Transportation

Historical I-5 Freeway

The Backbone of Orange County

In the 1950s, southern Orange County, California was a place of open hills, citrus groves, and scattered towns. The I-5 Freeway changed that, paving the way for today's subdivisions.

May 10, 2016 - KCET

Chicago Bikers

Get Around Chicago Like an Insider with 20 Apps

These 20 apps and services will help you engage with everything Chicago has to offer in a whole new way.

May 10, 2016 - Netted

Gold Line alongside 210 Freeway

Parking Crunch Hits New Light Rail Station

The number of people parking at the new Gold Line light rail station in Azusa, California is outstripping the available supply of parking spaces, forcing many onto surrounding residential streets, which now has neighbors up in arms.

May 10, 2016 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Highway Construction

'Highway Propaganda' Promotes Widening Projects

Apparently to galvanize public support, the Colorado Department of Transportation and an Ohio chamber of commerce have produced videos touting the benefits of widening projects for low-income communities.

May 10, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Bike Parking

New and Older Apartments Cater to Bike Riders—In a Big Way

Bike rooms for office buildings are hardly new. Now they are making their way into the New York City residential real estate market, big time. These rooms may come with bike repair equipment, and in some cases, the apartments may come with new bikes.

May 10, 2016 - The New York Times - Real Estate

SF Muni

San Francisco Transit Advocate Platform: Get Anywhere in 30 Minutes

Transit riders in the famously small city of San Francisco (in geographic size, anyway) have set a goal to design and build a system that makes it possible to travel between any two points in the city in 30 minutes or less.

May 9, 2016 - Hoodline

Washington D.C. Metro

Federal Transit Administration Threatens Metro Shutdown after Thursday's Fire

Unless D.C. Metro abides by the Federal Transit Administration safety directives issued Saturday and takes "urgent action," they threatened to shut down all or parts of the system, the nation's second busiest subway after New York's.

May 9, 2016 - The Washington Post

Highway Guardrail

As the Speed Limit Goes Up, So Do the Costs

As a number of Western States raise their speed limits, the costs of road maintenance, environmental damage, and lost lives keeps going up.

May 9, 2016 - Wired

Uber Sidecar Lyft

Your Next Lyft Ride May Not Have a Driver

The self-driving car of the future is getting closer to becoming a reality, with GM and Lyft partnering to launch autonomous vehicles for the ride-hailing service within the year.

May 9, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News - Silicon Beat

The Greening of Large Trucks Begins at California's Ports

A Planetizen blog post by Casey Brazeal asks, "When will the trucking industry electrify?" Three truck manufacturers and electric truck builder BYD Motors are now in competition thanks to a $23.6 million state grant to the South Coast Air District.

May 9, 2016 - Fleet Owner

Pierce Transit

Pierce Transit Lets You 'Build Your Own Transit System'

For feedback on a system overhaul, Pierce Transit in Washington is asking residents to design their own transit system through an interactive survey.

May 9, 2016 - The Urbanist

Seeing Eye People

Safety Improvements for Texters Around the World

Cities are experimenting with safety measures for pedestrians who text while they walk, but the projects could benefit everyone.

May 8, 2016 - The Guardian

Green Line

Somerville and Cambridge Offer Cash to Save Expensive Green Line Extension

The cities of Somerville and Cambridge are digging into their pockets to save the beleaguered Green Line extension project. State transportation officials could decide next week if the additional $75 million matters or not.

May 7, 2016 - The Boston Globe

New York Bike Lane

Open Data Practices Still Catching Up With Bike Metrics in New York

A new report released by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) shows a steady increase in the number of bikers in the city. A lack of data, however, continues to be a problem for accurate assessment of the trend.

May 7, 2016 - StreetsBlog NYC

Highway 401

Ontario to Double Highway 401 Capacity in the Peel Region

A massive highway widening project will soon begin construction in the city of Mississauga, Ontario.

May 7, 2016 - Toronto Sun

Bus Stop

Failed Public-Private Partnership Leaves Bus Stops With No Shade in Los Angeles

A 2001 contract between the city of Los Angeles and CBS Decaux failed to deliver 662 shelters for bus stops. A case study in what not to do on either side of a public-private partnership follows.

May 6, 2016 - KPCC

Kansas City Streetcar Prototype

Open Today: the Kansas City Streetcar

Today, Kansas City becomes the first Midwestern city to run modern streetcar service.

May 6, 2016 - Kansas City Star

Florida Roads

Roads Come Before Transit for Broward, Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization

County commissioners had approved a one-cent sales tax measure to improve roads and transit throughout the county, but MPO members, dominated by city representatives, prefer an undefined infrastructure tax with a majority of funds returned to cities.

May 6, 2016 - Sun Sentinel

Bicycle Infrastructure Fail(s)

An op-ed by Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize Design Company.

May 6, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Del Mar Station TOD

Study: How Does Transit Really Impact Land Values?

The idea that proximity to transit equals higher land values doesn't tell the full story. According to this study, a variety of other factors must be in place to achieve the desired effect.

May 6, 2016 - CityLab

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.