The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Chicago Extreme Weather

Chicago to Use Vacant Lots to Capture Stormwater

Chicago's Planning Department is putting eight city lots to work as "Stormwater Parks."

October 20 - Chicago Cityscape

Sprawl

Suburban Office Parks Gain New Life As Millennials Grow Up

With some tweaks and upgrades, surburban office parks are reinventing themselves to attract new tenants and the millennials ready to start families in the 'burbs.

October 20 - Bloomberg

How's My Driving

Friday Funny: Crass Bumper Sticker Finally Coughs Up its Traffic Data

You know the bumper sticker. It's the one that begins with the words "How's My Driving?" and ends with a 1-800 number.

October 20 - The Onion

Car2Go

Car2Go Says Goodbye Smart Car, Hello Mercedes

Car2Go is giving an upgrade to its car sharing service in Portland, OR by phasing out the tiny Smarts in favor of larger Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles.

October 19 - OregonLive.com

Burrito

Drone Delivery Reaches the Burrito Phase

Delivery-by-drone continues to make strides to becoming a feasible reality, as testing in rural Australia has seen burritos fly through the air from restaurant to customers' back yards.

October 19 - The Guardian


Cincinnati Bus

Cincinnati Looking for Transit Budget Solutions

Fare increases, a new tax, and a system redesign are some of the ideas on the table for Cincinnati's bus system as its operating transit agency struggles to deal with budget shortfalls.

October 19 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Amazon Fulfillment Center

BLOG POST

War Rooms, Tax Breaks, and Sappy Videos—It's Deadline Day for Amazon HQ2

In a first for urbanism, Amazon turned a request for proposals into a hashtag. Welcome to #AmazonHQ2 day.

October 19 - James Brasuell


Gateway Arch

St. Louis Joins Federal Smart Cities Initiative

The federal government's Smart Cities Initiative is still going strong, and adding new cities like St. Louis to its roster.

October 19 - KMOV

Back Yard

Yards Slim Down as House Size Grows

As the footprints of the average suburban home grows and lot sizes shrink, the traditional sprawling yard is getting squeezed out.

October 19 - Trulia

Washington D.C. Grocery Store

'Grocery Walk' Gathers D.C. Residents to Bring Attention to Lack of Food Options

Neighborhoods with mostly minority populations in Washington, D.C. suffer from a lack of quality grocery stores. A large group of neighborhood activists are trying to do something about it.

October 19 - Greater Greater Washington

Transportation Network Companies

Lyft Now Live in All 50 States

Not even Uber can boast this kind of ubiquity.

October 19 - Smart Cities Dive

Before I die

Plotting a Persuasive Story? Better Have a Happily Ever After

All stories are purposeful. They’re meant to entertain or inform or inspire to action. If you're a storyteller for a placemaking initiative, Ben Brown says you'd better have a happily ever after.

October 19 - PlaceShakers

Amazon Fresh

How Amazon Is Expanding Brick and Mortar Presence

Is retail dead? Amazon doesn't think so, and has been slowly growing a fleet of physical stores that look quite a bit different from their traditional retail counterparts.

October 19 - Modern Cities

City Hall

A Playbook for Achieving Meaningful Development Regulation Reform

Most cities know they need new development regulations, but it's much, much easier said than done.

October 18 - At Lincoln House

CTA

Tax Uber and Lyft to Pay for Transit? Chicago Might

The city of Chicago is already taxing rides with transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. Now mayor Rahm Emanual wants to raise those fees and spend the extra money on transit projects.

October 18 - DNAinfo Chicago

MTA/RTA Strategic Plan

Mayor Throws Support Behind Nashville's $5.2 Billion Transit Plan

The speculation about a planned transit investment program in Nashville began in August, and now the mayor is throwing full support behind a referendum that would raise four kinds of taxes to pay for a $5.2 billion in transit investments.

October 18 - Tennessean

Rodents Vermin

The City With the Most Rats Is...

It's the day everyone has been waiting for! The 2017 "Rattiest Cities" list has been announced.

October 18 - The Washington Post

New Orleans Streetcar

Lessons in Public-Private Transit Service Contracts

A new report from TransitCenter and the Eno Center for Transportation evaluates public-private transit service contracting, finding a cautionary tale in New Orleans among its six case studies.

October 18 - The Times-Picayune

Columbus Crew

Major League Soccer Team Playing Austin Against Columbus for a New Stadium Deal

The Columbus Crew could become Austin FC if a new stadium doesn't materialize in Ohio's capital city.

October 18 - USA Today

Dallas City Hall Begins to Ponder a New Future for the I-345

A proposal once too controversial to consider is gaining traction at several layers of government.

October 18 - The Dallas Morning News

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.