In terms of travel times, jobs, and facilities, Tampa Bay ranks last or close to last in every category that measures public transit service and spending.
Florida is the most dangerous state in the United States to be a pedestrian. Tampa Bay is no exception, as more people in the state and city turn to private vehicles and away from public transit, it's only going to become more dangerous.
"In Tampa Bay, local leaders have debated ways to fix the area’s limited public transportation system for 30 years — then time and again, chosen to do nothing, the Tampa Bay Times has found," report Caitlin Johnston and Eli Zhang in the Tampa Bay Times. Among the many ways the city government has ignored the low hanging fruit of public transit, Johnston and Zhang point out, "Almost every other top-20 metro area has at least 600 buses. Tampa Bay has the fewest, about 360."
Some officials point to the city's sprawl as a reason for the intractable problems of public transit in the city, but this argument looks weak when you compare it to the many sprawling cities throughout the country that perform better in transit service. What's worse is that argument is self-serving. The less the city invests in transit, the more they will be encouraging sprawl. If you don’t have good transit options within the city, there's little advantage in living close to town.
FULL STORY: Tampa Bay has one of the worst public transit systems in America. Here’s why.
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.