United States

South Carolina Resilience

Climate Change: The Most Vulnerable States Are the Least Prepared

The effects of climate change will vary depending on geographic location, so it's incumbent on states to prepare in their own, specific way. Not all states are taking that responsibility seriously, according to a new report.

December 11, 2020 - Route Fifty

Grand Central Market, Los Angeles

A Milestone for the American Community Survey

After releasing new five-year estimates this week, the American Community Survey now offers three sets of five-year data that don't overlap, providing even more data for the analysis of local trends.

December 11, 2020 - United States Census Bureau

Link and Bus Seattle

Transit's Big Day at the Ballot Box

Even with the fiscal uncertainty of the pandemic, voters around the country overwhelmingly supported new funding for public transit projects.

December 10, 2020 - TransitCenter

Rental Apartments

Three Considerations for Planning for the Most Effective Rent Relief Program, Even with Limited Resources

With the upcoming expiration of unemployment insurance programs and the end of the nationwide eviction moratorium, Brookings fellow Jenny Schuetz shares insight on how to implement the most effective rent relief programs.

December 10, 2020 - Brookings

Highway Construction

Highway Boondoggles Continue as the Pandemic Stresses Budgets at Every Level of Government

U.S. PIRG has released the latest edition of the Highway Boondoggles report, the sixth edition of the report published since 2014.

December 10, 2020 - U.S. Pirg

Queens, New York City

Life With Climate Change: A 100-Year Storm Every Year

The extreme weather events and sea-level rise of the relatively near future will overwhelm storm and flood infrastructure with startling regularity, according to new research.

December 9, 2020 - Earth.com

Delivery Trucks

High-Speed Delivery Linked to Increased Congestion and Pollution

It's not only mom and pop shops that suffer from over-reliance on online shopping: streets and the environment also suffer the consequences.

December 9, 2020 - Streetsblog USA

Text and Drive

Report: Distracted Driving Contributes to 57% of All U.S. Traffic Collisions

Drivers are looking at their phones instead of the road in higher shares than ever during the pandemic, according to a recent report.

December 9, 2020 - Auto Connected Car News

Blank Wall

The Race Barriers of American Cities

The United States has a long and insidious history of erecting structures to control the movements of African Americans in urban and suburban spaces.

December 9, 2020 - Places Journal

Senior Pedestrians

Insights From the Latest Livability Index

The latest edition of the AARP Livability Index reveals the U.S. regions with more of the kinds of neighborhoods that offer quality of life benefits for residents of all ages.

December 9, 2020 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Boyle Heights

Bilingual Animations to Teach 'Planning 101'

The Inclusive Communities Project (ICP) is working to make planning more accessible in the Latino communities of Oak Hill in Dallas.

December 8, 2020 - Salud America!

Uber Autonomous Vehicle

Uber Bails on Autonomous Vehicles

One of the highest-profile, and most legally fraught, efforts to beat the competition into the autonomous vehicles market is now defunct.

December 8, 2020 - The New York Times

Hospital Signs

The Pandemic's Most Critical Health Metric Just Shut Down Most of California

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued the nation's first stay-at-home order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, issued a new order to prevent hospitals in the nation's most populous state from being overwhelmed with COVID patients.

December 7, 2020 - Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

Crosswalk no daylight

Environmental Neuroscience Reveals the Diversity of City Experiences

You know what racial equity means, but have you heard of 'experiential equity'? Environmental neuroscientist Robin Mazumder explains the term and how it can inform our understanding of equity in the built environment.

December 7, 2020 - City Monitor

Texas Wind

Energy Company NextEra Briefly Overtakes Exxon as Most Valuable U.S. Energy Company

The market is ready for carbon-neutral companies to redefine global reliance on natural gas. But not all clean energy producers are carbon-neutral.

December 6, 2020 - Quartz

Silver Line

To Dream the Impossible Transit Dream

The dream of high-quality, zero-emission transit in all large U.S. cities is possible.

December 6, 2020 - Urban Institute

COVID-19 Eviction Crisis

Evictions Caused 433,700 Excess Covid Infections, 10,700 Deaths, Study Says

A new study connects evictions to the spread of the coronavirus. Evictions continued in huge numbers during the pandemic despite a patchwork of eviction protections at multiple layers of government.

December 4, 2020 - Curbed

Ambulance

Hospitals and Healthcare Workers Brace for Influx of COVID Patients

Coronavirus infections, while at record-high levels, have decreased during the past week, unlike hospitalizations, which are still surging. Public health experts expect it to get a lot worse due to the Thanksgiving holiday travel.

December 3, 2020 - Bloomberg News

The Tenderloin

Lessons from 20 Years of Enabling Tenants to Buy Their Buildings

As cities around the country consider legislation that will allow tenants a chance to buy their buildings, Washington, D.C., can provide lessons on what to do—and not to do.

December 3, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Capitol Hill

More Transit Agencies Propose Cuts; Congress Finally Takes Notice

The stakes in the economic stimulus package under consideration on Capitol Hill this week are incredibly high.

December 3, 2020 - 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.