Transportation

New York Street

Thumbs Down to Planning Rules of Thumb

In planning, a number of common principles of practice are widely accepted. However, an alternative set of guidelines can better serve as information and decision-making tools.

December 11, 2018 - City Commentary

End of the rainbow

The U.S. Has Pole Position in the Race to Deliver Autonomous Vehicles

For a country that loves cars and driving so much, the eagerness to automate transportation is conspicuous.

December 11, 2018 - Quartz

Metro Bus

The State of the D.C. Region's Bus Network

The Bus Transformation Project recently released its findings on the state of bus transit in the Washington, D.C. region.

December 10, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

MARTA Trains

Commuter Rail, Bus Rapid Transit Plans Approved for Atlanta Region

Approval of two plans to bring new transit modes to the Atlanta region, reaching into the suburbs, mark a turning point in the transit history of the Southeast.

December 10, 2018 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Recreational Vehicle

Legislation to End Sales of Gas and Diesel Passenger Vehicles in California Reintroduced

Assemblymembers Phil Ting and Ash Kalra have reintroduced the Clean Cars 2040 Act with the goal of banning the sale of passenger vehicles powered by internal combustion engines by 2040, with the California Air Resources Board playing a lead role.

December 10, 2018 - SF Gate

Gold Line alongside 210 Freeway

Congestion Pricing in Los Angeles?

The city of Los Angeles is looking for ways to close a $26.2 billion funding gap for its plan to complete 28 transportation projects by the 2028 Summer Olympics.

December 10, 2018 - Los Angeles Daily News

Child on Train

Public Transportation Is Good for Kids

Using transit gives children experiences, skills, and perspectives that they won’t get riding in a car.

December 10, 2018 - Apolitical

Highway Interchange

U.S. Report: Raise the Federal Gas Tax to Pay for Infrastructure Fixes

A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine endorses an idea that is sure to be controversial.

December 9, 2018 - The Mercury News

Portland Interchange

Interstate Highway Tolling Takes Major Step Forward in Pacific Northwest

The state that implemented the first gas tax and the first bike tax took a huge step on Thursday toward becoming the first, since 1956, to toll all lanes on an interstate highway by approving an application to the Federal Highway Administration.

December 9, 2018 - The Columbian

CTA Purple Line train

Fans of Transit and/or Chicago: We Have a Card Game for You

The card game LOOP was made by people who obviously put in some serious time hanging from straps on the L.

December 8, 2018 - CityLab

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Financial Woes at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

A $25 million operating deficit will inspire some soul searching, and structural changes.

December 8, 2018 - The Mercury News

Ohio

Transit Catastrophe After Toledo Funding Change Misses the Ballot

A ballot initiative intended to solve the Toledo Area Transportation Authority's budget deficit didn't appear before voters in November, and now less bus service will cost more to ride.

December 8, 2018 - The Toledo Blade

Buffalo Bayou Park

Slideshow: Walkable Houston

The Houston Chronicle shares the views in the most walkable sections of the city of Houston.

December 8, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Cincinnati Over-the-Rhine

Residential Parking Permits for One of Cincinnati's Hottest Neighborhoods

Residents are looking for more reliable parking as Over-the-Rhine continues to boom.

December 7, 2018 - Cincinnati Enquirer

Carbon Tax

Major Increase in Global Carbon Emissions Projected for 2018

The report from the Global Carbon Project, an international group of scientists who track greenhouse gas emissions, comes as a surprise as emissions had been relatively flat for the last four years. Global emissions this year will increase 2.7%.

December 7, 2018 - The New York Times

Bike Infrastructure

Friday Funny: The Onion Eviscerates Bike Planning

More scathing satire from The Onion, which continues a long history of dissecting the priorities of society as reflected in the built environment and the public realm.

December 7, 2018 - The Onion

Monterey Park California

Roads or Transit: How Will 710 Extension Project Funds Be Used?

The available funding could shift transportation priorities in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley. But transportation leaders appear to be leaning toward more of the same.

December 7, 2018 - Streetsblog LA

European City

Free Transit for All in Luxembourg

Luxembourg will put their money where their mouth is when it comes to cleaning the environment and providing an alternative to congested car commutes.

December 7, 2018 - The Guardian

Seattle, Washington

Friday Eye Candy: Painting to Memorialize Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct

Finding beauty, and questions, in the concrete.

December 7, 2018 - The Seattle Times

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

That's Mixed-Use: Housing on Top of a Bus Yard

San Francisco could try a new trick to help kill two birds with one stone.

December 6, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

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.