LRT Facing Delays, Cost Increases

Construction on the Kenilworth Tunnel has been plagued by problems and threatens the foundation of a nearby condo complex.

July 28 - Minneapolis Post

Silicon Valley

Bay Area Workers are Moving Back

Many of the tech employees who left Silicon Valley during the pandemic are making their way back to the Bay Area–and so are higher rents.

July 27 - New York Times


Rich Suburban House

U.S. Cities With the Most Luxury Housing for Sale

From big cities to small towns, the share of homes with selling prices above $1 million is rising quickly.

July 27 - Point2

The BLVD streetscape, Lancaster, California

An Oasis In The Desert

A redesign costing a mere $12 million transformed the main street of the desert city of Lancaster, Calif., from an ordinary retail strip to a genuine place. If Lancaster can do it, any city can.

July 27 - California Planning & Development Report

Eviction Crisis

New Fair Housing Rule Should Address Evictions

HUD's new fair housing rule crucially overlooks the role of evictions in perpetuating residential segregation.

July 27 - Bloomberg CityLab

1719 house in Salem, Massachusetts

Greater Boston Considers Relaxing ADU Rules as Housing Shortage Deepens

Cities in the region want to increase flexibility for homeowners who want to build 'granny flats' on their property.

July 27 - Boston Globe

A water-pipeline in the foothills west of Ridgecrest, CA

Water Thieves are Compromising California's Water Supplies

Theft by illegal marijuana grow operations is straining California's already dwindling water supplies and endangering local communities as authorities lock hydrants and restrict access to water sources.

July 27 - CALmatters

Cruise Ship

Coronavirus Litigation: CDC Loses Ability to Regulate Cruise Industry in Win for Florida Governor

In a stunning reversal, a federal appeals court panel on July 23 reversed its ruling issued six days earlier in favor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after Gov. Ron DeSantis appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

July 27 - Reuters

Mapping Coronavirus Infections

How Mapping Tools Played a Role in Understanding COVID-19

A new episode of the Geospatial Revolution Project assesses how scientists used digital mapping tools to think about the pandemic.

July 27 - The Map Room

Fire Escape

Mapping the Vast Differences Between Wages and Rental Costs

Comparing rental housing costs to wages reveals just how out of reach the housing market is for low-income earners.

July 26 - National Low Income Housing Coalition

Pedestrian Bridge

MassDOT Seeking Funding for Bike-Pedestrian Bridge, Bus Lanes, and Policing

The commonwealth of Massachusetts is seeking federal funding for several high-profile projects.

July 26 - Streetsblog Massachusetts

A line of buses on campus at North Carolina State University, pictured with fall leaves on the ground.

Fare-Free Transit Gains Momentum in Raleigh

The pandemic has provided a proving ground for fare-free transit in cities all over the country. For some cities, it might make fiscal sense for these experiments to be made permanent.

July 26 - Governing

Uber Autonomous Vehicle

Who's at Fault When Self-Driving Cars Kill People?

As more autonomous vehicles hit the road and inevitably cause crashes, courts will have to contend with a complex web of responsibility when ruling on wrongful death cases.

July 26 - Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann

San Diego Beach Housing

'Housing for All of Us' Initiative Unveiled in San Diego

The city of San Diego is hoping an expedited community plan process can help deliver more housing, and more affordable housing options, to meet the needs of its residents.

July 26 - KPBS

A group of police officers wearing masks during the Covid-19 pandemic gather on a subway platform in New York City.

Police Don't Make Transit Safer, Report Says

TransitCenter's "Safety for All" report provides a counterargument to the "send more police" response to public safety concerns on public transit systems.

July 26 - Next City

Post News
Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.