Oklahoma

View of small-town street with brick buildings and cars parked in diagonal parking with string lights going across street in Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Norman, Oklahoma Eliminates Parking Mandates

The city made a subtle, one-word change that frees up developers to build parking based on actual need and eliminates costly unnecessary parking.

September 14, 2023 - Next City

A yellow sign points to a bike and pedestrian path with open park space in the background.

BikeWalkOKC Plan Updated After Five Years of Progress

The BikeWalkOKC plan has proceeded faster than expected after its approval in 2018. A 2023 update is expected to pick up where the 2018 plan left off.

September 13, 2023 - Oklahoma City Free Press

An aerial rendering of a sprawling and extravagant theme park.

$2 Billion Theme Park to Rival Disney World Planned for Northeast Oklahoma

The "American Heartland Theme Park" is planned for 125 acres along Route 66 on the Cherokee Reservation in Oklahoma.

August 3, 2023 - The Oklahoman

Close-up of hand holding charging cable moving toward charging port on electric car.

Road Funding Options: The Alternative to the Alternative

The inverse relationship between electric vehicle sales and gasoline tax revenues has caused the federal government and many states to investigate mileage fees as an alternative funding option to fuel taxes. Iowa is going a different route.

July 24, 2023 - Clean Energy Districts of Iowa

Graphic of gray Oklahoma City rapid bus against photo of Oklahoma City skyline

Oklahoma City Solicits Public Input on New BRT Lines

City officials presented preliminary plans for new bus routes aimed at connecting neighborhoods previously underserved by transit.

July 18, 2023 - The Oklahoman

View of blurry speeding cars on freeway at sunset

National Mileage Fee Pilot Program Late to Launch

EV sales are increasing–good news for the environment but bad news for road funding, as they pay no fuel taxes. Fortunately, the bipartisan infrastructure law has $125 million earmarked to "demonstrate a national motor vehicle per-mile user fee."

June 29, 2023 - The Associated Press

Tulsa, Oklahoma city skyline at sunset

Tulsa’s Cash Incentive Drives Real Community

Thousands of remote workers moved to Tulsa to take advantage of a $10,000 incentive program. The vast majority of them stayed.

June 13, 2023 - Vox

Downtown Oklahoma City

Oklahoma Launches 'Pay-per-Mile' Pilot

Mileage fee programs go by different names. In the West, it's the road usage charge or RUC. Oklahoma adopted a simpler term. What most have in common, though, is the for-profit company helping to manage them.

May 8, 2023 - Cities Today

View of cars on Oklahoma road with green signs signaling tolls ahead

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Halts $15 Billion Project

After a legal ruling favored resident groups who charged the OTA with illegal practices and a lack of transparency, the authority ordered all work on a major turnpike expansion stopped.

April 23, 2023 - Strong Towns

25mph speed limit sign with "Your Speed Limit" digital sign under it

Oklahoma City Updates, Expands Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program

The city announced a new cost-sharing plan and an expanded set of speed reduction devices available to neighborhoods wanting to improve traffic safety.

January 25, 2023 - Oklahoma City Sentinel

Downtown Oklahoma City

Oklahoma Turnpike Expansion Project Challenged by Lawsuits

A recent court ruling could turn the tide against a roadway expansion plan that threatens to displace homes and businesses and that locals say was pushed through with little transparency or community input.

January 18, 2023 - Strong Towns

Nighttime view of Oklahoma City skyline

Oklahoma City Begins Work on its First Bus Rapid Transit System

The BRT line has been in the works since 2005, when the city created a plan to focus on regional transit solutions.

July 3, 2022 - Mass Transit

An intersection with bike lanes in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Business Owners Force Removal of New Tulsa Bike Lanes

Local politics is still an obstacle for street reconfigurations that make space for people on bikes.

October 12, 2021 - KTUL

Back to School September 2020

Biden Administration Targets Five States that Ban School Mask Mandates

President Biden asked his education secretary to see what could be done about states that prohibit school districts from enacting CDC public health recommendations. Miguel Cardona responded by empowering his Office of Civil Rights to investigate.

September 7, 2021 - The New York Times

Missouri

Pandemic Geography: Missouri Outbreak Driven by Delta Variant

With 65.4% of the nation's adult population at least partially vaccinated, daily new COVID cases have dropped to the lowest level since late March 2020. However, cases are increasing in some states, none more than Missouri.

June 21, 2021 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Black Wall Street

Black Wall Street's Second Destruction

After the Tulsa Race Massacre, Greenwood rebuilt strong. Then came "urban renewal."

June 1, 2021 - Next City

George Floyd

Oklahoma House Approves Protections for Drivers Who Hit Protestors

A heated debate and a party line vote in Oklahoma.

March 12, 2021 - The Oklahoman

Ambulance

Hospitals and Healthcare Workers Brace for Influx of COVID Patients

Coronavirus infections, while at record-high levels, have decreased during the past week, unlike hospitalizations, which are still surging. Public health experts expect it to get a lot worse due to the Thanksgiving holiday travel.

December 3, 2020 - Bloomberg News

Coronavirus COVID-19

The Changing Geography of the Pandemic

During the pandemic's first phase in March and April, the Northeast was devastated by COVID-19. After Memorial Day, the surge was in the South and West. As cases decrease nationwide, they are now spiking in the Midwest, particularly North Dakota.

August 27, 2020 - The Washington Post

New York City

Design Collective Using Black-Centered Approaches to Transform Cities

BlackSpace seeks to empower Black practitioners and change the way planning and design happens in and affects Black communities.

August 25, 2020 - Fast Company

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.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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