United States

Traffic Jam

Back-to-School Traffic Management Plan: Me Time

A humorous post offers advice on how to adjust to life trapped in a sea of cars swelled by school pick-up and drop-off schedules: think of it as "me time."

September 6, 2019 - The Dallas Morning News

Trump Administration Supports Ending Bus and Rail Procurements From Chinese Companies

Capital investments could get more expensive, if Congress forces transit systems to buy American.

September 6, 2019 - Eno Center for Transportation

Metro Subway

Air Pods: Subway Operators' Bane

A rational consumer might have anticipated the anxieties brought on by such small, expensive portable devices. Now the public is paying the price in the.

September 6, 2019 - Gothamist

Old Timey Ticky Tacky

Unlocking the Market for Affordable Homeownership with Private Capital

Charles Loveman, executive director of Heritage Housing Partners, explains the historical role that subsidized demand played in spurring housing production and the value of low to moderate-income affordable homeownership development.

September 5, 2019 - The Planning Report

Crowd

109 Counties Became 'Majority Nonwhite' Since 2000

The United States is still mostly populated by white people, but there are plenty of places where that is no longer true.

September 5, 2019 - Pew Research Center

Democratic Debate

Town Hall Spotlights Democrats' Climate Change Proposals

Critics of the earliest Democratic candidate debates have noted a conspicuous lack of substantive and concentrated discussion on one of the great existential threats of the era: climate change. Neglect of the subject could change soon.

September 5, 2019 - Curbed

Los Angeles, California

Dodger Stadium as Civic Space with a New Front Door

Janet Marie Smith, famous for helping plan Camden Yards in Baltimore, discusses how Dodger Stadium's 'new front door' will optimize transit and pedestrian access while preserving the field's historic character and sweeping 'postcard views.'

September 4, 2019 - The Planning Report

Old houses with large porch and colorful siding

The Dire Straits of the Working Homeless

Due to stagnant wages and the lack of affordable housing in many U.S. cities, even people with jobs are finding themselves slipping into homelessness.

September 4, 2019 - The New Republic

Downtown Houston, Texas

Opportunity Zones a 'Windfall for the Rich'

Opportunity zones are so far only benefitting the moneyed interests of the real estate industry.

September 4, 2019 - The New York Times

Queens Park

An Interview With New York Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, FAICP

Mitchell Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, former planning director of Raleigh, and former president of the APA, discusses the aspirations and realities of a long, successful career in planning.

September 4, 2019 - James Brasuell

Mobility

Multi-Modal Directions, Now Available on Google Maps

Under the transit tab on Google Maps, users will now be able to incorporate trips that start on a bike but end on a bus, train, or other mode of transport.

September 3, 2019 - The Verge

Boston Bus

Around the Country, Cities Face Bus Driver Shortages

Cities like St. Louis, Denver, and Minneapolis have have fewer bus drivers than the transit system requires. The shortages are effecting the quality of service.

September 3, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

Methane

Big Oil Not Happy With Methane Regulation Rollback

The Trump administration's rollback on August 29 of an Obama-era regulation to reduce methane emissions in the production and distribution of oil and natural gas did not sit well with large oil and gas companies who see value in reducing emissions.

September 3, 2019 - The New York Times

Planetizen Top Schools

The Top Schools For Urban Planners - 2019

The 6th Edition of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs is now available. The new Guide includes Planetizen's updated ranking of the Top 25 graduate urban planning programs.

September 3, 2019 - James Brasuell

Proof-of-Payment

The Benefits of Transit Fare Capping

There's more than one way to incentive transit ridership with fare capping.

September 3, 2019 - Steven Can Plan

Tree Grate

The Problem with Pilot Programs

Pilot programs are a way to test out a policy or program to ensure it is the right solution before investing significant amounts of money. But they also pose a variety of challenges.

September 1, 2019 - Governing

Ghost Bike

Op-Ed: Street Safety Is a Matter of Race

What do traffic safety and gun violence have in common? A lot, as it turns out. In both cases, hard-hit neighborhoods tend to have suffered from historical disinvestment along racial lines.

September 1, 2019 - Brookings

Green Buildings

Green Building Improvements Have a Friend in PACE

An under-reported loan model called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, financed $660 million of sustainable building improvements from 2016 through 2018.

September 1, 2019 - The New York Times

Detroit Vacant Properties

Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties

Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.

August 31, 2019 - Urban Institute

Wheels, Scooters, and the Centuries-Old Fight for City Streets

Through the lens of Phoenix, a look back at bicycles in 1893, scooters in 2019, and how the similarities of both betray a bigger issue: The dangerous design of city streets, which favor cars, create conflict, and have long put people at risk.

August 31, 2019 - Urbn Developments

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.