Blogger and transit consultant Jarrett Walker paints a picture of Portland's Line 75, a workaday bus serving urban neighborhoods outside downtown. His reflections on radial and orbital journeys are worth a read.

Jarrett Walker gives us a thoughtful look at the way buses work in Portland, Oregon. He writes, "Fortunate people often assume that transit is only for going downtown, because that's the only place where driving is difficult enough that it's an option for them. But for most people, transit is for going everywhere across the city, especially to the more economically diverse jobs and opportunities that tend to be everywhere but downtown."
Portland's Line 75 follows an orbital route, intersecting downtown commuter routes but never going through the center itself. "And instead of hauling big volumes of commuters into and out of downtown, [orbital lines] serve thousands of little trips that are all a bit different, among diverse neighborhoods and destinations. It works: these orbital lines are among the busiest in the city."
Walker says most of our thinking about cities focuses on the radial, not the orbital. "Grand narratives about urban history are also about in-vs.-out. Distance from the center has always been a statement about power, even if its significance has flipped every 50 years."
"The marks of this pulsing oscillation are brutally obvious if you go inward or outward, but if you follow an orbital path, as the 75 does, you encounter more subtlety. History and power flow across the 75 more than along it, but as they do they surge and eddy in fractal patterns, even as a few rocks standing firm against their current."
FULL STORY: Riding against the Grain: Line 75

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?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie