Virginia

Arlington's Market-Rate Affordable Housing will Disappear by 2020

Planners have undertaken the task of protecting market-rate affordable housing in Arlington County. The need for action was made clear in an Affordable Housing Study recently released to inform the preparation of a new Affordable Housing Master Plan.

March 12, 2015 - Arl Now

The Keys to Virginia's Urban Revitalization: Live/Work/Play

An op-ed makes the case for the benefits of mixed-use development in Virginia, namely the creation of 24/7 environments for living, working, and playing.

March 12, 2015 - Virginia Business

Where and How 'Agrihoods' Work

A post on the Lexington Streetsweeper blog examines the idea of Farming Community Subdivision, or "agrihood," and the plausibility of such a community being created in Central Kentucky.

March 6, 2015 - The Lexington Streetsweeper

Planning Trend Watch: Senior Care Facility Requires Controversial Rezoning

A controversial zoning decision paved the way for a large assisted living facility in Alexandria, Virginia. The need for such a drastic measures reflects a growing need to plan for aging populations.

February 18, 2015 - Alexandria Times

Early Returns on Virginia's New HOT Lanes

Virginia opened 29 miles of high-occupancy toll lanes to business on December 29 of 2014. What lessons are drivers and policy makers taking from the ongoing test of the concept?

January 30, 2015 - The Washington Post

Population Declining, Aging in Southwest Virginia

While Washington D.C. and its surrounding counties is in the midst of a population, development, and infrastructure investment boom, the region farther south and west in the state of Virginia is bleeding population.

January 28, 2015 - Bristol Herald Courier

Obama to Open Controversial Atlantic Region to Offshore Drilling

A mere day after the Interior Department announced it would permanently block drilling in much of the Arctic Refuge by designating it as wilderness, it proposed allowing drilling in the Gulf, along Atlantic coast, and surprisingly, offshore Alaska.

January 28, 2015 - McClatchy Washington Bureau

7 Ideas for Boosting Community Resilience

Resilient communities build on local strengths to anticipate change, reduce the impact of major events, and come back from a blow stronger than ever. Here are seven ideas from cities and towns working to boost local resilience.

January 15, 2015 - CommunityMatters

Low Gas Prices

Three States Hope to Take Advantage of Low Gas Prices to Boost Gas Taxes

A movement at the state and federal levels would take advantage of low oil prices to boost gas taxes to pay for infrastructure. Michigan, Iowa, and Utah proposals, and a change to the federal Corker-Murphy plan, are described below.

January 12, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Report: Arlington, Virginia Is Millennial Town U.S.A.

RealtyTrac recently released an analysis of fair market rents and median home prices in more than 500 U.S. counties. Among the findings of the report: the real estate markets with the highest share of millennial population.

January 5, 2015 - Fusion

Diggs Town

Back to Basics: the Diggs Town Public Housing Revitalization

Some of the most effective solutions in urban design involve the simplest design changes. Revitalizing public housing is difficult, but not impossible, as shown by Ray Gindroz and his team at Urban Design Associates in Norfolk, Virginia.

December 15, 2014 - Robert Freedman

Congressional Inaction Will Trigger Virginia Gas Tax Increase

Virginia's new 3.5% wholesales sales tax on motor vehicle fuels is set to increase to 5.1% on Jan.1, not because Congress failed to raise the two-decades-old federal gas tax but for something entirely unrelated to transportation: online sales taxes.

December 1, 2014 - The Washington Post

After the Streetcar: What Next for Arlington Affordable Housing, Transit?

A collection of media coverage since the decision examines how Arlington will achieve its goals now that it voted to end funding for a $333-million plan to build a 7.4-mile streetcar line down Columbia Pike.

November 25, 2014 - Washingtonian

Arlington County Nixes Streetcar Plans to Chagrin of Fairfax County

A decision by Arlington County to cancel plans for the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar projects has dealt a blow to Fairfax County's redevelopment efforts. The line was expected to open in 2020.

November 18, 2014 - The Washington Post

Frederick Maryland

Small Cities Booming Near Washington D.C.

"Mini D.C.s" provide the successful examples of revitalized, walkable urban places, according to a recent trend piece in the Washington Post.

November 3, 2014 - The Washington Post

Congestion Pricing on Legacy Roadways

What happens when there is no room to widen a congested roadway? One solution is to build above the roadway. Another, suggests an HNTB expert, would be to convert an existing lane into a managed toll lane and fund transit with the revenue.

October 29, 2014 - Roll Call

Transit Oriented Development

The New Transit User Fee: Real Estate Rent

Driven by a need to meet growing costs amid unstable federal subsidies, metropolitan transit agencies are eying their properties, particularly parking lots, as money makers from new residential and commercial development.

October 20, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Tysons Corner

D.C.'s New Metro Line Already Influencing the Suburbs

The Silver Line opened two and a half months ago. Already, with strong ridership in both directions, some businesses are seeing new opportunities.

October 15, 2014 - Elevation DC

Bike Master Plan, Complete Streets Design Guidelines for Alexandria, Virginia

The city of Alexandria, Virginia will this month begin an update of its Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan while also developing Complete Streets Design Guidelines.

September 28, 2014 - Wash Cycle

On the Virginia Outpost of the Harlem Renaissance

Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University and The Root tells of the Virginia outpost that helped inspire the artists of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

September 16, 2014 - The Root

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.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

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.