New York

Inwood Hudson RIver

Lack of Racial Impact Analysis Opens Inwood Plan to Legal Challenge in New York City

New York City is appealing a judge's decision to toss the Inwood NYC Action Plan, approved by the city in 2018. Next City describes the racial justice implications of the court case and the plan.

June 17, 2020 - Next City

Coronavirus Protest

Academic Studies: Staying at Home Saved Millions of Lives Globally

Separate coronavirus studies from the University of California at Berkeley and Imperial College London published June 8 in the journal Nature show the life and health-saving value of domestic stay-at-home orders, global lockdowns, and other measures.

June 15, 2020 - The Washington Post

Rent Jubilee

Ithaca Approves Historic #CancelRent Legislation

Ithaca, New York is the first city in the nation to go through with a plan to cancel rent, giving three-quarters of the residents in the city a needed safety net as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic crisis persists into the summer.

June 15, 2020 - FastCompany

14th Street Busway New York City

20 Miles of Bus Lanes and Car-Free Busways Coming to New York City

While it falls short of a more ambitious proposal pitched by the MTA recently, a new plan to expand bus priority on the streets of New York City would mark a significant expansion of a trend that started on 14th Street in Manhattan.

June 10, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Southeast Asia

The Singapore Exception

Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were credited early in the pandemic with having successfully contained the coronavirus without resorting to lockdowns. However, Singapore lost its standing in that elite group. Crowding vs. density may explain why.

June 9, 2020 - NPR - Goats and Soda

New York Subway Coronvairus

New York City Reopens Today. How Will People Travel?

The last of the ten economic regions in the Empire State opened for Phase One on June 8. Transportation planners fear massive traffic congestion as residents and workers may abandon the subway due to concerns about being infected by the coronavirus.

June 8, 2020 - The New York Times

New York City Bus

MTA Calls for 60 Miles of Bus Lanes and Busways in New York City

New York City Transit wants to make improved bus transit a feature of the post-pandemic recovery in New York City.

June 7, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Downtown Buffalo

A 21st Century Planning Case Study: Buffalo, New York

Frederick Law Olmsted called Buffalo the best planned city in the United States, but in the second half of the 20th century it transitioned into a prototypical "Rust Belt" city.

June 2, 2020 - Vice

George Floyd Protests

Commandeered Buses, System Shutdowns—Transit on the Frontlines of Protests

The optics of public transit suffered over the weekend, as a few transit agencies have been commandeered by police and even shut down entirely with little or no notice, stranding protesters and essential workers alike.

June 1, 2020 - New York Daily News

Santa Monica Bikes

Reopening California: Respected County Health Official Issues Warning

Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer widely credited for leading the Bay Area into issuing a 6-county shelter-in-place order on March 16, the nation's first, warns that the pace of reopening is too fast.

May 31, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

New York Subway Coronvairus

Profiling NYC Transit's New President—Starting the Job Just Days Before a Global Crisis

Sarah Feinberg took over as the interim president of New York City Transit on March 2, 2020. In May 2020, Feinberg rides the subway to a deserted office to begin the work of bringing public transit back from an unprecedented crisis.

May 27, 2020 - Intelligencer - New York Magazine

Coronavirus Lock Down

Commercial Rental Market Teeters on the Brink

Large numbers of commercial renters in New York City are missing rent, according to reports.

May 26, 2020 - The New York Times

California Shelter-in-Place

Recording the Quiet of Cities During the Pandemic

The usual sounds of the city have subsided, replaced by birds and quiet that at times can be eery and unsettling.

May 25, 2020 - The New York Times

Coronavirus and Transportation

New York's Open Streets Program Leaves Out Neighborhoods That Need Open Space Most

New York City has opened an increasing number of street miles for pedestrians and people on bikes, but far fewer streets have been opened in the neighborhoods that need it most—low income neighborhoods lacking walkable access to parks and open space.

May 25, 2020 - New York Daily News

New York Public Transit

Miss the Subway? There's an App for That

The NYC Subway Sounds app is a great tool for dealing with nostalgia for the old ways of life.

May 22, 2020 - The Verge

Coronavirus Ridership

Subway Ridership Starting to Rise in New York City, but not as Quickly as Car Trips

A noticeable increase in subway ridership has been taking place on subway trains in New York City, but not enough to call it a comeback, yet.

May 21, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Emergency Housing

Hotels Could Play a Critical Role in Containing Coronavirus in Crowded Cities

Some cities are leasing entire hotels to provide rooms for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to infected people, to allow for safe and supportive isolation away from family or household members who risk being infected.

May 19, 2020 - Medium – Bloomberg Cities

New York jail

Where's the Housing for Prisoners Released Early?

As the infection rate at jails in places like New York began to climb, officials started looking for criteria to use in determining which inmates could be released. Then they ran into a familiar but now heightened dilemma.

May 18, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

New York City Park

Report: New York City Public Parks Under Stress Due to Budget Cuts and Lack of Private Funding

The private non-profit organizations that support half of New York City's public parks anticipate up to a 60% decrease in funding at a time when people rely on parks more than ever before.

May 18, 2020 - The Architect's Newspaper

Housing Construction

Adapting Processes and Policies to Lessen Housing Delays

After a 22% drop in housing starts in March, municipalities and state governments continue to assess whether or not housing construction is essential, weighing factors like workforce safety and availability of construction materials.

May 12, 2020 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

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.