Pedestrians

No Walking

How Sidewalks Literally Sideline the Pedestrian

Plenty of sidewalks stand in need of improvement, and many aren't there at all. But they're also a symbol of the automobile's engineered dominance of our roads.

February 20, 2018 - Curbed

Pedestrian Markings

New Toolkit for Walkability Presented at the World Urban Forum

At the ninth session of the World Urban Forum held earlier in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy introduced their new "Pedestrian First" toolkit to measure and promote walkability in urban environments.

February 19, 2018 - Thomson Reuters Foundation

New York Department of Sanitation

Private Garbage Collections a Deadly Business for Employees and Pedestrians

Tired drivers working long hours in damaged trucks makes private garbage collection a dangerous business.

January 8, 2018 - Pro Publica

Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge

Ambitious Plan Could Completely Remake the Streets of Downtown Des Moines

A $33 million plan would make downtown Des Moines home to a dense grid of bike lanes and a safer place for pedestrians, among other changes.

December 20, 2017 - People for Bikes

Downtown Bike Lanes Disappear from Plan for Oklahoma City Boulevard

Plans for an Oklahoma City Boulevard have used bike lanes in all their design and promotional materials, but now that the job has been awarded to a contractor, the lanes have disappeared.

December 20, 2017 - The Oklahoman

Pedestrians

Op-Ed: Planners Could Do More to Encourage Healthy Communities

In many locales, instruments like traffic studies take pedestrian health into little account. According to Lark Lo, healthy communities haven't been much of a priority at all.

November 18, 2017 - Next City

New York City Pedestrians

'Walking Summit' Highlights Long Path Ahead

A piece from the Congress for the New Urbanism discusses the 2017 National Walking Summit. The proceedings included the release of the nation's first walkability report card.

November 6, 2017 - Public Square: A CNU Journal

School bus with stop sign

Drivers Most Distracted Right When School Gets Out

A study from the company, Zendrive, found that the overwhelming majority of motorists drive distracted between the hours of 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

September 28, 2017 - CityLab

Pedestrian Signal

New California Law Makes Crossing the Street More Legal

Many pedestrians don't realize it's illegal to cross the street while a crosswalk is counting down until a cop is writing them a ticket. A new bill could change that in California.

September 21, 2017 - KPCC

Both Ways

Ford Coins a New Term to Protect Cars from Pedestrians: 'Petextrians'

The Ford Motor Company picks a side in the traffic safety debate.

September 7, 2017 - Ford

Denver

Denver to Step Up Its Transit Game

Recent studies find that central Denver is still woefully underserved when it comes to transit accessibility. On the table are streetscape improvements to make life easier for pedestrians and transit riders.

July 5, 2017 - TransitCenter

Tuscany

Seattle Experiments With Fence-Free Sidewalk Cafés

Sidewalk-adjacent eating spaces generally separate diners from pedestrians. By using markers instead of fences, some Seattle eateries are opening their dining areas to the street.

July 4, 2017 - The Urbanist

Jane's Walk

The 'Jane's Walk' Tradition Continues

In honor of the pioneering urbanist, who would have been 101 years old this week, citizens are organizing "Jane's Walks" in cities across the globe.

May 2, 2017 - The Boston Globe

Crosswalk Button

Friday Fun: A Song Inspired by the Crosswalk Signal

Turn it to 11.

March 10, 2017 - CityLab

Downtown Street

Op-Ed: Houston Should Try to Kill Fewer Pedestrians

City officials in Houston have shown little regard for the safety of its people when they're walking outside, argues an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle.

February 10, 2017 - The Houston Chronicle

Sidewalk Closed

For Once, Cars, Not Pedestrians, Make Room for Construction

In a welcome turnabout of the usual state of affairs, a Philadelphia construction site gives a lane of traffic to pedestrians to make up for the three blocks of sidewalk it's taking.

January 11, 2017 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Madison Bike

A New Long-Range Transportation Plan for Madison, WI

Proposed long-range transportation plan for Madison emphasizes biking, walking, bus rapid transit.

January 10, 2017 - The Capital Times

One World Trade Center

How Should Lower Manhattan Handle Its Crowd Problem?

In the period since 9/11, Lower Manhattan has undergone a residential boom. With daytime professionals and tourists also in the mix, the strain is showing.

December 12, 2016 - The New York Times

New York

New York Launches Campaign to Warn Drivers and Pedestrian About Darkness

In an effort to curb traffic accidents, which typically increase with longer nights, New York is launching a 'dusk and darkness' ad campaign.

November 4, 2016 - The New York Times

New York

Bill Introduced to Relieve Congestion—on Sidewalks

New York City has come a long way since the Giuliani days, when sidewalk barriers were placed at intersections to facilitate turning vehicles, thus prohibiting pedestrians from crossing the street.

October 4, 2016 - amNew York

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.