United States

The cover of the book "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander is shown next to a page from the booking--the latter shows "stair case steps."

Why Christopher Alexander Still Matters

The author of "A Pattern Language" and "Notes on the Synthesis of Form" had an outsize influence far beyond architecture and urbanism—and still does.

March 22, 2022 - Michael W. Mehaffy

Cash

Lawmakers Question ARPA Spending

Cities and states say the American Rescue Plan Act has been crucial to keeping the lights on during the pandemic, but some Republican lawmakers denounce spending on projects unrelated to COVID relief.

March 22, 2022 - Route Fifty

Home For Sale Signs

Increased Homeownership Won’t Close the Racial Wealth Gap

Despite the hopes pinned on it, homeownership is still too affected by institutionalized racism at every turn to be an equalizer.

March 22, 2022 - Shelterforce Magazine

Gas Pump

Easing the Burden of High Gas and Housing Costs for Low-Income Households

Low-income families suffer most from dramatic spikes in housing and transportation costs, but governments can soften the impact through a series of actions.

March 22, 2022 - Urban Institute

Highway Construction

Federal Rules Let States Count More Road Deaths as 'Progress'

The majority of federal infrastructure funding is not tied to federal requirements, letting states set their own targets for road safety and improvements.

March 21, 2022 - The Washington Post

Everett, WA - houses

'Proptech' Companies Target Single-Family Rental Market

Startups aimed at streamlining the house-flipping process are seeking out rental property owners as the popularity of single-family rentals continues to grow.

March 21, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

Drought

NOAA Expects U.S. Drought To Continue and Spread

Low rainfall and unusually high temperatures are contributing to worsening drought conditions in more than half of the continental United States.

March 21, 2022 - The New York Times

A children's play area is busy with kids and their parents in Downtown Dallas.

Urban Highway Removal: 4 Considerations for Reknitting a City’s Fabric

Making the right decisions to create a positive urban legacy.

March 20, 2022 - Margaret Newman

Large pickup trucks are parked in neat rows extending into the fuzzy background of the image.

Bigger Vehicles, Blindspots Contributing to More Pedestrian Deaths

A new study links bigger vehicles to a sharp increase in pedestrian deaths over the last decade.

March 18, 2022 - Oregon Live

Burj Khalifa

We Now Can Build Really Tall Skyscrapers. But Why?

The new book Super Tall, by architect and writer Stefan Al, explains how the new generation of skyscrapers are built and how they fit into their respective urban fabrics.

March 18, 2022 - CommonEdge Collaborative

Pedestrian Infrastructure

Census Data: Black Americans Leaving Cities for Suburbs

The trend of Black Americans leaving urban areas for suburban communities mirrors the White Flight of the mid-20th century but for vastly different reasons and with vastly different consequences.

March 18, 2022 - Associated Press via Los Angeles Times

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge

Mapping Biodiversity Risk

A partnership of researchers has created the most detailed map yet of the places where biodiversity is most at risk in the United States.

March 17, 2022 - The New York Times

California Wildfire

Housing Affordability and Worsening Wildfires: Twin Crises

As wildfires grow more destructive, how far should states go to protect homes located in high-risk areas?

March 17, 2022 - The Atlantic

Social Distancing

Second Anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 11 marked the second anniversary of WHO's declaration of the pandemic and the beginning of its third year. Cases continue to plummet in the U.S. and plateau globally while war in Europe has overshadowed the virus that has killed 6 million.

March 16, 2022 - The Associated Press

Domino Park

Reimagining Public Space in the Post-COVID Era

The pandemic forced a large-scale reexamination of how public spaces and urban form impact public health and equity. Now, policymakers can learn from those innovations to plan for the future of cities.

March 16, 2022 - Next City

Child Bikes

How To Get Federal Infrastructure Funding for Bike Projects

How bicycling advocates can strengthen existing partnerships and make strategic alliances that will benefit cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users.

March 15, 2022 - Cycling Utah

Green Building

Industry Continues to Push Back Against Carbon-Slashing Building Codes

The battle over the efficiencies and infrastructure required in building codes continues.

March 15, 2022 - Huffpost

Fracking

Pumping More Oil to Lower Gas Prices

Proponents of increased oil drilling in the U.S. to replace banned Russian oil argue that it will decrease prices at the pump. A Texas reporter examined the claim with a University of Texas energy analyst. If only it was that simple.

March 14, 2022 - KXAN

Tilikum Crossing

Opinion: How Micromobility Operators Can Stay Relevant

One micromobility CEO says operators should align themselves with cities' mobility, climate, and equity goals to maintain their relevance in the urban spaces of the future.

March 13, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Wastewater California

Wastewater System Upgrade Plans Already Out of Date

Some Midwest cities' plans to upgrade decades-old sewer systems rely on outdated rainfall predictions as flood risks grow due to climate change and shifting weather patterns.

March 10, 2022 - Grist

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.