Austin

Row of green and yellow tiny homes in Esperanza Community shelter in Austin, Texas.

Austin Approves Over $10 Million for Homelessness Programs

The funding package supports emergency shelters totaling close to 500 beds.

March 5, 2026 - Community Impact Newspaper

Rendering of light rail station with people walking around and white train pulling in with UT Austin clock tower visible in background.

Austin Light Rail Project Begins Work, Could Open in 2033

The Austin Transit Partnership awarded a contract for pre-construction activities for a 10-mile light rail line.

February 25, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Close-up on legs of two people walking on rainbow-painted crosswalk.

Austin Removes 3 Decorative Crosswalks After Feds Shut Down Safety Study

The crosswalks, two of which were painted with rainbow colors, were part of a safety study canceled by the FHWA in November.

February 24, 2026 - KUT

Guitar-shaped sculpture on sidewlak on Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas.

Austin Kicks off Multimodal Congress Avenue Redesign

The Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative is bringing new pedestrian infrastructure and ‘storefront activation zones’ to the popular street.

February 5, 2026 - KXAN

Interior dashboard of Tesla with large screen in middle.

Tesla Launches Unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin

The company has been operating autonomous taxis with human safety drivers in the car in Austin since last June.

February 3, 2026 - TechCrunch

People walking on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas.

Austin Businesses Call for Sixth Street Bike Lanes

Local business owners say bike lanes would improve safety and boost local business.

January 2, 2026 - KVUE

Blue SUV turning left in intersection in Austin, Texas with pedestrians waiting to cross and Lime scooters lined up on sidewalk.

Austin ‘Turn Calming’ Cut Pedestrian-Involved Left Turn Crashes by Nearly Half

A pilot program at 16 intersections led to a dramatic reduction in injury crashes and is saving residents roughly $3 million in emergency response and medical expenses.

December 24, 2025 - Community Impact Newspaper

Busy crosswalk with pedestrians on small street in Austin, Texas.

Austin’s $134 Million Vision Zero Initiative is Paying off

Ten years after the city first pledged to eliminate traffic deaths, it has installed more than 500 new crosswalks and over 100 miles of new bikeways, but has not managed to reduce traffic deaths to zero.

October 14, 2025 - KXAN

Aerial view of downtown San Antonio, Texas at night with rotating Tower of the Americas in foreground.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion

The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

July 3, 2025 - Governing

Aerial view of single-family homes with rooftop solar panels in planned development near Austin, Texas.

A New Texas Neighborhood is Powered by Geothermal Energy

The 7,500-home development claims to be Austin’s ‘first zero energy planned community.’

June 29, 2025 - Floodlight

Low view of row of red, grey, and black Tesla electric cars.

Texas Safety Advocates Raise Alarm in Advance of Tesla Robotaxi Launch

The company plans to deploy self-driving taxis in Austin with no oversight from state or local transportation agencies.

June 23, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Blue Austin public transit bus with graphic reading "I ride to keep the city clean and earth happy."

Austin Tests Self-Driving Bus

Autonomous buses could improve bus yard operations for electric fleets, according to CapMetro.

June 23, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Rendering of white three-story single-stair building in Austin, Texas with staircase in the middle.

Austin's First Single Stair Apartment Building is Officially Underway

Eliminating the requirement for two staircases in multi-story residential buildings lets developers use smaller lots and more flexible designs to create denser housing.

June 17, 2025 - Building Design & Construction

Close-up on silver Tesla logo on black car hood dotted with raindrops.

Tesla Protests Release of Documents About Austin Robotaxi Launch

The company seeks to block the release of emails with city officials on the grounds they could contain confidential information and trade secrets.

June 10, 2025 - Reuters

Austin, Texas skyline.

Austin’s Building Boom Not Reaching Lowest-Income Families

Despite having the highest rate of affordable housing construction in the nation, Austin is still underproducing housing for the neediest households.

May 6, 2025 - Fast Company

Wide roadway in Austin, Texas at night.

How Project Connect Would Change ‘The Drag’

A popular — and sometimes deadly — Austin road will exchange car lanes for light rail.

April 28, 2025 - The Daily Texan

City Hall building in Austin, Texas.

Austin Launches $2M Homelessness Prevention Fund

A new grant program from the city’s Homeless Strategy Office will fund rental assistance and supportive services.

April 25, 2025 - Spectrum Local News

Red modern train on tracks with large warehouse-type building behind it in Austin, Texas.

Texas State Bills Could Kill Transit Funding in Dallas, Austin

State lawmakers could pull funding from the state’s largest transit agency and the ambitious Project Connect, a voter-approved transit project in Austin.

April 10, 2025 - The Texas Tribune

Close-up of musicians loading zone sign on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas at night with illuminated high-rise with pyramidal top in background.

SXSW Panel Addresses Housing Affordability for Artists

Musicians are increasingly hard-pressed to find affordable housing in Austin, a city known for its music scene.

March 11, 2025 - CultureMap Austin

Rendering of blue and white light rail train passing next to tree-shaded walkway with pedestrians in Austin, Texas.

Austin’s Project Connect Funding Safe for 2025

The light rail project is moving ahead with plans to finalize its environmental impact review by late 2025.

March 7, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.