Presidential Election

Graphic with blue background, flags, and text reading 2024 Presidential Election

Where 2024 Presidential Candidates Stand on 12 Issues Important to Urban Planners

Whether you’re yet undecided or have already cast your early vote, here is a roundup of the key positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on important urban planning policies.

October 31, 2024 - Mary Hammon

Trump Sign

We Are (Sort of) Less Polarized Than in 2016

After moving toward Democrats for decades, central cities moved toward Republicans in 2020.

December 2, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

Election 2020

What Biden's Win Could Mean for Land Use, Transportation, and Climate

Campaign in poetry and govern in prose, the saying goes. Now that the reality of a Biden presidency is settling in, what does it mean for how the United States plans its future?

November 10, 2020 - James Brasuell

Maroon Creek, Aspen, Colorado

The Environment Hangs in the Balance on Election Day

Both the presidential election and numerous state and local ballot measures will determine the future of environmental policy in the United States.

November 3, 2020 - High Country News

Presidential Campaign

For Transportation, Real Reform Can Only Happen at the State and Local Levels

Without buy-in for new ways of thinking at the state level, the presidential election is not likely to change much about the ways the United States plans and funds transportation infrastructure.

October 28, 2020 - theTransportPolitic

Bureau of Land Management

Elizabeth's Warren Plan for Public Lands

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) recently published a detailed plan to protect public lands.

April 19, 2019 - Pacific Standard

2020 Presidential Campaign

A Presidential Campaign Built on Rust Belt Revitalization

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is hoping to ride a track record of urban revitalization success to the Oval Office.

April 16, 2019 - Curbed

Advocating for Planning When Presidential Campaigns Come to Town

All eyes are on Iowa's caucuses today, but presidential campaigns will be touring communities all over the country for months. The APA wants planners to be ready to explain the importance of planning when such rare opportunities arise.

February 1, 2016 - APA Policy News

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Drops Gas Tax Hike in Favor of Bond Financing

Walker had supported increasing the gas tax and user fees last November, but now that he's being taken as a serious contender for the Republican nomination for president, he's changed his transportation funding preference to increased bonding.

February 3, 2015 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Republican Party Logo

GOP Sees Error of its Ways in Approach to Cities

In his first substantive statements regarding his ticket's failings during the recent Presidential election, GOP leader Paul Ryan "is looking to the nation’s big cities" as the cause.

November 14, 2012 - The New York Times

Where the Recession Continues: Local Government

While glimmers of a recovery can be seen in the eyes of private business, local governments continue to see red, shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs.

June 21, 2012 - The New York Times

SF's Election Night Revelation

Relative to those in Chicago's Grant Park or New York's Time Square, post-election celebration turnouts in San Francisco public spaces were sparse. But it's not because of urban design--it's the city's character.

November 13, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Rural-Urban Split Disappearing from American Politics

Democrats are in cities and Republicans are in rural areas, according to the results of recent elections. But with two metropolitan candidates in this year's election and an increasingly urbanized populace, that split may become obsolete.

November 4, 2008 - Citiwire

YouTube For Your Data: Many Eyes on Obama & McCain

Is it possible to condense two weeks of soaring rhetoric by politicians into a single graphic? Let's find out. In my last post I covered free online tools for creating information graphics.  Here is a look at another free online tool that can be used to easily create sophisticated visualizations and information graphics.

October 23, 2008 - Abhijeet Chavan

Scranton, PA - Not What You Think!

In this election, Scranton has come to symbolize blue-collar America, with visits by all four national candidates, parodied on Saturday Night Live, as well as the scene of NBC’s The Office. But the city is in a turnaround after decades of decline.

October 20, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

The Presidential Election and the Future of America's Transportation

The federal transportation spending bill will be up for reauthorization in 2009. The fate of the nation's transportation will hinge on how this bill is reworked, which will largely be determined by who wins this November's presidential election.

October 17, 2008 - CNN Money

No Love for Mayors

Sarah Palin's nomination is an anomaly in American politics- no mayor of a major American city has ever become president. Tony Favro argues that this is a reflection of America's anti-city attitude.

September 25, 2008 - Citymayors.com

The Presidency and America's Addiciton to Prisons and Drugs

Neal Pierce looks at America's addiction to incarceration and drug prohibition and wonders what -- if anything -- the presidential candidates would do to change the country's course.

September 8, 2008 - Citiwire

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.

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.