United States

Community Land Trusts

Community Land Trusts Go Commercial: Nonprofit Offices, Hairdressers, and a Sausage Factory

Community land trusts, better known for permanently affordable housing, expand into commercial spaces for a wide range of reasons, and in a wide range of ways.

April 27, 2021 - Shelterforce Magazine

MTA Bus

Why the Federal Government Should Fund Transit Service

Although federal transit funding is traditionally reserved for capital improvement and infrastructure projects, advocates argue that funding improved service could have transformative impacts on transit-dependent communities.

April 27, 2021 - TransitCenter

Portland Condo High-Rise

Housing Vouchers Prove an Effective Tool Against Homelessness

The Biden administration plans to expand the federal housing voucher program, which currently provides rental assistance to 2.3 million U.S. households.

April 27, 2021 - Next City

Masks and Home Sales

Checking in With the Wild Pandemic-Era Housing Market

Bidding wars, TikToks, and disparate impacts—every day there's more evidence that the pandemic has only worsened the nation's housing affordability crisis.

April 27, 2021 - Slate

2020 Census Logo

Prepping for Today's Big 2020 Census Release

Setting the table as the nation awaits the first results from the 2020 Census.

April 26, 2021 - National Public Radio

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

U.S. Cities Reexamine the Discriminatory Effects of Bike Helmet Laws

Data from cities across the country show that bike helmet laws are enforced more aggressively in communities of color.

April 26, 2021 - The Guardian

Bronx Apartments

A Movement-Based Federal Housing Agenda

What are the New Deal for Housing Justice and the BREATHE Act and how do they move beyond previous housing agendas?

April 26, 2021 - Shelterforce Magazine

Kudzu vines growing abundantly in a field

Finding New Uses for the 'Vine That Ate the South'

Visually striking and aggressively invasive, kudzu has been choking the Southeast for decades. Now, designers, chefs, and activists want to find ways to make it useful.

April 25, 2021 - Southerly Magazine

Freeway Interchange Construction

GOP Counterproposal Aims to Restore the Infrastructure Status Quo

Of the $568 billion in spending proposed by the "Republican Roadmap," $299 billion would go to infrastructure for cars.

April 25, 2021 - Bloomberg

Outdoor Recreation

Friday Funny: The Onion Skewers Elon Musk (Again)

Elon Musk, a favorite target of satirists and urbanists alike, is once again the subject of The Onion's withering pen.

April 23, 2021 - The Onion

Washington, D.C. Street

Curb Space Management Finally Getting a Good Look

Cities are beginning to recognize that effective curb management is an important part of reducing congestion and ensuring equitable use of public space.

April 23, 2021 - Governing

Clean Energy

Biden Pledges Big Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions

At the "Leaders Summit on Climate" today, President Joe Biden has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 50-52 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2030.

April 22, 2021 - USA Today

COVID-19 Vaccinations

The Pandemic's Next Phase in the U.S.: When Vaccine Supply Exceeds Demand

The 'light at the end of the tunnel' has become brighter after the vaccination rate tripled since President Biden took office. According to an analysis, a vaccination enthusiasm tipping point will be reached in 2-4 weeks that could dim the light.

April 22, 2021 - Kaiser Family Foundation

New York Development

Opinion: Zoning Reform Is a Social Justice Issue

Far from an obscure, wonky local issue, zoning reform has the potential to advance social justice in American cities.

April 22, 2021 - The New York Times

Biden administration

What Planners Need to Know, and Ask, About the American Jobs Plan

The American Planning Association has a breakdown of the massive $2 trillion jobs plan that would change the course of federal infrastructure policy.

April 22, 2021 - American Planning Association

New York City

Cities as a Climate Change Solution

With the urban exodus hysteria of the early pandemic in the rearview mirror, urban apologists are staking high ground on urban soil.

April 22, 2021 - Bloomberg Green+CityLab

Columbus Ohio

Ohio Economists: Relax Zoning to Lower Housing Costs

A panel of Ohio economists make the case for more multi-family housing and businesses in single-family neighborhoods.

April 22, 2021 - Ohio Capital Journal

Los Angeles Protest

New Rent Debt Dashboard Illustrates the Scope of Debt Risks

With regular updates of rent debt data from around the United States, a new dashboard reveals the depths of one of the most pressing crises of the pandemic.

April 21, 2021 - National Equity Atlas

COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemic to End in California on June 15, Governor Decides

Gov. Gavin Newsom has foreseen the end of the pandemic that has killed over 61,000 Californians and has taken a page from his Republican counterpart in the second most populous state by setting a date when all restrictions will be lifted.

April 21, 2021 - San Francisco Chronicle

Rural Community

Change Would Expand the Definition of Rural to Cover More of the Country

Details on a proposed change of definition for Metropolitan Statistical Areas that would greatly expand the area of the country deemed rural.

April 21, 2021 - The Washington Post

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.