Transportation Planning

Pedestrians and Walkable Street

Draft Complete Streets Design Guide Released in Montgomery County

The draft new Montgomery County Complete Streets design guide is a key tool for achieving the goals set out by the county's Vision Zero Action Plan.

June 3, 2020 - Montgomery Planning

New York Cyclist

Making Space for the 'Invisible Cyclists' in Post-Pandemic Transportation Planning

As biking gains popularity as a transportation mode during the pandemic, planners are called on to elevate the role of "invisible cyclists"—people of color on bikes—in the process of redesigning and re-engineering streets.

June 2, 2020 - The Conversation

Minneapolis Protests

Violence Against Black Americans a Moment of Reckoning for the Planning Profession

After a wave violence against Black men in the United States, it is the duty of the planning profession to consider its role in perpetuating institutional racism.

June 1, 2020 - James Brasuell

Dearborn Street Bike Lane

Criticism for Transportation Spending in House-Approved $3 Trillion Relief Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act earlier this month. Transit advocates say the bill reinforces the car-centric status quo.

May 26, 2020 - Streetsblog USA

Women Public Space

Adapting Public Engagement to Social Distancing

TransitCenter published a new report on the emerging practices of public engagement at a time when large gatherings have been prohibited.

May 21, 2020 - TransitCenter

R.H. Thomson Expressway

'Ramps to Nowhere' Will Come Down in Seattle as New Debates Heat Up

The history of Seattle's opposition to car infrastructure is being commemorated while it's being made.

May 20, 2020 - Crosscut

Montreal Freeway

Research on the Benefits and Limitations of Telecommuting to Inform a New Transportation Normal

If public transit suffers long-term consequences from the coronavirus, as many experts predict, telecommuting could be a key tool in reducing pollution and congestion, but it creates problems of its own and its effects aren't entirely clear.

May 7, 2020 - Transportation Research Board

Maryland Highways

Critics: Press Pause on Highway Widening in Maryland Until COVID Impacts Are Clear

Transportation plans justified with pre-coronavirus data are now obsolete, according to a line of argument recently presented to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

May 5, 2020 - Maryland Matters

Manahattan

Congestion Pricing in Manhattan Likely Stuck in COVID-19 Limbo

The federal government was already slow to cooperate with a plan to charge automobile drivers for entering certain parts of Manhattan, but with coronavirus commanding so much attention, the project isn't likely to move forward any time soon.

April 24, 2020 - New York Daily News

Street Fiori Oscuri

Milan Commits to a Less Car-Centric New Normal

Milan is making changes to its streets to ensure that the city's residents and employment base don't overwhelm the city with new automobile traffic when the city reopens for business.

April 22, 2020 - The Guardian

Colorado Interstate

Road and Highway Construction Plan Expected to Take a $250 Million Hit in Colorado

The Colorado Department of Transportation might be building fewer roads than they had originally planned after the coronavirus recedes. A few projects already underway have been able to speed up.

April 21, 2020 - The Denver Post

New York Subway Stairs

How We Learn Public Transportation and Infrastructure Lessons

"Who do you learn from?" is a question that transportation planners, particularly in the United States, should ask themselves.

March 27, 2020 - Pedestrian Observations

Seattle light rail

Op-Ed: The Importance of Equity in Transportation Planning

Transportation planners must address equity issues in their work and involve the people most affected by the planning and policymaking process.

March 26, 2020 - Next City

Elderly Walking

Changing Perceptions of Aging in Planning

In planning, stereotypes of older adults still dominate, and it’s time for that message to change.

March 22, 2020 - Insights (Toole Design)

Interstate 5

$10 Billion Approved for Highway Funding in Washington State

Despite the drastic funding limitation imposed by Washington's voter-approved Initiative 976, the state found a way to fund $10.4 billion in (mostly highway) transportation projects.

March 19, 2020 - The Urbanist

Minneapolis Green Line University of Minnesota

Draft Drop: the Minneapolis Transportation Action Plan

As a first step in furthering goals set in the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan, Minneapolis recently released the draft of a new ten-year transportation plan.

March 11, 2020 - StarTribune

Highway Construction

The 'Congestion Con' Debunked

New road capacity doesn't solve congestion, according to the central argument of a new report by Transportation for America.

March 8, 2020 - Transportation for America

Candidates for President

Evaluating the Transportation Plans of Each Presidential Candidate (Including the Incumbent)

Transportation seems like an afterthought on the campaign trail, but Transportation for America is shining light on the issue by providing an evaluation of each campaign's transportation plan.

March 1, 2020 - Transportation for America

Anchorage Public Transportation

Anchorage to Consider Change to Transportation Paradigm

The Anchorage Municipal Assembly seeks more focus on pedestrian and transit improvements over traffic reduction in an upcoming 20-year transportation plan.

February 28, 2020 - KTUU Channel 2

Houston Metro Bus

A First for Houston: Chief Transportation Planner

The newly created position of Chief Transportation Planner for the city of Houston is tasked with working with multiple levels of government to help shift Houston away from its car-centric model.

February 28, 2020 - Community Impact Newspaper

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.