Educators in Washington, D.C. are expanding on the "Safety Town" concept to teach grade schoolers how to be safe in traffic as well as about street design and the merits of different kinds of streets.
Campers in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., designed and built their own city in miniature to learn about traffic safety and street design. The 12-class program gives kids a chance work with instructors from the Bureau of Good Roads. There they engage in hands-on physical activities to learn about how city streets work and how to move around them safely.
"The Secret Traffic Garden Club engaged children by adding mystery, purpose, and creative fun to street design. But the existing built world itself is a readily-available tool that can be harnessed in such design teaching," Fionnuala Quinn writes for Greater Greater Washington.
FULL STORY: In Petworth, students learn about street design in a “traffic garden”
Reimagining Your Street
How to use free online tools to redesign your local streetscape.
US Street Design Manual Inches Toward Safer Roads
The guiding document for U.S. road design is starting to recognize the needs of people walking and biking, but safe streets advocates say more significant changes are needed to reduce the high number of pedestrian deaths and improve connectivity for all road users.
Zero Traffic Deaths Isn't as Far Fetched as It Sounds
Even supporters of Vision Zero—a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities from roadways adopted by cities and states all over the United States—doubt that such lofty ambitions are possible. But there are plenty of reasons to believe in the cause.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)