Chicago is one of the first cities to consider the use of "textalyzers," which would allow police officers to scan phones to see if they were in use during an accident.

"In a bid to crack down on car crashes caused by people texting while driving, Chicago aldermen on Thursday discussed the concept of arming police with devices to tell how recently drivers had used their cellphones," reports John Byrne.
"While a handful of government agencies around the country are looking at incorporating textalyzer technology in police investigations, none has done so yet," according to Byrne. The discussions in Chicago were extremely preliminary, and the technology isn't yet available. Byrne lays out all the political and technological issues surrounding the early considerations of the technology.
FULL STORY: Chicago aldermen kick around concept of arming police with 'textalyzers'

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

Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.

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.

Opinion: How to Rebuild the ‘Starter Home’ Market
Large minimum lot sizes and restrictions on multi-unit housing put an artificial floor under home costs. Is it time to eliminate them?

How Understanding Near-Misses Can Improve Road Safety
Most road safety efforts are based on data about crashes that have already occurred. But important information can be gleaned from incidents when something almost went wrong, but didn’t.

Cincinnati School District Shifts Students to Public Transit to Cut Costs
Over 10,000 Cincinnati Public Schools students already use public buses for school transportation each year.
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.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)