Illinois

Multi-Modal Trip Planning in Chicago? There Ought to Be an App for That

Samuel Baron makes the case that Divvy, Chicago's "newest transportation system," should be better integrated with the city's other public transport systems.

June 18, 2014 - Transitized

Trump Sign

Trump's Controversial Sign of the Times in Chicago

The most conspicuous example of Chicago's recent spat of troubling signage is a 2,891-square-foot sign 200 feet above street level on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago.

June 13, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Double-Checking Chicago's Ambitious Bike Lane Plans

Checking in on the status of Chicago's ambitious plans to add 645 miles of bike lanes by 2020, one journalist finds a number of bikers who are questioning some of the choices made by planners.

June 12, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Divvy

Chicago Accumulating Bike-Friendly Bonafides

Chicago officials hope that nearly 5 percent of the city's commutes will be by bike in 2020. The goal requires a lot more work (biking's share of daily trips rose to 1.3 percent in 2012 from 0.5 percent in 2000), but there are many signs of a shift.

June 11, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 Signed into Law

President Obama has signed "a bipartisan $12.3 billion water bill that will help improve harbors, waterways, levees, and ecosystems across the United States," according to an article by Adie Tomer and Joseph Kane.

June 10, 2014 - Brookings: The Avenue

The Lingering Consequences of Chicago's Parking Meter Privatization

An article examines "Exhibit A for bad public contracting"—a 75-year lease between Chicago a Morgan Stanley-led private consortium for 36,000 parking meters—as a cautionary tale about the lingering impacts of bad deals.

June 9, 2014 - Next City

Study Evaluates Protected Bike Lanes in the United States

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities released a new study this week called "Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S."

June 6, 2014 - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium

Chicago Lighting Proposal Would Turn the Wattage Up

As part of an initiative called Choose Chicago, meant to boost the city's draw for tourists, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pursuing a plan to light the city up

June 5, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

'May the Use Be With You': San Francisco and Chicago Wooing George Lucas's Museum

After a plan to locate a new museum for the film memorabilia of George Lucas at Crissy Field in the Presidio in San Francisco failed, the City by the Bay and the Windy City have entered competing proposals for the location of the museum.

June 1, 2014 - SF Gate

Chicago Regulates Uber and Lyft—but Not Enough to Satisfy Taxi Companies

The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft, but taxi cab companies and their political supporters believe the policy set by the Emanuel Administration doesn't go far enough.

May 29, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Controversy Over Wrigley Field Renovations Heating Up

Paul Sullivan reports on the brewing controversy over the planned revisions of a renovation proposal for Wrigley Field that will pit the team against nearby rooftop owners.

May 27, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago El

High Profile Opposition to Chicago Transit Authority's Flyover Project

A Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic invokes the most influential planning battles in the country's history in critiquing the proposed Red-Purple Bypass Project sought by the Chicago Transit Authority and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

May 20, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

John Hancock Center

Friday Eye Candy: Hang Out Above Chicago at the John Hancock's 'Tilt!' Installation

Call it a ride, an art installation, or a feat of engineering—Tilt! Is not for those with a fear of heights.

May 16, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

A Radical Proposal for North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago

A citizen-led initiative to rethink the land around North Lake Shore Boulevard in the neighborhood of Streeterville produced ambitious designs that would create additional shoreline, baldy-needed open space, and a tunnel for Lake Shore Drive.

May 15, 2014 - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Bike Commuter

U.S. Census: Bikes Most Increased Commute Mode Since 2000

Many U.S. cities are seeing an increase in bicycle commuters, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last week. Of all commute modes, biking increased the most from 2000 to 2012. Walking, however, held steady.

May 14, 2014 - U.S. Census Bureau

Filtering Permeability With Traffic Diverters

Traffic diverters can be designed as a hybrid of permeable greenways and woonerfs to make walking and biking easier, safer, and even more pleasant than driving.

May 11, 2014 - Transitized

Why the Delay for Chicago's 35th Street Pedestrian Bridge?

Ten years ago, Chicago held a design competition for pedestrian bridges at five locations on the lakefront. As the projects have languished, so has improved access between neighborhoods like North Kenwood and Oakland to nearby Burnham Park.

May 9, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

U.S. Coal Exports to Europe Breaking Records

If President Obama is waging a "war on coal," as his critics claim, then Europe must be enjoying a love affair with America's high-carbon fossil fuel, and the most polluting variety at that. How could the world's greenest continent turn so brown?

May 8, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

The Fallacy of the Millennial Housing Shortage

A dissenting argument claims that the efforts of "affluent urban pioneers" to increase supply in the most desirable urban areas will do more harm than good.

April 29, 2014 - The Corner Side Yard

Leaving California

Two Kinds of Migration Drive Urban Growth

A new post by Richard Florida distinguished between the two different types of migration—domestic and international—driving the influx of residents in urban centers around the country.

April 22, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

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.