Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco ranked among the nation’s most congested cities, while New York reduced traffic and increased transit speed and ridership thanks to its congestion pricing program.
According to research from TomTom, “New policies are reshaping traffic patterns in major cities; work-from-home norms continue to stretch and redistribute the traditional rush hour, and climate-driven disasters are increasingly testing the reliability of road networks.”
As Dan Zukowski notes in Smart Cities Dive, “Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco and New York City ranked as the U.S. cities with the highest congestion levels in 2025.” However, traffic into and out of New York is moving faster thanks to congestion pricing, and transit ridership grew by 9 percent on the city’s subways through September of last year.
Los Angeles ranks as the nation’s most congested city, where “drivers crawl at average speeds under 20 mph during morning and evening rush hours.” Meanwhile, Texas cities like Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio continue their car-centric growth, expanding freeways and toll roads.
FULL STORY: Remote work, extreme weather reshaping urban traffic patterns, report finds
Twin Cities Commutes Faster Than Pre-Pandemic
Workers who have returned to in-person jobs are still experiencing less traffic congestion than in 2019.
Since NYC Congestion Pricing, Chicago now has Nation’s Worst Traffic
Chicago overtook New York for the worst traffic of any major U.S. city as NYC saw traffic decline after congestion pricing went into effect.
US Commuters Lost 8 Workdays to Traffic in 2024
As more employers call workers back to the office, commute times are growing — and costing drivers in time and money.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association