The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Prospect Hill Park, Waltham, MA

Eminent Domain Cases Roil Communities Across Massachusetts

Several communities across Massachusetts are looking to take private property to build new schools.

October 27 - Boston Globe

Sidewalk Closed

The Real First-Last Mile Solution: Fix the Sidewalks

Upgrading sidewalks on the way to transit stations could make a difference in cities facing declining transit ridership.

October 27 - TransitCenter

Bezos Center for Innovation at the Museum of History and Industry

Friday Funny: The Onion Imagines a Slightly Sympathetic Jeff Bezos

The Onion is satire, so we'll never know if Jeff Bezos felt sorry for any of the cities wasting time and money on a pitch to win Amazon's second headquarters.

October 27 - The Onion

North Carolina Map

Friday Eye Candy: Highly Detailed Cold War Era Soviet Maps of the U.S.

A new book sheds light on maps created by cartographers in the Soviet Union that dove into remarkable detail about buildings, transportation networks, and other infrastructure in cities across the United States and around the world.

October 27 - National Geographic

Alaska

Anchorage Buses Switch to a High Frequency Grid

Anchorage's People Mover bus system is the latest in a string of U.S. bus systems to reroute onto a high frequency grid.

October 26 - Alaska Dispatch News


Arlington Virginia

Cities Suburbanize While Suburbs Urbanize

As the internet makes retail more widely accessible, and poverty and density move to suburbs, the difference between cities and suburbs is shrinking, narrowing lifestyle choices.

October 26 - Bloomberg

New York City WiFi

100 LED 'Information Kiosks' on Their Way to Philadelphia Sidewalks

All the details on the new information kiosks expected to hit Philadelphia streets—80 on Center City and University City sidewalks and 20 more in other parts of the city.

October 26 - Philadelphia Inquirrer


Southwest Chief

An Amtrak Train Runs Through Them

Efforts to ensure that Amtrak's Southwest Chief continues its current route through three states has united more than 20 small communities in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.

October 26 - The Denver Post

Busch Stadium

Ballpark Village Development Announced in St. Louis

A $261 million mixed-use development next to Busch Stadium will put the "village" in the Ballpark Village project in downtown St. Louis.

October 26 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Electric Cars

The Future of the Nation's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

People won't drive electric vehicles much differently than they drive gas powered vehicles. That means charging infrastructure will be needed in communities to supply electricity for many short drives.

October 26 - Infrastructure USA

Desert Farm

An Agrihood Takes Root in Palm Springs

Developer Freehold Communities is planning a suburban farming community in California's Sonora Desert.

October 26 - Mercury News

Bumblebee Bike

Like Waze, But for Bikes

The mobile app LaneSpotter, described as a navigation app like Waze but for cyclists, has announced eight cities as the location for a pilot launch.

October 26 - St. Louis Riverfront Times

Cars Banned From New York's Prospect Park Starting in 2018

Decades of activism have led to this victory for pedestrian advocates, Streetsblog NYC reports.

October 26 - StreetsBlog NYC

Nashville, Tennessee

13 Cultural Landscapes At Risk of Disappearing

Threats facing major U.S. cultural sites today include development, drilling, and the federal government.

October 26 - The Architect's Newspaper

Houston And L.A.: Kindred Spirits Meet In World Series

Planning scholar Bill Fulton, longtime resident of L.A. and relatively recent transplant to Houston, sizes up the urban implications of a World Series played between two very similar cities.

October 25 - California Planning & Development Report

National Park System

Interior Department Wants to Hike National Park Entrance Fees

Two years after increasing entrance fees at national parks, The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to raise daily vehicle entrance fees at the nation's most popular parks to $70.

October 25 - CNN

Curitiba

Study Finds Bus Rapid Transit More Comparable to Light Rail Than Previously Thought

A new study challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the superiority of light rail over bus rapid transit.

October 25 - The City Fix

Gas Pump

California Gas Tax Repeal Provokes Internecine Republican Conflict

Chances for a repeal of California's 12-cents gas tax increase have doubled in that two measures aim to qualify for the November 2018 ballot. The initiatives are opposed by the state's major business groups that usually side with Republican causes.

October 25 - CALmatters

Public Transportation Provides a Vital Mobility Link in Rural and Small Towns

A new report describes the important roles that public transit plays in rural communities and small towns, current demographic and economic trends that are increasing these demands, and examples of successful rural transit development programs.

October 25 - Public Transportation’s Impact on Rural and Small Towns: A Vital Mobility Link [pdf]

Produce Aisle

Ground-Level Grocery Stores Proliferate in Boston

Being able to get groceries without a car can be a big draw in walkable, mixed use neighborhoods. Many Boston grocers and developers are taking that to heart.

October 25 - The Boston Globe

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.