Subways

Passengers entering and exiting a New York City subway train at an underground station.

NYC to Upgrade 1/3 of its Subway Car Fleet

The MTA is seeking proposals for up to 2,390 new subway cars to upgrade its aging fleet.

March 25, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial of traffic on the 405 freeway in the Sepulveda Pass, Los Angeles, California.

LA Metro Board Approves New Subway for One of Nation’s Busiest Freeway Corridors

The new subway could cut the hour-long trip between west Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley to 20 minutes.

January 26, 2026 - Los Angeles Times

New fare gates with clear panels with people standing behind them in NYC subway station.

New York MTA Installs ‘Smart’ Fare Gates to Stop Turnstile Hoppers

New fare gates use sensors and higher panels to prevent people from passing without paying, but the tech had a “bumpy rollout” on its first day.

December 21, 2025 - WABC

People boarding a train on a crowded Paris subway platform.

Study: Metro Systems Cut Driving Significantly More Than Other Forms of Transit

European cities with subway systems have a much lower share of car trips than cities with tram- or bus-based transit systems.

November 12, 2025 - Complexity Science Hub

Woman sitting in subway car holds up small portable fan to cool herself.

Temperatures in Subways Can Soar Well Above 100. What Some Cities are Doing About it.

Extreme heat can be even more dangerous in confined subway cars and stations.

October 31, 2025 - Wired

Close-up of white and red Muni sign at bus stop on Polk Street in San Francisco, California with blurred bus in background.

San Francisco Muni Sees Highest Ridership Since Start of Pandemic

The SFMTA is improving service at off-peak hours and on weekends to accommodate new travel patterns that rely less on weekday commuters. Ridership has increased accordingly.

October 16, 2024 - San Francisco Examiner

View from above platform in D.C. Brutalist subway station with people waiting on platforms

D.C. Leads the Nation for Transit Recovery

Ridership on the region’s rail systems is rebounding faster than other major transit systems.

July 9, 2023 - Greater Greater Washington

Los Angeles Subway

Subway Ridership Still Lagging as Cities Come Back to Life

While other aspects of urban life are starting to recover to pre-pandemic ‘normals,’ ridership on the nation’s subway systems is still well below average levels.

January 5, 2023 - The Hill

Construction fence and crane

Los Angeles Subway Work Halted Amid Serious Safety Lapses

A string of unaddressed worker injuries prompted the county transit agency to suspend work on a subway line that will connect downtown Los Angeles to the westside.

October 27, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

Construction crane and equipment on 4th Street for Central Subway project in San Francisco, California

Opinion: San Francisco’s Central Subway Is a Bad Investment

Critics of the subway project argue that the line is too short and disconnected from other transit options to be useful. Meanwhile, projected costs continue to rise.

September 14, 2022 - Mission Local

A sign for the Elizabeth Line, a subway route in London, at the Liverpool Street Station

$22 Billion Elizabeth Line Finally Opens in London, With the Queen in Attendance

May 17, 2022 was a big day for transit in London.

May 18, 2022 - The New York Times

Second Avenue Subway

Opinion: Second Avenue Subway Should Come With Zoning Changes

Increasing density in the neighborhoods surrounding the new subway stops would bring more affordable, transit-adjacent housing to East Harlem and boost ridership.

April 6, 2022 - Gotham Gazette

New York Subway Stairs

Subways as Shelters

Subways in Kyiv and Kharkiv are performing as bomb shelters, including the world's deepest station, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Wednesday night.

February 27, 2022 - Quartz

Climate Change and Flooding

Over 80 Million People Live in Flood Zones

New research shows a 24% increase in people living in flood-prone areas since 2000, prompting calls for increased adaptation measures.

August 6, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

nyc. subway.

Subways Are Becoming Flood Zones

While cities race to protect their subway infrastructure from more intense flooding, some experts argue that more investment is needed in more resilient street-level infrastructure.

August 1, 2021 - New York Times

D2 Subway

Dallas Subway Project Gets a Key Green Light

The Dallas City Council kept the d2 subway plan on track with a vote this week.

March 26, 2021 - D Magazine

COVID-19

A Cheer (Or Maybe Even Two) For Redundancy

Is government too efficient to protect us from epidemics?

April 6, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

New York Subway

Why New York City's Flooding Its Own Subway Entrances

MTA reassured disoriented New Yorkers that it's flooding subway entrances on purpose, to test barriers that it hopes will guard the system against another Sandy.

November 27, 2019 - Quartz

Toronto Bus TTC

Toronto Could Give Buses and Streetcars Priority

In a shift away from subway expansions and upgrades, Toronto looks to improve the bus and streetcar systems.

July 19, 2019 - The Star

Subway Construction

Downtown Subway Project Delayed in Los Angeles

The Regional Connector project will have to wait until 2022.

May 13, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

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.