The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

New Scrutiny for the Federal 'Opportunity Zones' Program

Opportunity Zones—a new federal program that flew under the radar of the GOP tax reform bill signed at the end of 2017—has been moving along and attracting new attention from media outlets.

April 27 - Opportunity360

Chicago Winter

DUI Arrests in Chicago Continue to Decline. Did Ride Hailing Do That?

Some credit a drop in DUI arrests in the city of Chicago to drunks using ride hailing services.

April 26 - Streetsblog

Retail Apocalypse

Retail Space Shrinking Again in 2018

Because of closures at big box stores like Toys R US, 2018 will see total retail space down sharply even while the number of store closures is small compared to last year.

April 26 - Financial Times

Philadelphia

Review: Philadelphia's Iconic Love Park Gets a Major Makeover

Architecture Critic Inga Saffron gives a less-than-stellar review of the newly revealed revamp of Philadelphia's Love Park.

April 26 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Seattle, Washington

Study Predicts the 'Amazon Effect' of HQ2 on Rents

Spoiler alert: the rent will go up in whatever city Amazon chooses for the site of its second headquarters.

April 26 - Zillow Research


West Houston Floodplain

800 New Homes Approved for Houston's Floodplain

The city of Houston approved a new development that doesn't meet new elevations standards approved by the city of Houston earlier this month.

April 26 - Houston Chronicle

Los Angeles

Could Los Angeles Have Made Better Use of Former Redevelopment Funds?

After a state decision to abolish California's redevelopment agencies seven years ago, Los Angeles still received some of that money, directing it to city services instead of affordable housing.

April 26 - Los Angeles Times


HUD

HUD Proposal Would Triple Rent for Subsidized Households

The proposal by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson would also allow property owners to require employment from renters receiving housing subsidies.

April 26 - The Washington Post

Vacant Properties

St. Louis Groups Come Together to Form Neighborhood Vacancy Coalition

Legal and community groups in St. Louis align to curb ill-effects of the city's many vacant properties.

April 26 - KWMU

Tennessee

Chattanooga to Redevelop City-Owned Properties to Keep Innovation District Momentum

Two underutilized buildings have been proposed as a catalyst for inclusive development in the Edney Innovation District.

April 26 - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Telegraph Avenue

How the U.S. Could End Traffic Fatalities by 2050

Taking Vision Zero beyond the local level.

April 26 - Curbed

Milwaukee Road Depot

Before and After: Behind a Minneapolis Redevelopment Project

In 1997, Milwaukee Road Depot in central Minneapolis was filled with parking lots and little else. Today, it's a mix of shops, housing, offices, and entertainment venues.

April 25 - MinnPost

Electric Car

Time for a Tesla Turnaround?

The Tesla Model 3 is now America's best-selling electric vehicle. The news follows a spate of bad news for the Silicon Valley-based electric vehicle manufacturer.

April 25 - Bloomberg Technology

Eviction

Confronting the Eviction Epidemic

An ongoing exhibit at the National Building Museum is designed to make visitors lose sleep over the scope of evictions in the United States, as well as the experience of evictions at the personal level.

April 25 - Next City

Balicasag Island, Philippines

BLOG POST

Can 'Ocean Cities' Become the Societies of the Future?

Futuristic, eco-friendly cities can be greener and more eco-friendly, thanks to better use of natural resources.

April 25 - Kayla Matthews

Northern California

A New Wave of Reservoir Construction Set to Begin in California

Two massive water storage projects have been awarded $2.6 billion in funding from Proposition 1.

April 25 - The Sacramento Bee

A Call for Bus Rapid Transit in a Miami Suburb

The Miami suburb of Pinecrest, Florida would benefit greatly from a Bus Rapid Transit line on U.S. 1, argues City Councilmember James McDonald

April 25 - Cities Speak

Southern California

FEATURE

Los Angeles: Focus on Urban Design (Not Just Urban Planning)

By embracing timeless principles of urban placemaking, we can create walkable transit villages and make room for housing at every socioeconomic level. First we have to re-invigorate high quality urban design.

April 25 - Gerhard Mayer

Busy Downtown

How Social Physics Explains About the World

Big data has ushered in a new era of Social Physics.

April 25 - BBC - The Big Idea

Historic Washington Mall

Effective Mobility Taxes Need Better Data

The District of Columbia is attempting to build a data-based model for the mix of public and "shared" transportation modes on its streets, but is still finding holes in the data necessary to build new policies.

April 25 - The Washington Post

Post News

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.