Arizona
Phoenix Announces Shade Action Plan
The city has outlined 11 strategic priorities aimed at addressing the risks of extreme heat and protecting vulnerable residents from its impacts.
Research Shows Cool Pavement Coatings Can Raise Ambient Temperature
Coatings that reflect heat can make the air feel warmer for people standing on and around these surfaces.
Arizona Native Community Launches First Solar-Over-Canal Project
Covering an irrigation canal with solar panels doubles its utility, producing renewable energy while protecting canal infrastructure and reducing water evaporation.
When ‘Prioritizing All Modes’ Is a Lie
In many cases, it’s impossible to prioritize the safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users without sacrificing some speed.
Property Taxes Cuts on the Ballot in at Least Eight States
From completely eliminating property tax to creating new exemptions, voters in eight states across the country will cast their votes on a variety of ballot measures that could have major implications for local budgets.
Phoenix Launches Hybrid Bus Fleet
The city aims to have a zero-emissions transit fleet by 2040.
Addressing the Perils of Extreme Heat
With this year bringing on more record heat waves, governments at the local and federal levels are elevating extreme heat management as an urgent priority.
Tucson Keeps Buses Fare-Free
The city is doubling down on its efforts to boost bus ridership as part of its climate action plan.
Cities, States Use AI and GIS to Make Permitting Less of a Pain
Across the country, state and local governments have turned to AI to optimize their building permitting processes. The efficiencies they’ve achieved are impressive and welcomed by applicants and government agencies alike.
Controversial Blight Ordinance in Gilbert, Arizona, Zeroes in on Backyards
Local officials in Gilbert, Arizona, say a new town ordinance that will fine homeowners for unsightly debris in their backyards is about fighting blight; critics say it’s a violation of their Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure.
Phoenix Nonprofit Offers Medical Services to Unhoused Residents
The mobile medical units are administering IV fluids and treating heat-related illnesses as extreme heat blankets the Southwest.
Phoenix Seeks to Adopt AI for City and Regional Planning
An extension of the Phoenix metro region’s half-cent transportation sales tax by voters this November would give the city a green flag, and funding, to expand its use of AI as a planning tool.
Top 5 US Cities for Office-to-Residential Conversions
As more and more cities look to adapt vacant office buildings into homes, a new analysis from Urban Institute says some cities will benefit more than others.
Phoenix Heat Deaths Rose by 1,000 Percent in 10 Years
The last decade saw a lethal combination of higher temperatures, rapid population growth, and rising eviction rates.
Arizona Legalizes ADUs and Higher Downtown Density Statewide
Two new laws require cities to permit ‘missing middle housing’ near city centers and ADUs on all single-family lots.
Video: Phoenix Sets its Sights on Vision Zero
The city hopes to eliminate traffic deaths in the next 25 years.
States Are Banning Guaranteed Income Programs
Four states now have laws in place that prevent cities and counties from creating or continuing guaranteed income programs, and several more have tried or are trying.
Illegal Roads Threaten Lake Mead’s Shoreline
As visitors seek out ways to reach the lake’s increasingly distant shoreline, officials say illegally created roads are damaging environmental and cultural resources and leading to hundreds of calls for rescue for stranded vehicles.
Arizona to Build ‘Testbed’ for Autonomous Vehicles
The Arizona Department of Transportation announced a public-private partnership to install fiber-optic infrastructure along 405 miles of interstate highways to enable vehicle connectivity.
Phoenix: An Urban Planner's Guide to the City
A modern city with an ancient history, Phoenix became a booming desert oasis in the late 20th century. Now, extreme heat and dwindling water supplies require a new path forward.
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.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
