Technology

Autonomous Vehicles

New Global Survey of the Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles

A paper published in the journal Nature reveals the findings of a survey of 2 million people in 200 countries on the ethics of the "trolley problem" as applied to self-driving cars.

November 5, 2018 - MIT News

Automated Vehicles

Peter Calthorpe's Self-Driving Car Dissent

The founder of New Urbanism takes his autonomous vehicle skepticism, and ideas for other solutions to congestion, to the pages of the New York Times.

November 5, 2018 - The New York Times

Autonomous Vehicle

Uber Wants to Return its Autonomous Vehicles to Public Roads

The move comes almost eight months after a self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian.

November 3, 2018 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Autonomous Vehicles

TEDx: How Will Autonomous Vehicles Transform Cities?

Nico Larco presents a TEDx Talk on the impacts AVs will have on cities, including impacts on land use, land valuation, and the environment. AVs are more than just a transportation issue, and planners need to prepare for the coming changes.

November 1, 2018 - TEDx Talk

Los Angeles Theater Sidewalk

Curbs Are Plentiful, But the Info About Them Isn’t Great. A New App Could Change That

An app called Surveyor is making it easier to collect better data on curbs.

November 1, 2018 - VentureBeat

Somerville, MA City Hall

Somerville Launches 'Urban Lab' for Innovation

The city seeks to incubate creative ideas in the public interest.

November 1, 2018 - The Boston Globe

An image of a 3D city block generated by ESRI CityEngine software

Oracle Launches Land Use and Development Software

The product uses artificial intelligence to manage zoning, code enforcement, and permitting for local governments.

October 31, 2018 - Government Technology

Cellular Network

Cities Sue Feds Over 5G Rules

Cities want more control over the deployment of 5G technology. The federal government has been working to limit local regulatory powers over new wireless technology.

October 30, 2018 - Bloomberg

California State Capital

Sacramento Hopes to Lead Transportation Emission Reductions by Example

As California tries to stem its increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, its capital, Sacramento, may prove to be a model for other cities as it embraces electric vehicles and strategies to reduce driving.

October 29, 2018 - Curbed

Old Car Batteries

The Most Carbon-Intensive Component of Electric Vehicles Deserves Attention

It's well known that an electric vehicle is only as clean, from a greenhouse gas perspective, as the electricity it consumes to power it. A new study finds that the electricity used in the manufacturing of car batteries also must be considered.

October 24, 2018 - Bloomberg News

Scooter and Bike Share

Portland Has the Scooter User Survey Data Everyone Wants

The city of Portland has released the survey results enabled by the Portland Bureau of Transportation's ongoing electric scooter pilot project.

October 23, 2018 - The Portland Mercury

Central Waterfront Toronto

Toronto's Quayside Will Be Plugged In, But the Risks for Residents Are Unclear

Technology will be part of everyday life in a new Toronto neighborhood, planned by Sidewalk Labs. But looking to the future is also raising a host of privacy concerns.

October 18, 2018 - The Star

Electric Car Charging

Electric Vehicles See Progress at Local Level but Setbacks in Washington

The new IPCC report calls for decarbonization of transportation. While many cities are attempting to do their part, two recent federal developments in trade policy and tax legislation threaten to will make progress more difficult.

October 17, 2018 - CityLab

Washington DC Metro

Automatic Train Control Returning to D.C. Metro

The computer-driven trains will start up again next year with the goal of improving riders’ experiences.

October 17, 2018 - The Washington Post

Driving

The 'Save Driving' Resistance

For all the concern about the "War on Cars," some car lovers perceive self-driving cars as the real threat to the driving experience and the car culture that comes with it.

October 17, 2018 - The Detroit Free Press

Google Self-Driving Car Again

Maintaining Walkability as Autonomous Vehicles Become a Reality

Integrating autonomous vehicles into cities will require effectively managing city streets and suburban sprawl.

October 16, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Waze

Waze Launches New Carpooling Feature

A carpooling feature in the Waze app, tested in the San Francisco Bay Area and Israel, will soon be available around the country.

October 15, 2018 - Business Insider

High-Speed Rail

Dallas Brainstorms Multimodal Hub to Accompany High-Speed Rail

With a Dallas-Houston bullet train proposal proceeding apace, a complementary idea is now on the table: a multimodal transit hub linking Amtrak, transit, and even Hyperloop.

October 14, 2018 - D Magazine

Little Rock 1871

Mapped: Every Building in the United States

Using data from Microsoft, the New York Times has published an online map showing the placement of every building in the country, in a simple black and white format.

October 12, 2018 - The New York Times

Dockless Bike Share

Dockless Pedal Bikeshare Loses Traction

Once a darling of investors and urbanists alike, pedal-driven dockless bikeshare is getting eclipsed by e-scooters and e-bikes.

October 12, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

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.