Illinois

Now Arriving on All Chicago Subway Lines: Wireless Internet

Chicago, with funding from the four major wireless carriers, has achieved a major amenity for transit users: 4G internet service along 22 miles of subway tracks in the CTA system.

December 31, 2015 - Crain's Chicago Business

7 Finalists Chosen for Obama Presidential Center Design

Now we know who will compete for one of the most coveted design contracts in the country: the presidential library that will bear Barack Obama's name.

December 23, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Launches Loop Link BRT Service

Until this weekend, CTA buses in Downtown Chicago averaged a speed of 3 mph. The Loop Link is designed to improve those results.

December 22, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Image of Chicago Lake Shore Drive Freeway

A Call to Put Chicago in the Driver's Seat for North Lake Shore Drive Redesign

An op-ed calls for the Illinois Department of Transportation to end its car-friendly approach to the redesign of North Lake Shore Drive.

December 19, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Chicago's Lawrence Avenue Is Changing—Is the Neighborhood Ready?

The Lawrence Avenue corridor in Chicago is poised to evolve into "New Lawrence," but as development proposals follow a streetscape improvement project, the community is still sorting out what exactly "new" should mean.

December 15, 2015 - DNAinfo Chicago

Chicago skyline

A Wake Up Call for Planning Commissioners

Planning commissioners play an essential role in monitoring issues and projects of critical importance to the welfare of entire neighborhoods and cities. Why then, do so many commissioners seem to be sleeping on the job?

November 23, 2015 - Chicago Now

Early Reviews Are In: Chicago's New Transit App Makes it Easy to Pay the Fare

The Ventra app hits the streets—or the tracks, perhaps—this week. Steven Vance of Streetsblog Chicago has already tested the new tool.

November 20, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Chicago Tribune Finds Faults With City's Speed Camera Program

A special investigation by the Chicago Tribune finds inconsistencies and errors with the city's "'Children's Safety Zone" initiative, which places speed camera near schools and parks.

November 18, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

In Illinois: an Affordable Housing Board in Name Only

More evidence of the inability of the Illinois Housing Planning and Appeal Act to achieve its stated goals.

November 11, 2015 - WBEZ

Explained: Bus-On-Shoulder Service

Allowing buses to drive on the shoulder of highways when traffic slows has been shown to increase ridership, thus proving an important point: people will ride transit when it's a reasonable option.

November 5, 2015 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Midwest Flags

12 Maps to Explain the Midwest

Aaron Renn scours the Internet to find 12 maps that attempt to do the impossible: define the geographic and cultural expanse known as the American Midwest.

October 30, 2015 - The Urbanophile

Editorial: Chicago's Lakefront Deserves Better than the Lucas Museum

To say that the Chicago Tribune editorial board is not a fan of George Lucas's proposal to build a museum along Lake Michigan would be putting it mildly.

October 28, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Lake Michigan

The Death and Life of Evanston, Illinois

A comprehensive review of the inner-ring suburb of Evanston, Illinois, outside Chicago, and a transformation Jane Jacobs would surely love. The proof is in the pudding: Evanston car ownership are far below regional averages.

October 27, 2015 - Politico Magazine

Front Porch

New Urbanism Earning New Fans in One Chicago Neighborhood

With statistics showing that fewer than half of Americans know their neighbors, bringing neighborliness to neighborhoods remains a challenge for urban planners.

October 27, 2015 - The Chicago Tribune

Change Is Coming to Wrigleyville (Other Than Playoff Baseball)

The Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago will have a national audience this week for the first time since 2003. The neighborhood has changed, and is poised for even more change.

October 20, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Apartments

Chicago Rule Change Encourages Affordable Housing

This month, changes to Chicago's Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) will go into effect, raising the in-lieu fees developers must pay to opt out of building affordable units downtown.

October 2, 2015 - The Architect's Newspaper

Chicago Approves Big Expansion of TOD Ordinance

Ten times more land in Chicago is now designated for transit oriented development—affording new development reduced parking requirements, density bonuses for affordable housing, and new strength for the city's Pedestrian Street design regulations.

September 30, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

New York City Construction

Can Reduced Parking Requirements Generate Too Much Development Competition?

A new argument has appeared in the ongoing debate about parking requirements. A university in a college town objected to reduced parking requirements on the grounds that it would make the city too attractive to developers.

September 30, 2015 - CityLab

Chicago's Food Carts Now Street Legal

An estimated 1,500 food carts were operating in the city of Chicago—mostly outside the law. The Chicago City Council this week passed a law that allows legitimate operations.

September 25, 2015 - Crain's Chicago Business

The Outsized Benefits of Transforming Parking Lots to TOD

Chicago's sale of three city-owned parking lots demonstrates how selling underused land for the purposes of transit-oriented development can benefit people and government.

September 23, 2015 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.