Smyth Lai, a reference librarian in Portland, Oregon, offers his review of leading resources for planning students and scholars.
"The purpose of this compilation is to support the curriculum and research endeavors of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in urban planning.
This is a field that benefits from such extensive online presence, as it captures documents, maps, and other material produced by various government, educational, and nonprofit agencies but not widely disseminated by commercial publishers. This guide is intended to be general in nature, and attempts to represent the interdisciplinary nature of the urban planning field. Also, focus is placed on U.S. planning trends and practices, though some international resources are included."
FULL STORY: Urban planning: Starting points for students and scholars

What the US Intercity Rail System Could Look Like
An FRA study shows how new Amtrak lines could connect tens of millions more Americans to rail travel.

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Half of Altadena’s Black Homes Lost or Damaged in Eaton Fire
The community has higher Black homeownership rates than most of Los Angeles, but now faces an uncertain future as residents struggle to rebuild.

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer for Blind Pedestrians
A team of researchers is developing a dataset to fill a critical gap in self-driving cars’ learning models.

Federal EV Charging Program Suspended
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program planned to fund the construction of hundreds of EV charging stations across the country.
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.
City of Brookings
City of White Salmon
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
M-NCPPC Prince George's County Planning Department
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service