Virginia

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

Amsterdam Bikes

How One City Cultivates its Bike Culture

As a case study of bike culture, in which riding bikes is a normal and respected decision, Jeremy Holmes studies the example provided by Roanoke, Virginia.

September 5, 2014 - Mobility Lab

Plans for a 550-Mile 'Atlantic Coast Pipeline' Announced

A trio of natural gas providers is planning to build a 550-mile pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina. The companies are hoping to secure approval for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by 2016.

September 4, 2014 - Pittsburgh Business Times

The Danger of Federal Money for Local Projects

Scott Beyer provides four reasons why federal money is the wrong policy mechanism for delivering the best possible transportation outcomes in the United States.

August 29, 2014 - Next City

The Sunny Places that Prohibit Solar Power

An examination of the challenges facing the solar industry in Southeastern states, like Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, where utilities and governments have largely blocked residents and businesses from tapping their solar resources.

August 11, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Commuter Rail Station in Virginia Central to 'Transit-Oriented Sprawl' Plans

Among proposed examples of new urbanist communities, Greater Greater Washington calls out one, located along Prince William's Potomac riverfront, as particularly experimental, sprawling, and centered on a Virginia Railway Express station.

August 6, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Lukewarm Architectural Review for New Silver Line Stations

Although the D.C. Metro's new Silver Line stations in Northern Virginia are designed for functional rather than high aesthetic ideals, Philip Kennicott's review for the Washington Post focuses on the benefit of the line to the region.

August 4, 2014 - The Washington Post

Busy Crossing Street

Crosswalks Not Included for New Silver Line Stations in Tysons Corner

The Silver Line's intended impact on Tysons Corner in Virginia has been described as the "Great Suburban Retrofit." It looks like the retrofit will have to start with crosswalks near the line's new stations.

August 1, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Mean Streets

Mapping the Happiest Places in the United States (Disneyland Not Included)

Researchers from Harvard and the University of British Columbia used "self-reported life satisfaction data" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to locate the cities and regions where Americans are most happy (or unhappy).

July 31, 2014 - Vox

D.C. Metro's Silver Line Launches Passenger Service

After no small amount of debate, delay, and controversy, the first phase of D.C. Metro's Silver Line will launch passenger service today. The line will connect Washington D.C. to northwestern Virginia, including four stops in Tysons Corner.

July 26, 2014 - The Washington Post

Virginia Takes First Tentative Steps toward Climate Change Adaptation

A combination of environmental factors exposes Virginia’s coastal dwellers to some of the nation’s most severe climate change-related hazards, yet the state has almost zero plans for adaptation. Could that be about to change?

July 16, 2014 - Pacific Standard

Arlington Virginia

The Suburb of the Future: Arlington, Virginia

The successes of Arlington, Virginia as a suburb have been discussed by planners and urbanists before, but the model has taken on new meaning as the current urban boom send ripple effect out into nearby suburbs like Long Island and Palo Alto.

July 7, 2014 - Salon

Parking Garage—Site of the Nixon Administration's Demise—Scheduled for Demolition

Reuters reports that the famous location where an FBI informant known as "Deep Throat" met with Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward during the Watergate scandal will soon be replaced with a new mixed-use development.

June 17, 2014 - Reuters via Chicago Tribune

Riding D.C. Metro's Silver Line: the Great Suburban Retrofit

CityLab provides an in-depth analysis of the planning efforts surrounding the D.C. Metro's forthcoming Silver Line in Tysons Corner, Virginia. At stake, according to the article: "the future of the American suburb as we know it."

June 11, 2014 - CityLab

Algonquin Site and Capital City for Powhatan Considered as National Park

Algonquian political leader Powhatan called Werowocomoco home when the English arrived at Jamestown in 1607. If a proposal by the Obama Administration is successful, the site will open to the public, managed by the National Park Service.

May 28, 2014 - Associated Press via The Washington Post

In Search of the Right Fit for Bus Stops on Virginia's Columbia Pike

A controversy over the "million-dollar bus stop" in Arlington prompted one writer to examine the size and scale of bus stops. It's a cost consideration that can determine the choice, in some cases, between bus rapid transit and streetcars.

May 23, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

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.