The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Seattle Homeless

The Cost of Solving Homelessness in Seattle: $400 Million

It’s "dramatically higher" than any number under discussion, and not even close to what the city will raise with its new tax on large businesses.

May 17 - Crosscut

Self-Driving Bus

Automated Vehicles Pose 'Political Threat' to Transit

TransitCenter's Steven Higashide argues that despite all the hype around self-driving vehicles, traditional high-capacity transit still has some distinct advantages. As long, that is, as transit agencies are willing to recognize them.

May 17 - TransitCenter

Green Healthy Community

A New 'City Health Dashboard' for 500 U.S. Cities

The new City Health Dashboard might be the first time many communities have had access to a treasure trove of public health data at the click of a mouse button.

May 17 - Crain's New York Business

Controversial Redevelopment Plan Pleases No One in Pittsburgh

Affordable housing advocates, developers, and planning commissioners all got a bad taste in their mouth on this one.

May 17 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Miami

Senate Bill Would Fund Climate Change Resilience in Coastal Communities

Grant and loan funding, new research, and a competition are some of the ideas included in the Coastal Communities Adaptation Act.

May 17 - U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation


Road Diet

Major Street Reconfiguration Underway in Detroit

A $1 million project to reduce vehicle lanes on Detroit's Jefferson Boulevard is designed to increase safety along the busy corridor.

May 17 - Crain's Detroit Business

Millennials

'Little Evidence of a Substantial Cultural Turn' Away from Driving Among Millennials

According to an analysis of U.S. National Travel Surveys, the Millennial preference for non-automotive travel is mostly hype. Millennials show behavior similar to other age groups and respond to the economy.

May 16 - Transfers


Cupertino, California

Apple Could Make Northern Virginia a Tech Industry Powerhouse

Apple is pondering a major move into Northern Virginia. For comparison, state officials have pitched sites covering about half the desired size of Amazon's second headquarters and two-thirds the size of the Pentagon.

May 16 - The Washington Post

Waste Stream

U.S. Recycling Markets in Free Fall After China Pulls Import Plug

China has stopped purchasing the recyclables that millions of Americans place curbside on recycling days, upending the industry. Recyclables are already directed toward landfills as domestic markets are sought. Berkeley, Calif. may go a novel route.

May 16 - The Wall Street Journal via MSN Money

'Father of GPS' awarded IEEE Medal of Honor

At the IEEE honors ceremony today [May 11] in San Francisco, Bradford Parkinson, a retired Air Force colonel who spent his life between maps and navigation systems, will be awarded the 2018 IEEE Medal of Honor,.

May 16 - Iot Times

Madrid Street

Madrid Seeks to Sharply Curtail Short-Term Rentals

A suite of restrictions under consideration in Madrid would eliminate short-term rentals from 95 percent of the city.

May 16 - The Local

San Mateo Bikeshare

Bike to Work and Live Longer

A large scale study conducted in the U.K. shows biking to work leads to a longer life, despite dangers on the roads.

May 16 - Streetsblog USA

San Antonio, Texas

San Pedro Creek Culture Park Adds to San Antonio's Waterfront Amenities

The new San Pedro Creek Culture Park is being touted as a celebration of Latinx culture.

May 16 - The Architects Newspaper

Bourbon Street Music

BLOG POST

Do Amenities Matter?

Marla Nelson of The University of New Orleans and and Renia Ehrenfeucht of the University of New Mexico, guest blog about a recent article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

May 16 - JPER

Chicago Community Garden

Chicago Zoning Standing in the Way of Some Urban Gardens

It can be easier for Chicago's urban gardeners to grow produce than to sell it.

May 16 - Southside Weekly

Edina, Minnesota

Density Battles in Affluent Suburbs

The city of Edina, Minnesota, provides an example of the suburban reaction to a wave of multi-family residential construction.

May 16 - MinnPost

Streetscape

European Cities take EU Commission to Court over 'License to Pollute' Diesel Regulations

Mayors of Paris, Brussels, and Madrid fight for cleaner air for their citizens. Barcelona has not yet joined the plaintiffs.

May 15 - Cities of the Future

Iowa

The 'Missing Middle' Fills a Gap in Cedar Rapids

Developers are adding an unprecedented level of new multi-family residential construction. Most of the projects are examples of missing middle housing typologies.

May 15 - The Gazette

Logan Square Target on Elston Avenue

Dense Development Generates More Property Taxes Than Big Box Stores in Chicago

After examining property taxes for Target, Family Dollar, and Liberty Bank in Chicago, Steven Vance found that nearby dense development paid more per square foot than the big box developments.

May 15 - Chicago Cityscape

Seattle, Washington

Seattle Reaches Compromise on Controversial Tax for Affordable Housing

The Seattle City Council, prompted by pressure from Mayor Jenny Durkan, approved a smaller version of the "Head Tax" that provoked the ire of Amazon.

May 15 - The Urbanist

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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.

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.