Mobile Apps

A Brave New World: How Apps Are Changing Planning

Mobile applications (apps) are gaining in popularity as tools for increasing participation in local governance and planning, and are opening up new possibilities for planners to tap into the wisdom of the crowd.

September 4, 2012 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

A series of screengrabs illustrating the functionality of Google Maps.

Recommended Mobile Apps for Urban Planning in 2023

Planetizen's annual list of top apps for planners is back, ten years after its first appearance on the site. Scores of apps have been recommended by planners as examples of planning in action, or tools for planning action.

April 27, 2023 - James Brasuell

2017 Apps

Survey: Help Identify the Best Planning Apps of 2023

Planetizen needs your help updating the definitive list of mobile apps for professional, student, academic, or citizen planners.

March 12, 2023 - Planetizen

Screengrabs from the Morpholio Trace showing the drawing and annotation tools of the CAD app.

Best Apps for Urban Planning in 2022

Mobile apps continue to redefine the practices of planning—urban planning, regional planning, transportation planning, community planning, and rural planning included.

February 28, 2022 - James Brasuell

GIS Mobile App

Survey: What Mobile Apps Are Most Useful for Planning in 2021?

Planetizen is requesting your input in creating the definitive list of mobile apps for professional, student, academic, or citizen planners—updated for a planning profession forever altered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

October 18, 2021 - Planetizen

Florida Pedestrians

Earn Rewards for Traveling for by Foot, Bike, Bus, or Train

The city of Orlando is partnering with the Miles app.

May 9, 2021 - Orlando Weekly

COVID-19 City

New Google Map Layer Shows COVID-19 Infection Rates

A new layer showing the seven-day average of confirmed COVID-19 cases started rolling out to Android and iPhones last week.

September 27, 2020 - The Verge

On-Demand Shuttle

On-Demand Transit in Houston: There's an App for That

The city of Houston this week launched an app for its Community Connector shuttle service as part of a ten-month pilot project.

September 9, 2020 - Houston Chronicle

D.C. Metro System

Smartphone Fare Cards Now Available for D.C. Metro

The future is now.

September 3, 2020 - DCist

Los Angeles River Bike Path

Seeing the Los Angeles River in Whole New Way

We seem to have an app for everything. Now we have one that walks a viewer through the river’s history from the pre-historic era to the present.

August 19, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Mobility

Mobility-as-a-Service Still Searching for a Market Foothold

Policymakers and venture capital firms love the idea of Mobility-as-a-Service. The public hasn't proven as receptive, despite the willingness to download apps by the millions.

August 13, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

New York Public Transit

Miss the Subway? There's an App for That

The NYC Subway Sounds app is a great tool for dealing with nostalgia for the old ways of life.

May 22, 2020 - The Verge

New York Bike Delivery

The Delivery App Revolt

For many Americans living through the social distancing and stay-at-home-orders of 2020, supporting local businesses means cutting out the tech middle man.

May 15, 2020 - The Washington Post

Social Media

Twitter for Urban Planning

Few social media sites offer the same kind of diversity of information and opinion to a field of study than Twitter does for planning.

February 28, 2020 - James Brasuell

Pokemon

Game Changing Urbanism Tech of the 2010s

Which technologies have had the biggest impact on urban life and the built environment in the 2010s, according to Curbed.

December 1, 2019 - Curbed

Proof-of-Payment

The Benefits of Transit Fare Capping

There's more than one way to incentive transit ridership with fare capping.

September 3, 2019 - Steven Can Plan

Pedestrian Signal

Walking Directions, Assisted by Augmented Reality

Augmented reality could boost safety for pedestrians, or it could add another layer of distraction between people and the real world.

August 12, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Augmented Reality and Public Art: A New Era Begins Today

People in six global cities will have a chance to sample an ambitious new augmented reality program launched by Apple today.

August 10, 2019 - The Architect's Newspaper

GIS Mobile App

Top Planning Apps for 2019

Insights into the mobile app technology used in the practice and study of planning.

July 29, 2019 - James Brasuell

Personal Mobility

The State of Mobility as a Service Platforms

With so many new mobility options available in cities, mobility as a service (MaaS) platforms have a lot of work to do for a lot of people. Development is still catching up to the scope of the endeavor.

July 6, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.