Though New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has earned kudos by taking public transit to work, reporters for the New York Times note his commute -- which involves a 22 block ride in a chauffeured Chevy Suburban -- isn't your average subway ride.
"He is public transportation's loudest cheerleader, boasting that he takes the subway "virtually every day." He has told residents who complain about overcrowded trains to "get real" and he constantly encourages New Yorkers to follow his environmentally friendly example.
But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's commute is not your average straphanger's ride.
On mornings that he takes the subway from home, Mr. Bloomberg is picked up at his Upper East Side town house by a pair of king-size Chevrolet Suburbans. The mayor is driven 22 blocks to the subway station at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, where he can board an express train to City Hall. His drivers zip past his neighborhood station, a local subway stop a five-minute walk away.
That means Mr. Bloomberg - whose much-discussed subway rides have become an indelible component of his public image - spends a quarter of his ostensibly subterranean commute in an S.U.V."
FULL STORY: Mayor Takes the Subway — by Way of S.U.V.

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

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

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

Over 71K Office-to-Apartment Units in the Pipeline for 2025
Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service