Auto-Centric Planning

People walking on cobblestone street between old buildingsin Maastricht, Netherlands.

Planning for Love, Part 3: Enhancing human connection through walkability

In the third and final installment of this series, author Hannah Kosoff examines what her research findings say about modern dating and urban form.

July 24, 2026 - Hannah Kosoff

Pedestrians crossing a crosswalk with city traffic and bus in ackground in Denver, Colorado.

Congestion Costing Reality Check, Part 1: Congestion evaluation best practices

Widely cited studies claim that traffic congestion is a huge and growing problem. They exaggerate. Let’s examine how to correctly calculate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits.

July 23, 2026 - Todd Litman

cars

Study: Automobile Dependency Reduces Life Satisfaction

Automobile dependency has negative implications for wellbeing. This academic study finds that relying on a car for more than 50 percent of out-of-home travel is associated with significant reductions in life satisfaction.

December 10, 2024 - Science Direct

Interstate 5 freeway in Los Angeles, California.

Opinion: LA Should Reject ‘Misguided’ Car-Centric Policies

Even as the city highlights clean energy and transportation for the 2028 Olympics, Metro and Caltrans move forward with plans to expand highways.

September 11, 2024 - Streetsblog Los Angeles

Google street view of Amboy Road in Staten Island, New York.

Staten Island Road Widening Project Moves Forward

New York’s Department of Transportation plans to double the width of a Staten Island street to accommodate more vehicular traffic.

August 13, 2024 - StreetsBlog NYC

Dallas Freeways

How Car-Oriented Infrastructure Harms Public Health

A new documentary shows the ways that infrastructure designed for cars and not people is making us ill.

June 14, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Empty Road

What Is Car-Centric Planning?

'Car-centric planning' refers to urban planning that privileges the private automobile as a primary transportation mode, often to the exclusion of people who walk, bike, or use public transit.

February 17, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

Cars in the snow

Snowstorm That Stranded Thousands Prompts Questions About Auto-Centric Development

After thousands of motorists spent over a day on a snowbound Virginia highway, experts are warning that auto-centric sprawl will worsen the impacts of extreme weather events.

January 6, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

Manhattan

How an Urban Grid Becomes a Maze

Many rational, open grids can seem like a labyrinth to users. The labyrinth has emerged as an unplanned consequence of the evolution of cities, but solutions like GPS navigation and autonomous vehicles could mean relief.

January 10, 2018 - Fanis Grammenos

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.