CityLab presents a feature extravaganza about the nation's 21,000-mile-long network of trails converted from former rail lines.
Sarah Goodyear introduces a magazine style feature on "The Rails to Trails Legacy":
"The High Line, New York City’s famed linear park, made a huge splash when the first section of it opened in 2009. But the underlying concept behind it—the conversion of a disused rail corridor into a welcoming public space—didn’t come out of nowhere. The decades-old Rails-to-Trails movement had a major influence on the project, along with dozens more like it across the United States and around the world."
The feature moves along a timeline, starting in 1965, with the ebbing of the nation's widespread use of trains, and 1968, when the National Trails System Act gave Rails-to-Trails its first legislative support. The feature goes on to highlight some of the most famous examples of Rails-to-Trails conversions, all the way up to Chicago's Bloomingdale Trail, which opened earlier this summer.
Absent from the feature, however, is a mention of a controversial Supreme Court ruling from 2014 that undermined the legality of large portions of the national Rails-to-Trails network.
FULL STORY: The Rails to Trails Legacy

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

The End of Single-Family Zoning in Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is the latest jurisdiction in the country to effectively end single-family zoning.

The Quiet Housing Crisis in Rural America
While housing shortages in major cities are grabbing headlines, rural communities are seeing higher rates of growth in housing prices and a silently spreading homelessness crisis.

Federal Loan to Support San Diego Desalination Plant Overhaul
The financing will go toward funding an updated cooling system and ensuring the protection of local marine life.

Seattle Bus Lane Cameras Capture Over 100,000 Violations
An automated traffic enforcement pilot program caught drivers illegally using transit lanes more than 110,000 times in less than a year.

The Joy of Walking
An essay meditating on the simple pleasures of a good walk.
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Kingsville
Princeton Planning
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.