Technology

MTA/RTA Strategic Plan

Critics See Transit as Old Fashioned

Critics of a transit referendum in Nashville see trains and buses as the transportation solutions of the past. According to this thinking, ride-hailing companies and self-driving cars are the future.

April 8, 2018 - Tennessean

Internet Cables

ACLU Report Recommends Municipal Broadband

Faced with the potential consequences of the federal Communications Commission's recent repeal of net neutrality, a report by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that municipal internet as an antidote.

April 5, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

Weymouth, Massachusetts

The Planned Community of the Future Is Also a 'Smart City'

Planned community developer LStar Ventures is building a smart city experiment near Boston.

April 5, 2018 - The New York Times

Tesla

More Bad News for Tesla—This Time From the EPA

A rollback of fuel economy standards carries huge financial consequences for the all-electric vehicle manufacturer that makes over $300 million annually by selling credits to auto manufacturers unable to achieve current fuel economy standards.

April 4, 2018 - Vox

Quito BRT

Urban Transportation's Four Separate Challenges

At the Shared Use Mobility Summit in Chicago, Jarrett Walker cautioned the tech world to keep four key transportation problems in mind.

April 3, 2018 - Forbes

Automated Vehicle

Police Officer Issues a Ticket to a Self-Driving Car

In San Francisco this week, a city police officer issued a ticket to an autonomous GM Cruise vehicle for failure to yield to a pedestrian. Specifically, the self-driving vehicle got too close to a person walking in a crosswalk.

April 2, 2018 - The Connected Car

Monorail. Las Vegas

Google Debuts Touchless Transit Payments

In its first dive into a touchless transportation payment system, Google Pay is partnering with NXP's MIFARE on a Las Vegas Monorail pilot.

April 2, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

facebook

Facebook Launches New 'Smart City' Experiment: Zuckerburgh

Facebook has announced plans for a new kind of city, which will begin as a new digital layer over reality in Menlo Park, California before quickly spread over everything.

April 1, 2018 - Planetizen April 1st Edition

Uber Self-Driving Car

Scrutiny Turns Toward Uber After First Pedestrian Death by Autonomous Vehicle

It's not just the autonomous vehicle technology, but also the company that operated the self-driving SUV receiving scrutiny after the death of Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Az. on March 18.

March 31, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Tesla Fatal Crash and Battery Fire Under Investigation

Wei Huang, a 38-year-old Apple engineer, died after his Tesla Model X collided with a highway barrier on a Bay Area highway interchange on March 23. NTSB wants to know if it was operating on Autopilot. It took 5 hours to reopen the freeway.

March 30, 2018 - Bloomberg Technology

Mobile Social Media

Housing Advocates Sue Facebook for Discriminatory Housing Ads

A long-brewing controversy has finally resulted in legal repercussions for Facebook.

March 29, 2018 - Curbed

Disable Access

Tech Partnerships Seek Greater Mobility for the Disabled

Tech-focused civic partnerships may be one way to unlock greater urban mobility for disabled people. Tools in the works include navigation apps with specialized sound cues and "smart canes" that interact with invisible paint.

March 29, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

Jaguar Self-Driving Car

Waymo Wants to Provide a 'Self-Driving Vehicle Tailored to Every Trip' (So Why Not Buses?)

Automated vehicle tech frontrunner Waymo is teaming up with Jaguar to offer a luxury self-driving vehicle for "car lovers." Why not partner with bus manufacturers to offer self-driving buses for city lovers?

March 29, 2018 - Antonio Loro

Seattle Apartments

Pressing Pause on 'Rent Bidding' Apps

Several new apps allow landlords to place available units out to bid. The city of Seattle is concerned the apps might exacerbate prices in an already expensive rental market.

March 28, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

The Mission

New Lyft Program Puts a 'Geofence' Around Busy Streets

The Lyft geofencing pilot in San Francisco will direct drivers to less busy side streets for pick ups and drop offs.

March 27, 2018 - Mission Local

City Hall

The Winning Pitches From SXSW's Civic Tech Event

Mayors chose these winners based on their potential to benefit local governments and communities.

March 26, 2018 - Route Fifty

Cellular Network

Feds Streamline Approvals for 5G Infrastructure

Most deployment of 5G "small cells" won't get any resistance from federal regulations.

March 26, 2018 - VentureBeat

Autonomous Vehicles

Self-Driving Cars' Most Likely Future: Shared 'Robotaxis'

In the wake of a high-profile (and fatal) accident involving an autonomous Uber car, the safety debate is trending. But the broader economic picture still points to a future of shared driverless rides.

March 25, 2018 - The Economist

Uber Autonomous Vehicle

Failure of Automated Driving Technology Blamed for First Pedestrian Fatality

Experts who watched the videos taken by onboard cameras equipped in the Volvo SUV that hit Elaine Herzberg determined that Uber's automated driving system failed to perform adequately. The crash points to a need for regulations.

March 25, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Autonomous Vehicle

Europe Slaps Data Collected by Cities

Cities collecting personally identifiable data, by the government or through any third party, are responsible to abide by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, just like any other organization collecting data.

March 23, 2018 - Cities of the Future

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.