Regional Planning

Downtown Phoenix Skyline

In Phoenix, Sustainability Will Be Built by Node

If the desert metropolis wants to survive, it will need a strategy built on something other than a denser, more urban downtown.

December 18, 2017 - Dezeen

As the State Abandons Public Transit, Is a Regional Solution Possible for Northeast Ohio?

Many states cover around 20 percent of the costs of public transit. In Ohio, that figure has dropped to 1 percent.

December 13, 2017 - Crain's Cleveland Business

Ohio River

Army Corps: Climate Change Could Devastate Ohio River Region

The agency's report shows that inland-dwellers are just as likely as coastal types to be deeply affected by climate change.

December 2, 2017 - The Courier-Journal

New York City

The Fourth Regional Plan Plots a Course for the New York Region

The Regional Plan Association released its eagerly anticipated Fourth Regional Plan on Thursday.

December 1, 2017 - Regional Plan Association

California

A Proposal to Plan Regionally in the Silicon Valley

Could development fights in the home of the biggest tech companies be avoided if cities just talked to each other?

November 30, 2017 - The Mercury News

Suburban Chicago

Chicagoland's Regional Transportation Authority Helping Deliver Local TOD Results

The Regional Transportation Authority has been supporting transit oriented development planning processes in suburbs like Bartlett.

November 22, 2017 - Chicago Tribune

Washington, D.C. Apartment

Toward a System of Adaptive Reuse Feasibility

A relative lack of conversions from office to residential—the adaptive reuse model driving the housing market in many urban areas—makes the Washington, D.C. region a perfect place to study the factors that make or break an adaptive reuse proposal.

November 21, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Washington Monuments

Better Land Use Planning: One of the Best Ways to Improve Transportation

Smart growth advocates have been making this point for years, but a new report from the Washington, D.C. regional planning organization provides more evidence for the strategic location of population and job growth.

November 19, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

State Street Station

Study: New York Suburbs Need to Zone for Higher Density Transit Oriented Development

The Regional Plan Association released a new study that recommends steps toward higher density transit oriented development in transit adjacent communities around the New York region. The study also teases a big release coming later this month.

November 14, 2017 - Regional Plan Association

Seattle Train

Riverview Corridor Streetcar Passes Major Hurdle, Still a Long Way Off in the Twin Cities

An oversight committee has approved the Locally Preferred Alternative for the Review Corridor Streetcar project that will connect Downtown St. Paul to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

October 15, 2017 - MinnPost

East Harlem

Mapping Displacement Stories

The Regional Plan Association calls on the power of the contemporary Internet to broadcast stories of displacement from around Greater New York.

September 21, 2017 - Regional Plan Association

Texas Flood

The Culprit of Houston Flooding: Sprawl, Not Lack of Zoning

As Houston's flood waters recede and attention turns from rescue to recovery and soon rebuilding, critics have pointed to the city's lack of zoning as the cause of the devastation. But are they looking in the right direction?

September 4, 2017 - New York Magazine

New York City Transit

Regional Plan Association Hits Reset on Hudson Crossing Crisis

The projects proposed by a new report from the Regional Planning Association offer a preview of the Fourth Regional Plan, expected for public release in November 2017.

August 17, 2017 - Politico

Design Competition Yields a New Look for the Proposed Triboro Transit Line

The design proposal for the Triboro Corridor is speculative, but meant to inspire the conversation on one of the "4c" ideas at the heart of the Regional Plan Association's Fourth Regional Plan.

August 16, 2017 - 6sqft

Denver Region

Suburban Poverty in the Denver Region Compares Favorably to National Averages

A more nuanced understanding of suburban poverty is available from an examination of the Denver region.

July 15, 2017 - The Denver Post

DART Dallas

Seeking a Voice for Suburban Transit Interests in Dallas

An advocate for the Cotton Belt line to connect Dallas with suburbs to the north is tired of the project taking a backseat to the transit interests of the urban core.

June 19, 2017 - The Dallas Morning News

San Francisco Bay Bridge

Plan Bay Area 2040 Sets Ambitious Housing and Transportation Agenda

The last time the San Francisco Bay Area got together to set a regional agenda on housing and transportation, the Sierra Club and the Tea Party teamed up to oppose the Plan Bay Area. A draft of the new Plan Bay Area 2040 hopes to avoid the drama.

April 17, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

City of Bridges

7 Ideas to Improve Transportation in the Pittsburgh Region

The Regional Transportation Alliance released its "Imagine Transportation 2.0" report this week.

March 10, 2017 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State Capital of Utah

The Most Ambitious Land-Use Planning Effort in the U.S.—Not Where You Might Think

A 20-year, voluntary, bottom-up, large-scale, long-term planning effort in Utah has managed to bridge the divide between Mormons and non-Mormons, environmentalists and mining interests, farmers and city-dwellers.

January 20, 2017 - Politico Magazine

Nashville

Nashville Mulls Funding Ideas for its $6 Billion Regional Transit Plan

The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee adopted the most comprehensive and expansive version of the nMotion plan. Now they have to fund all those big ideas.

November 11, 2016 - The Tennessean

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.