The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

High Point, Seattle

FEATURE

Water-Smart Green Infrastructure: The Private Sector Steps Up

A new Urban Land Institute Report details the increasing implementation of citywide green infrastructure networks, including investments on both public and privately owned sites.

May 4 - Katharine Burgess

Freeways

BLOG POST

Déjà Vu and the Dilemma for Planners

The future, once again, isn't living up to the expectations of planners. How should long-range planning work in a world that is more suburban and more auto-oriented than a generation of planners and urbanists expected?

May 3 - Steven Polzin

Jefferson Park Chicago

First Look at the Future Obama Presidential Center

The former president and first lady released a first look at the designs for the future site of the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago.

May 3 - Chicago Tribune

Hollywood Blvd

Study: House Sizes Increase at the Expense of Tree Canopies

A research study has found that increasing house sizes in the Los Angeles area have drastically reduced the number of trees shading the region's landscapes—regardless of geographic location of socioeconomic status.

May 3 - EurekAlert

Alaska

Downtown Anchorage Targeted for Revitalizing Infill and Redevelopment

Downtown Anchorage has languished for decades from the lack of redevelopment. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz seeks to reinvigorate the downtown core with new housing and other development opportunities. Most of the new growth has gone to Midtown area.

May 3 - Alaska Dispatch News


Low Gas Prices

Trump Open to Hiking Gas Tax to Fund Infrastructure Package

Like so many of the president's assertions, the statement, made in a Bloomberg interview on Monday morning, could be open to interpretation, but he's gone where none of his predecessors since Bill Clinton on the issue of raising the gas tax.

May 3 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

No Luxury Condos

San Francisco Preserves Affordable Housing At Risk of Gentrification

A loan program helps non-profits procure affordable apartment buildings that might otherwise be snatched up by speculative developers.

May 3 - Next City


Oil Rig

President Trump Signs Executive Order to Reverse Obama's Coastal Drilling Ban

So much for that so-called "permanent" ban that President Obama enacted by President Obama in December to end oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean and off the central-northern Atlantic coast.

May 3 - The Washington Post

Hotel California

California Lawmakers Continue Push For More Affordable Housing

The author of California’s successful accessory dwelling unit legislation last year discusses this session's efforts, as well as the role of the state in determining local housing supply.

May 3 - The Planning Report

Denver Region

Death of a State Transportation Sales Tax Measure

Partisan politics killed what was labeled as a bipartisan effort to increase funding for Colorado's roads by allowing voters in November to determine whether to raise the state sales tax to fund a bond measure.

May 3 - The Denver Post

Louisiana Flooding

On the Bright Side, Rising Oceans Will Send Folks to Texas

A recent study predicts that climate refugees from Florida and coastal Louisiana may disperse to areas around the southeast, with a large number resettling in Texas

May 3 - Houston Press

Pollution 2

Appeals Court Ruling Favors Trump—Strike Two Against Clean Power Plan

An appeals court on Friday granted the Trump Administration's request to suspend lawsuits on the Clean Power Plan, dealing a major blow against President Obama's signature climate initiative to reduce carbon emissions from existing plants.

May 2 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Affordable housing

A Path to Looser Land Use Regulations

Harvard economics professor Edward Glaeser discusses the research on local land use controls, and why it makes sense to reevaluate them. Successful approaches may start at the state level.

May 2 - Brookings

Expo Line LA Skyline

Proposed New Zoning Around the Los Angeles Expo Line

Los Angeles' proposed transit neighborhood plan for the Expo Line corridor includes minor changes, but nothing earth-shattering. Many of the line's stations remain underutilized.

May 2 - Urbanize LA

Wildlife

Parks Employees Surveyed on Sustainability

The people who work for city parks and recreation departments were surveyed about sustainability successes and challenges.

May 2 - Next City

irishtown bend

Irishtown Bend Full of Potential

A planned 17-acre park on the Cuyahoga River has planners and designers excited about the possibilities for an area that some worry may wash away.

May 2 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Houston, Construction

HUD Directs Houston to Revoke Housing Vouchers

A recent letter from HUD instructs the Houston Housing Authority to take drastic measures to reduce a projected budget gap.

May 2 - Houston Chronicle

San Francisco

How the San Francisco Branch of Sierra Club Advocates NIMBYism

Despite the pro-infill position of the Sierra Club's national organization, San Francisco's branch advocates to preserve the buildings that are currently there at the expense of density and subsidized housing.

May 2 - The Bay City Beacon

Urban Garden

An Ambitious Revitalization Partnership in Detroit

Bringing together the city, developers, and philanthropic support, Fitz Forward aims to redevelop 300 parcels. Backers hope it will serve as a model for other neighborhoods.

May 2 - Next City

Jane's Walk

The 'Jane's Walk' Tradition Continues

In honor of the pioneering urbanist, who would have been 101 years old this week, citizens are organizing "Jane's Walks" in cities across the globe.

May 2 - 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.