Safety

Recognizing and Addressing Safety Issues for Women in Cities

Safety is a major concern for the world's women on a day-to-day basis. From riding the bus to walking at night, if women don't feel safe, they won't do it. Cities need to take a more active role in addressing this challenge, according to this post.

April 15, 2010 - Next American City

New Scorecard From NY DOT: Driving in Decline, Safety Improvements Work

New York City's second annual Sustainable Streets Index adds a wealth of data in support of green transportation and street safety.

March 26, 2010 - Streetsblog

20mph Zones Saving Lives in London

Over the last decade, London has established more than four hundred 20 mph zones across the city. The 10mph decrease has had a significant effect on the number of fatalities.

March 23, 2010 - Streetsblog

New Argument for Public Transit: Better for Texting?

In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.

March 17, 2010 - Wired Magazine

Women, Transit, and the Perception of Safety

February 11, 2010 - Tim Halbur

A State-by-State Look at Biking and Walking

A new report from the Alliance for Biking & Walking takes a state-by-state look at the cycling and walking community, safety statistics, and investment figures.

February 1, 2010 - Streetsblog

Improving Safety Through Architecture and Public Works in Colombia

This piece from Utne Reader looks at the role of architecture in the public works projects of Medellin, Colombia, a city that has struggled with severe crime.

January 30, 2010 - Utne Reader

An Oasis of Safety in One of L.A.'s Toughest Neighborhoods

In the midst of a dangerous and crime-prone area, one small section of L.A.'s South central neighborhood has retained a lower-than-average homicide rate and higher-than-average property values.

January 27, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

Gated Communities Not Safer, Say Police

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief stated in a public meeting that their evidence shows that the gated communities in the area are not statistically any freer of crime than non-gated ones.

December 26, 2009 - The Naked City

'No Substitute for Physical Inspection of Rail Lines'

The newest transit safety bill was unveiled yesterday to cautious praise. While states are struggling to fund transit, FTA chief Peter Rogoff says the goal is to create a nationwide floor for transit safety.

December 9, 2009 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Goodbye, Bike Lane

Calling it redundant, NYC's DOT has chosen to sandblast 14 blocks of a Bedford Avenue bike lane away.

December 2, 2009 - Streetsblog New York City

Harassment and Assault Common on Subway

A group called New Yorkers for Safe Transit has called attention to the continual problem of female subway riders being ogled, groped, flashed, harassed and attacked.

November 23, 2009 - The New York Times

Jaywalking Not As Big A Safety Issue As Assumed

Over the past 15 years, more than 76,000 pedestrians have been killed in the U.S. Some say preventing a significant portion of these deaths is as simple as enforcing jaywalking laws. Not so, argues Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic.

November 15, 2009 - Slate

Safety and Gender in Los Angeles

Enci Box's personal account of how gender, safety, and living car-free intersect in her daily transportation decisions.

October 9, 2009 - LA Streetsblog

Rail Safety Improvements Years Away

Head-on train collisions can be avoided by simply keeping one train per track. There's a plan to make that happen, but it's years from implementation.

October 9, 2009 - Miller-McCune

More Terrifying Than Texting?

In this survey, drivers 'fess up to twelve distracting things they do while driving; and some are even more distracting than texting.

October 8, 2009 - The Chicago Tribune

Rethinking the Street Space: Why Street Design Matters

Streets aren't just for driving, and cities are starting to realize it. Amber Hawkes and Georgia Sheridan explain why street design matters and where we are today in terms of designing the "street space."

July 23, 2009 - Amber Hawkes

Safety in Immigrant Numbers

A high rate of poverty, a large population of illegal aliens, and a next-door neighbor to one of the most dangerous cities in the hemisphere, El Paso would seem to be a hotbed of danger. But it's actually one of the safest big cities in America.

July 20, 2009 - Reason

Inspection in Philly After D.C. Crash

SEPTA of Philadelphia will inspect train-control signals made by the same company that made the signals on the Metro in D.C, where a possible signal malfunction is under investigation in the recent train crash.

June 26, 2009 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

'Death Wish' and the Life of Great American Cities

City streets need only few things to make them safe, according to the famous urbanist Jane Jacobs. She says safe streets need people walking around, places for them to go, things for them to do and other people for them to interact with. Simple as that. But Jane forgot one more thing: a sock full of quarters.

October 23, 2008 - Nate Berg

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.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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.