Transportation

Freeway Construction

Toll and Tax, or Just Tax, to Pay for Highway Expansion?

A political decision by the Texas Transportation Commission last December to drop projects which included toll lanes was thought to doom 15 road expansions from their 10-year capital plan, but some will go forward with HOV as opposed to HOT lanes.

August 31, 2018 - Austin American-Statesman

Traffic

How Many Days of Your Life Will Be Spent Commuting?

Follow up question: Are you sure you want to know the answer to the first question?

August 31, 2018 - Educated Driver

Houston Metro Bus

A Podcast by Houston's Transit Agency for Houston's Transit Riders

Some people think of Houston as an oil town; other people think of it as a transit town. This podcast is for the second kind of person.

August 31, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Single-Family Housing Construction

Will Innovative Financing Solve California's Housing Shortage?

Are housing and housing finance two separate problems? California Assemblymember David Chiu and others in housing discuss how available finance tools could be employed to expand the capital pool for affordable housing projects.

August 31, 2018 - The Planning Report

Video: The Case for Free Public Transit

City Beautiful Dave Amos makes the case that everyone—even people who never use transit—would be better off if no one had to pay for public transit.

August 31, 2018 - City Beautiful

Self-Driving Car

Autonomous Vehicles: Planners Aren’t Planning, Just Reacting

When it comes to planning for transformative technologies like autonomous vehicles, urban planners – whose job it is to project and prioritize transportation investments – have fallen behind and the consequences could be severe.

August 31, 2018 - Wisconsin Autonomous Vehicle Proving Ground

Electric Car

Friday Funny: Tesla Invents the Greenest Car

The Fake News website The Onion reports a complete fabrication about Elon Musk and Tesla.

August 31, 2018 - The Onion

Detroit Bridge

Construction Details, Costs Emerge for Gordie Howe International Bridge

A plan to build the nation's longest cable-stayed bridge has been busy clearing benchmarks this summer.

August 30, 2018 - Crain's Detroit Business

Staten Island Express

Staten Island Express Bus Relaunches

Express buses in Staten Island started their new routes August 19 with fewer routes and fewer stops and faster travel the MTA hopes.

August 30, 2018 - AMNY

Phoenix Light Rail

Phoenix City Council Could Shift Transportation Funding From Light Rail to Streets

The Phoenix City Council took a very early step in the process of delaying and potentially killing long-term plans for public transit in the city.

August 30, 2018 - The Arizona Republic

A SEPTA R5 commuter train heading for Doylestown, Pennsylvania from Lansdale station.

A Proposal to Extend Rail Service to a Town in Pennsylvania Is Ambitious. Proponents Are Undeterred

A plan to get a SEPTA Regional Rail link to Phoenixville in record time has its skeptics, but advocates are convinced they can make it happen.

August 30, 2018 - PlanPhilly

Electric Scooters

Weekly Electric Scooter Media Brief

The first installment of an easy-to-gather collection of media coverage on electric scooters, the companies who rent them, the cities who regulate them (or not), and the public who loves (or hates) them.

August 30, 2018 - Planetizen

Beltway Traffic

Study Reveals Bias Against Super Commuters in Hiring Practices

A study by David C. Phillips, associate professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame, reveals hiring prejudice against people who would have to commute farther to work, in addition to bias against people with "black sounding" names.

August 29, 2018 - Journalist's Resource

Paratransit

'Mobility for All' Responds to Growing Need for Quality Paratransit Service

Accessible technology and a centralized database and call center will help deliver a one-call, one-click transportation information system for seniors and people with special needs in the Portland region.

August 29, 2018 - Bike Portland

North Carolina Light Rail

Light Rail From Durham to Orange Finds Final Funding Piece

Planners behind a new 17-mile light rail system that will connect the cities and employers in the Research Triangle in North Carolina overcame a change of funding plans by the state.

August 29, 2018 - The Herald Sun

Tar Sands Oil Just Lost Another Outlet, For Now

It was viewed as a "David vs. Goliath" pipeline fight: the city of South Portland, Maine against a pipeline company backed by Big Oil. The city had passed a zoning ordinance preventing the export of oil which would have impacted public health.

August 29, 2018 - InsideClimate News

Muni Bus Overhead Wire

How Bus Systems Compare When Using the Same Definition of 'On Time'

The definition of "On Time" varies from transit system to transit system, making comparisons difficult. When compared using the same standards, a more accurate portrait of transit performance emerges.

August 29, 2018 - TransitCenter

News

The Local Journalists Who Keep City Planning in the News

Planetizen's 2018 "Top Twitter" list focuses on the local journalists who work hard to keep planning projects and processes in the public eye.

August 29, 2018 - James Brasuell

Seoul Bus Stop

Lessons from Seoul's Bus Redesign

Seoul simplified its routes and kept its key bus lanes clear of traffic to revitalize it's transit system.

August 28, 2018 - Mobility Lab

Bunker Fuel Exhaust

Cleaning-Up the World's Dirtiest Fuel by 2020

A 2016 rule approved by a specialized agency of the U.N. is forcing large ships that burn bunker oil, the dirtiest type of fuel, to either burn a more costly low-sulfur variety, apply scrubbers, or turn to LNG.

August 28, 2018 - The Wall Street Journal

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.