Transportation

Mobile Phones

Report: Dangers of Pedestrian Texting Overblown

Distracted walking is never a great idea. But in New York City at least, texting while walking only led to 2 out of 534 pedestrian deaths from 2014 through 2017.

September 27, 2019 - New York Daily News

Pedestrians

U.S. Lagging in Making Streets Safer for Pedestrians

Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the United States, but cities have been slow to implement effective policies and road design measures to change the trend.

September 27, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Electric Cars

California Needs More EV Chargers to Keep Up with Demand

Electric vehicle sales continue to rise, but the need for more charging infrastructure is increasing as well.

September 27, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

English Architecture

Friday Funny: If BART Went Tudor Style

Trigger warning: this is going to get ugly.

September 27, 2019 - Twitter

Bike Lane Debate Continues in San Antonio

As a project to re-engineer Broadway in San Antonio continues, questions about where to put bike lanes persist.

September 27, 2019 - Rivard Report

Cedar River

Pedestrian Bridge Aims for Iconic Status in Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids took a crucial step forward on plans to build the Smokestock Bridge—a pedestrian bridge across the Cedar River.

September 27, 2019 - The Gazette

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Initial Site Plan for Amazon's HQ2 Finds Critics

A lack of architectural ambition and a focus on car transportation are two of the criticisms that have followed Amazon's initial plans for its second headquarters in Northern Virginia.

September 27, 2019 - ARLnow

Polk Street Bikes

Quick Build Initiative Transforming the Streets of San Francisco

Street improvements to benefit cyclists and pedestrians have been moving rapidly in San Francisco since the June approval of the Vision Zero quick-build initiative, a two-year plan to expedite safety project on high-injury corridors.

September 26, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

California Streetcar

Sacramento Regional Transit to Offer Free Transit Pass to School Kids

A new program by the SacRT, with support from Sacramento and four other cities in the region, will attempt to alleviate transportation deficits among vulnerable public school students.

September 26, 2019 - Next City

New York Subway

Op-Ed: NYC Transit Service Cuts Wrong Way to Bolster Budget

The agency could see an influx of capital funds from congestion pricing, but cuts to bus and rail service to make up for budget shortfalls would result in long-term setbacks to the system.

September 26, 2019 - Crain's New York Business

Sidewalk

In D.C., Sidewalks Don’t Equal Walkability

In theory, sidewalks are what make cities walkable. But in Washington, D.C., many sidewalks are not accessible to the people who use them.

September 26, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

MARTA Blue Line

76 Projects on Atlanta's Transit Wishlist

The recently formed Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority released a new regional transit plan.

September 26, 2019 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Broad Street Bike Lane

Law Prohibiting Bike Lanes Blockers Key to Creating a Liveable City

The city of Rochester, New York, decided to take legal action that ensures the city is as safe for people on bikes as intended.

September 25, 2019 - WXXI News

Columbia River Bridge

Once Abandoned, Now Accelerated: Columbia River Crossing Replacement Building Momentum

A project to build a new bridge between Portland and Washington State, once scuttled by Washington lawmakers, now has an aggressive timeline. There was some financial pressure involved in getting the project to its current status.

September 25, 2019 - The Oregonian

Self-Driving Cars

Planning Ahead for an Autonomous Vehicle Future

A new guide says cities need to plan now for AVs so they are not caught off guard when the technology finally arrives.

September 25, 2019 - Wired

Traffic in Manhattan New York

Cars Still Rule the Road. Is Change Possible?

The dominant narrative is that streets are for cars and infrastructure that accommodates driving is necessary for cities to grow. But cities ended up this way because of decisions that make other modes secondary.

September 25, 2019 - The Outline

Bloor Street Bike Lane

Bike Lanes Are Good for Business

Business owners are usually skeptical when planners start talking about removing parking to make space for bike lanes, but study after study has shown bike lanes are good for business. The latest example from Toronto is now exception.

September 25, 2019 - Sidewalk Talk

Bike The Drive

Car-Free Cities, Measured

The CityLab team has created a new metric to measure the U.S. cities where people are most likely to be car free.

September 25, 2019 - CityLab

Cincinnati Bell Connector

Management Divorce for the Cincinnati Streetcar

Efforts to bolster support for a countywide sales tax levy in Hamilton County, Ohio, are pushing the city to fire SORTA as the manager of the troubled Cincinnati Bell Connector.

September 24, 2019 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Hilton Hotel Harbor Island San Diego

'Grand Central Station' and Airport Connector Take First Steps Forward in San Diego

Of the trips to the San Diego International Airport, 99 percent are made by car. That could change if an expensive and ambitious project moves from concept to reality.

September 24, 2019 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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.