In the old days, every taxi driver in New York City was required to prove at least a basic working knowledge of the city's streets and landmarks. A new licensing exam does away with geography, assuming that taxis will rely on GPS.

For many years, the New York City taxi licensing exam include up to 80 questions requiring aspiring cabbies to prove that they can navigate one of the world's largest, most complicated street systems. On the newest version of the exam, though, geographic knowledge has taken a back seat.
City officials say that the taxi industry is just keeping up with the times, since many cabbies use GPS and wayfinding apps. Some speculate, though, that the exam had to become easier in order to compete with drivers who would otherwise drive for services like Uber and Lyft, which have relatively minimal licensing requirements. Pass rates on the new exam have increased 20 percent over the old exam.
Whether New York's famously demanding passengers will stand for a professional driver who has to consult a map remains an open question.
"You can’t lower the bar so much that new drivers don’t know where they’re going,” one New Yorker told the New York Times. “When you don’t know the city, it’s a big disadvantage. If this means new drivers aren’t going to know where Radio City Music Hall is, that’s unforgivable."
FULL STORY: In New Exam for Cabbies, Knowledge of Streets Takes a Back Seat

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

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions