Transportation

Bus Schedule

A Decade of Transit Investments, Quantified

Yonah Freemark gives less-than-stellar marks for the transit investments of U.S. cities in the 2010s.

January 8, 2020 - theTransportPolitic

New York City Transit Station

Gov. Cuomo's Plan Would Expand Penn Station Tracks by 40%

A new plan to add significant space for new tracks and platforms at Penn Station would require demolishing a whole city block in Manhattan.

January 7, 2020 - The New York Times

New York Street

Study: Walking and Cycling Rates Haven't Changed Much Since 2001

New analysis of National Household Travel Survey data shows that the United States has a long way to go to overcome the dominance of the automobile for daily travel.

January 7, 2020 - Journal of Transport & Health via ScienceDirect

Governor Larry Hogan

Highway Expansion Plans Benefitted Governor's Real Estate Business, According to Report

Governor Larry Hogan is accused of personally benefiting from the state of Maryland's ongoing highway expansion program.

January 7, 2020 - Washington Monthly

Traffic

Opinion: Car Culture Will Shift in the Next Decade

Cars and vehicle emissions are undoubtedly central to the climate change problem. The solution, however, might not be cleaner vehicles but rather a drastic change in our relationship to automobiles and driving.

January 6, 2020 - The Guardian

Washington, D.C. Bus Lane

Red Bus Lanes Easier to Install Thanks to Federal Green Light

Bus lanes covered in a red carpet of paint are gaining popularity in urban areas, but only with a very tentative kind of approval from federal regulators. Red bus lanes took a big, but not final, step toward full regulatory approval in December.

January 6, 2020 - The Washington Post

Autonomous Vehicles

Technology Might Not Save Us

In the absence of more enlightened policies, technological change is as likely to increase pollution as to decrease pollution.

January 6, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

cars

Massachusetts Legislators Fear Hidden Gas Tax in Transportation and Climate Initiative

Gov. Charlie Baker (R) supports a multi-state proposal to mitigate tailpipe emissions that would increase gas prices and pay for transit projects in an $18 billion transportation bond. A bill has been introduced to ensure that doesn't happen.

January 6, 2020 - The Boston Herald

Metro Los Angeles Light Rail

Los Angeles Needs New Funding Sources to Meet Public Transit Ambitions

With an aggressive plan to build out numerous public transit lines in time for the 2028 Olympics, local officials are scrambling to fill funding gaps as prices continue to rise and catch planners and officials by surprise.

January 5, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Highway Expansion Project Damages Flood Control Systems in Cincinnati

The Ohio Department of Transportation has prioritize the expansion of Interstate 71 in the neighborhood of Madisonville, in Cincinnati, over flood protection for property owners in the city, according to a recent city memo.

January 3, 2020 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Public Comment

What the Academic Literature Says About Civic Engagement

A literature review notes three big themes and challenges to emerge from a year's worth of intellectual investigation of civic engagement.

January 2, 2020 - Data-Smart City Solutions

Northern California Toll Lane

More Toll Lanes Coming to California Freeways

Solo drivers in the Golden State will have more options to escape traffic congestion on busy freeways – for a price, as transportation agencies increasing decide to convert existing carpool lanes to high-occupancy toll lanes and add new ones.

January 2, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Electric Car Charging Station

Los Angles Considering Electric Vehicle Requirement for Ride-Hailing Vehicles

Ambitious talk from the mayor of Los Angeles.

January 2, 2020 - Financial Times via Inside Climate News

Mario M. Cuomo Bridge

$4 Billion Later, the New Tappan Bridge More Crowded Than Ever

Traffic data shows more and more cars and trucks using the new Tappan Zee Bridge in 2019, in what looks like an obvious case of induced demand.

January 2, 2020 - Times Herald-Record

Copernicus Sentinel Data

Satellite Imagery of a Decade's Transformation

Trends in land use and development are made obvious with satellite imagery tracking changes during the 2010s.

January 1, 2020 - The New York Times

Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump

Watch: Urban Planning in the 2010s

A first draft of the urban planning history of the 2010s.

December 31, 2019 - Planetizen via YouTube

Transit Insights

Top Urban Planning Websites – 2019

Planetizen's annual list of the best of the planning Internet gives a taste of the technological and editorial milieu of the urban planning Internet at the beginning of a new decade.

December 31, 2019 - James Brasuell

New Jersey

East Coast Considers Plan to Hike Gas Prices to Mitigate Climate Change

Will a dozen East Coast states and D.C. agree to a regional plan that would likely hike gas prices through a "cap-and-invest" program to mitigate tailpipe emissions similar to what California has done for the last five years?

December 30, 2019 - The New York Times

Kansas City Bus

What Free Transit Means to Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri will be the largest U.S. city to operate a fare-free system that officials say will make transit more accessible.

December 29, 2019 - CityLab

A ferry boat returns to Seattle

Washington State to Transition to Battery Electric Ferries

Washington's largest diesel emissions polluter will transition its fleet to diesel-hybrids and then to battery-electric propulsion to comply with Gov. Inslee's emissions-reduction executive order which will also please the orcas in Puget Sound.

December 29, 2019 - Greentech Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.