Cars kill us and drive us crazy; while walking and biking improve our mental and physical health. So why do we design our cities for cars, asks Jeffrey Tumlin.

"Cities have policies that sound good on paper, calling for mixed-use development and walkable neighborhoods, but they also have detailed technical design requirements that don't let that happen," says Tumlin. "Instead, we end up with typical sprawl: it's actually illegal to build anything else."
"When we know that driving makes us fat, sick, dumb, mistrustful, and more likely to die early—but walking makes us fitter, stronger, better able to handle complex reasoning, more loving, and more trustful, why are we in the transportation world spending all of our effort designing around the needs of the car and not walking or biking? When we know the effects of driving on climate change, how could there be any argument?"
"Right now, engineers make many decisions based on something called 'level of service'—basically, how long cars are delayed at certain points. Our goals should be based on people, not cars," he argues. "Right now, a busy commercial street would be judged a transportation failure even though it’s a social and economic success. We need to change the way we measure, so designers can make the right decisions."
FULL STORY: How Better Urban Design Makes Us Healthier, Happier, and Sexier

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie