The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

A new study of transit use in Los Angeles finds safety concerns are keeping women off of public transit.

January 17 - Streetsblog USA

CEO and General Manager Jeffrey Park urged a "moonshot for transit" to keep up with population growth over the next 40 years.

January 17 - Smart Cities Dive

Low-income transit users desperately need a break on fares. A discount is on its way, but won’t be available until later in the year, and transit advocates say it’s not enough.

January 17 - San Francisco Chronicle

A study from economist David Autor finds that the higher wages once offered workers without college degrees or special skills are mostly gone. Workers in cities often earn what they would in rural areas.

January 17 - The New York Times

Property acquisition in Texas won't come easy.

January 17 - The Washington Post

BLOG POST

Transportation engineers sometimes treat people as objects to be moved as quickly and cheaply as possible from one location to another, but people have preferences and feelings which should be considered when planning transport systems.

January 17 - Todd Litman

A pilot project of cycle tracks on several streets in Toronto produced almost shockingly positive results for all users of the street. At very little cost, the new bike infrastructure increased total street capacity and improved safety.

January 17 - Toronto Star

The New York Times takes a deep dive into the "dark store theory" costing local municipalities millions, and potentially more, in property tax revenues all over the country.

January 17 - The New York Times

Suddenly, after years of inaction, momentum is building for congestion pricing in New York City.

January 16 - Grist

Pipeline breaks are a daily occurrence in the city, but funding for an expanded pipe-replacement program has been a contentious issue.

January 16 - azcentral

The MBTA will use local and FTA monies to bring in the new vehicles which will replace older diesel and hybrid buses aging out of their usable lifespan.

January 16 - The Boston Herald

The San Francisco Bay ferry system is growing as commuters flee congested roads and overcrowded BART cars.

January 16 - The Mercury News

A major change to planning paradigms in the city of Seattle.

January 16 - The Urbanist

Bombshell revelations about an FBI investigation into corruption and conspiracy in Los Angeles City Hall made the news recently. At the center of the story is development financing from Chinese companies.

January 16 - Los Angeles Times

An annual reports finds a growing number of homelessness in Utah. That information, coupled with mistakes in earlier reports, casts doubt on the state's record of success in housing vulnerable populations.

January 16 - Place

The MBTA’s plan to repair and improve the ailing system means major service disruptions are likely coming. Officials say they want to minimize the pain and suffering of riders.

January 16 - The Boston Globe

Effects of the partial shutdown of the federal government differ between state highway departments and local transit agencies. Some effects aren't yet apparent, but could be soon.

January 16 - Governing

U.S. sales of plug-in electric vehicles, including those with internal combustion engines, increased by 81 percent in 2018 over 2017. But if you remove the best-selling Tesla Model 3 from the mix, the increase drops to 11 percent.

January 16 - Greentech Media

Putting a price on carbon emissions is widely viewed as an effective tool to reduce emissions. It can also be applied to help those who stand to lose the most from climate change, thus enabling a socially just transition to a low carbon economy.

January 15 - World Resources Institute

Covenants restricting ownership to white people are not uncommon in old Seattle-area property deeds. Homeowners can now put in requests to legally strike the offensive language.

January 15 - The Seattle Times