United States

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

Unlike Smaller Cars, 'Megacars' Drove More in 2020

The increase in miles driven by light trucks and other 'megacars' could have contributed to the rise in traffic deaths, despite an overall reduction in VMT.

February 11, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

Eviction

Report Highlights Key Role of Cities in Stemming Evictions

The National League of Cities outlines strategies that city leaders can implement at the local level to prevent evictions and increase housing affordability.

February 11, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Highway Construction

Top Republicans Encourage Governors to Ignore FHWA Guidance

Senators McConnell and Capito reject the administration's efforts to steer federal funds to infrastructure projects that prioritize road maintenance and transit and pedestrian improvements over new road construction.

February 10, 2022 - Route Fifty

A New Orleans streetscape lined with mature Southern Live Oak trees.

Green Infrastructure Thinking for Southern Cities in 2022 and Beyond

Resilience planning requires communities to think of a well planned and maintained tree canopy as a public utility system with multiple benefits.

February 10, 2022 - Gaylan Williams

Electric Cars

Challenges to Electrifying City Fleets

Shifting municipal fleets to electric vehicles poses some challenges, but cities can take steps today to prepare for an easier transition to an electric future.

February 10, 2022 - Route Fifty

An image of a sign asking people to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

COVID Deaths: U.S. in a League of its Own

An analysis by The New York Times compares current and cumulative COVID deaths in the U.S. to other large, wealthy countries. Data analyzed include vaccination, age and obesity levels, and public trust, all factors that influence outcomes.

February 9, 2022 - The New York Times

Solar Installation

Grid Operator Calls for Two-Year Pause on Solar Projects, Citing Massive Backlog

The largest grid operator in the U.S. is asking for a new approvals process and two-year delay on current applications to ease the logjam of primarily solar projects in its queue.

February 8, 2022 - Inside Climate News

A group of socially distanced tents for the homeless are set up on a parking lot in San Francisco's Civic Center.

HUD Credits COVID-19 Relief for Improved Homelessness Numbers

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report" comes with significant caveats about partial data and changing homeless shelter practices.

February 8, 2022 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

African American

Building Up the 'Zoning Buffer' to Increase Housing Supply Without Raising Land Values

New research helps explain why urban housing prices are escalating and how communities can increase affordability. It emphasizes the need to upzone sufficient urban land to create a large competitive market for parcels ready for infill development.

February 7, 2022 - UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

A busy urban street is seen from the vantage point offered by looking straight down from the top of a high-rise.

Considering Geographic Equity

What do we owe poor cities?

February 6, 2022 - Angie Schmitt

Electric Cars

How Dealership Laws Hinder EV Sales

Laws designed to protect car dealers against price competition from car manufacturers are, in many states, preventing electric car makers from selling directly to consumers.

February 6, 2022 - The Atlantic

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

How to Build More Bike Infrastructure

A national philanthropic program designed to help cities produce more bike infrastructure has been a resounding success, according to recent analysis.

February 4, 2022 - Urban Institute

Electric Bus

The 'Quiet Revolution' of Zero Emission Transit Buses

More and more U.S. transit agencies are rolling out electric buses, and the recently approved federal infrastructure bill could make it easier than ever to buy zero emission electric buses.

February 4, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

COVID-19 and Public Health

The Pandemic Era

"We are living in the Covid-19 era, not the Covid-19 crisis," Allan Brandt, a historian of science and medicine at Harvard University, told Gina Kolata of the New York Times last October in a review of past pandemics and what we can learn from them.

February 3, 2022 - The New York Times

Single-Family Housing Construction

Single-Family Homes Appearing Faster Than Any Year Since 2006

The housing construction market is responding to strong demand with a glut of new single-family homes.

February 2, 2022 - National Association of Home Builders

Exurban Construction

One-Third of Homes for Sale Are New, Report Says

New data from Redfin shows strong demand, and an increasing share of the supply, in new homes.

February 1, 2022 - Globe St

Pedestrians

National Roadway Safety Program Centers Vision Zero at the Federal Level

A new federal program will direct resources to reducing traffic deaths, improving roadway safety, and encouraging a shift to sustainable transportation modes.

February 1, 2022 - The New York Times

Seattle Light Rail Construction

U.S. DOT's 2022 RAISE Grants to Target Emissions Reductions, Racial Equity

The RAISE grant program continues to make history as a distinct departure from U.S. transportation planning tradition.

January 31, 2022 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Wildfire

$50 Billion 'Wildfire Risk Strategy' Targets the Wildland-Urban Interface

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in January announced an ambitious, and only partially funded, new plan to reduce wildfire risks for communities around the United States.

January 31, 2022 - U.S. Department of Agriculture

COVID-19

Beware Endemics!

The pandemic will end and SARS-CoV-2 may evolve to become a mild, endemic cold coronavirus, warns Aris Katzourakis, a professor of viral evolution and genomics in an opinion for Nature. Examples of other endemic diseases are malaria and tuberculosis.

January 31, 2022 - Nature

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.