Criminalization

Close-up of "No Loitering or Panhandling - Restrooms for Customer Use Only" sign in shop window.

Opinion: Criminalizing Homelessness Is ‘Expensive and Shortsighted’

Policies that punish and fine unhoused people for sheltering outdoors, even when other shelter is not available, are the most visible but least efficient ways to reduce homelessness.

April 17, 2024 - Bloomberg Law

Farebox

D.C. Makes the Case for Decriminalizing Fare Evasion

The District may soon remove criminal penalties from fare evasion with a proposal that would lower fines and strike the possibility of jail time.

November 21, 2017 - The Washington Post

U.S. Cities Cracking Down on Homelessness

Three major American cities this week—San Francisco, Dallas, and Los Angeles—responded to the growing number of homeless living on the streets with sweeps, arrests, and seizures, respectively.

March 3, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Anti homeless bench

Cities Criminalizing Homelessness Amid Urban Boom

More cities—many of them "revitalizing" their urban cores at the same time as a national recession and a real estate market beset by diminishing supplies of low-income housing—are criminalizing homelessness.

July 23, 2014 - PBS NewsHour - The Rundown

Atlanta Criminalizes Walking

The high-profile case of Raquel Nelson, who was arrested when her four-year-old son was killed as she attempted to cross the street with him, and another recent episode demonstrate the Atlanta region's abysmal attitude toward pedestrians.

October 3, 2012 - Streetsblog D.C.

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.