The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

New York Public Transit

New York Mayor: Tax the Rich to Pay for Transit

Mayor Bill de Blasio is looking for new ways to fund transit improvements and access.

August 7 - The New York Times

Chicago Commute

BLOG POST

Multimodal Transportation for Economic Freedom, Opportunity, and Security

Motor vehicles are expensive to own and operate. Many lower-income households spend more on transportation than they can afford due to a lack of affordable mobility options. The solution is more multimodal planning.

August 7 - Todd Litman

Congestion versus mobility

Planning for the Rich by the Rich

Decision makers in cities can mistake their own preferences for the preferences of the city as a whole, which is doubly dangerous when elite preferences become the law of the land.

August 7 - Human Transit

Seattle Light Rail

Feds Removing Regulatory Roadblocks for Private Investments in Public Transit

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announced by the Federal Transit Administration is designed to further the Trump Administration's goals to empower the private sector to rebuild the nation's infrastructure.

August 7 - Federal Transit Administration

Buffalo Bayou Park

BLOG POST

Car-Free in Houston

Visiting the city without zoning.

August 7 - Michael Lewyn


Beijing's First Public-Private Partnership for Transit

A streetcar project connecting Beijing with the suburb of Shunyi is newsworthy from several angles.

August 6 - The Beijinger

New Bridge in Fresno Makes Way for High Speed Rail

Though the news about the California High Speed Rail projects seems to oscillate between good and bad every month, there's at least one tangible sign of progress for the project: a new bridge in Fresno built to make room for the powerful trains.

August 6 - Fresno Bee


Texas Toll Highway

Hints of a North Texas Freeway Rebellion

At the helm of a movement to think beyond concrete solutions to transportation challenges in North Texas are the mayors of Fort Worth, Grapevine, and Arlington.

August 6 - NBC DFW

Milwaukee Transit

Route Planning for Proposed Milwaukee Bus Rapid Transit Lane Intensifies

A bus rapid transit proposal is still very much in the planning stages in Milwaukee, with the question of whether the route is allowed dedicated lanes along its entire length is still very much in question.

August 6 - Urban Milwaukee

Historic Transit

St. Louis Trolley Hoping to Increase Hours

The St. Louis Trolley should begin operating later this year, but planners are hoping for additional funding to allow the service to operate longer hours.

August 6 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Good Side of the Downside: The End Is (Only) Near

Depressed by city planning in your neck of the woods? Ben Brown says to lower your expectations.

August 5 - PlaceShakers

U.S. Steel Plant

An Ambitious Plan for New Housing on Chicago's South Side

A South Chicago neighborhood will get 20,000 new residential units if a plan goes through.

August 5 - Chicago Tribune

User Fees and Sales Tax Dollars Finance $1.9 Billion Four-Lane Freeway Widening

A 16-mile express lane and general purpose lane will be added in each direction of the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. A $629 million TIFIA loan will be repaid by toll-paying motorists, while all taxpayers pay most of the remainder.

August 5 - Daily Pilot (Los Angeles Times)

Condos Smart Growth

Novel Solutions for Affordable Housing

The housing crisis calls for creative solutions.

August 5 - Curbed

Token Gestures Don't Attract Bike Riders—Connected, Safe Bike Infrastructure Does

A project touted as the "largest pop-up bike grid in the world" achieved rare levels of success on getting people on their bikes in Macon, Georgia.

August 5 - Bicycle Times

The World's First Autonomous Train

Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) was created to provide affordable mass transit for communities that find fixed rail investments outside of their price range.

August 4 - Modern Cities

Downtown Detroit

Detroit's Future

By 2040, Detroit will be bigger, more urban, older, and whiter predicts a report from the New Urban Institute that looks at trends, challenges, and assets of the Michigan city.

August 4 - CityLab

City Hall

Impacts of AVs and E-Commerce on Municipal Budgets

A new report from Urbanism Next/SCI takes you through a city’s budget—both revenues and expenditures—and describes the areas that will be affected as AVs become commonplace and e-commerce takes on an even larger role in retail

August 4 - Urbanism Next

Brooklyn

MIA or DOA? The Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Fading Fast

The lack of news on the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) is hardly a death knell, but that doesn't mean no news is good news, either.

August 4 - Village Voice

HART Rail Honolulu

Financial Stress Plagues Honolulu Rail

The Honolulu Rail Transit Project was slated to cost $5.2 billion. That figure has doubled as construction progresses, leaving the city scrambling for funds amid public outcry.

August 4 - CityLab

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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.