Technology

California

Silicon Valley Isn't Really Over

Though a handful of recent articles predicted "peak Silicon Valley," new numbers show the region is still producing lots of good jobs and attracting plenty of venture capital.

March 22, 2018 - Bloomberg View

Spin and LimeBike

Finding a Place for Dockless Bikes: Impound

Several dockless bike companies have continued to operate on the streets of Coronado, California, despite the city's decision not to permit the business.

March 22, 2018 - San Diego Union Tribune

Tempe Police Chief: Uber AV vs. Pedestrian Crash May Have Been Unavoidable

After viewing the videos taken by two cameras equipped in the Uber autonomous vehicle that fatally struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg on Sunday, the chief concluded the crash was difficult to avoid. Also, lessons on the crash from David Leonhardt.

March 21, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Street

Mapping the Law of the Land: Curbside Access

More uses and modes than ever are fighting for curb space in growing cities. Here's an app to make sense of what you can do, and when, along this valued real estate.

March 21, 2018 - The Verge

Chicago Bikeshare

Discussing the State of Transit, and its Future, at the Shared Mobility Summit

Elephants in wine glasses and mobility-as-a-metal-band.

March 20, 2018 - Casey Brazeal

Self-Driving Car

Enabling Autonomous Vehicles: 5G, 'Edge Computing'

The rollout of 5G, combined with the ability to compute on the edge, are allowing for new developments in V2V and V2I communications. Here's why low latency and gigabit speeds are essential.

March 19, 2018 - The Connected Car

Uber Autonomous Vehicle

Uber Car Reportedly in Autonomous Mode Strikes and Kills a Pedestrian

This is likely the first time a pedestrian has been killed by a self-driving car.

March 19, 2018 - The Arizona Republic

Traffic Jam

Navigation Apps Might Hurt Traffic Congestion More Than Help

Raise your hand if you envisioned a transportation network optimized to full efficiency by navigation apps.

March 16, 2018 - CityLab

School Buses

Friday Funny: Tech Genius Realizes His Invention Has Already Been Invented

The Onion burns Elon Musk in a totally fake news story (really) about a bad day for the billionaire.

March 16, 2018 - The Onion

Free Floating Bikeshare

Survey: What Are Your Favorite Planning Apps?

We're updating the annual Top Apps for Planning list, and we want your input.

March 14, 2018 - Planetizen

San Diego Merchants Call for Halt to Dockless Bikeshare Operations

Public bikeshare arrived in San Diego in 2014. Last month, three companies unleashed thousands of dockless bikes, cluttering sidewalks in three business districts to the chagrin of merchants who want a time-out so the city can develop regulations.

March 12, 2018 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Autonomous Vehicles

Next Stop for Self-Driving Trucks: Atlanta

Arriving this week. Like, practically right now.

March 11, 2018 - The Washington Post

Lyft

Multiple Studies Find Ride-Hailing Contributes to Congestion and Transit Losses

Surveys on ride-hailing conducted by regional planning agencies, academic institutions, and public transit agencies throughout the U.S. reviewed by the Associated Press largely led to the same conclusion: more traffic and reduced use of transit.

March 9, 2018 - Associated Press

Demonstration

Facing Contention: 21 Tips to Detox Public Engagement

Forces are aligning to increase polarization and tension in public dialog, and planners are increasingly caught in the middle. A recent workshop with 100 engagement experts resulted in a free eBook to help planners detox their public involvement.

March 8, 2018 - Dave Biggs

Arlington, Texas

Arlington, Texas Replaces Public Transit with Ride-Share

Arlington is the first large city in the nation to ditch public transit for a private ride-sharing service. A pilot program operated by Via Transportation has operated successfully since launching service in December, charging riders $3.

March 7, 2018 - CBS This Morning

Security cameras on a building

Cities and Surveillance

For six years, New Orleans police have been using a secret program that uses social media to locate violent criminals.

March 7, 2018 - CityLab

Empty Carpool Lane

Climate Challenge: Not Enough EVs or Too Many SUVs?

Both are problems, but globally, sports utility vehicles sales are proliferating far faster than cars, be they electric or petrol-powered, posing a major challenge for governments committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

March 5, 2018 - The New York Times - Climate

Homeless Person

Austin Proposes Using Blockchain Technology to Help Its Homeless

The city wants to give its 7,000 citizens without permanent homes "[u]nique digital identifiers" to help them get reliable access to services.

March 5, 2018 - Quartz

Europe Will Lag Behind in 5G Adoption

While there are differences in the user cases of early adopters, around the world it is clear that Europeans will have to wait a bit longer to enjoy the speed, low latency, and reliability of 5G networks.

March 4, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Baltimore City Hall

Baltimore Releases a Five-Year 'Digital Transformation Strategic Plan'

Good IT is critical to good customer service, as anyone who has ever worked a counter in knows.

March 2, 2018 - Smart Cities Plan

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.