United States

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD Secretary Carson Supports Minneapolis-Style Upzoning

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, in Minneapolis last week, expressed support for the planning reforms included in the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

June 25, 2019 - Star Tribune

Climate CHange

Carbon Neutrality: What Does it Mean, and Is it Possible?

Are 'zero carbon' goals the most effective way to cut greenhouse gases, or are they the most politically feasible strategies? NPR climate and environment reporter, Nathan Rott, explores the challenge in an interview on All Things Considered.

June 24, 2019 - NPR

Supreme Court Statue

APA Disappointed With Supreme Court's Decision in Takings Case

The decision in Knick v. Township of Scott prompted a response from the American Planning Association.

June 24, 2019 - American Planning Association

Metro Fare

When Low-Income Riders Get Reduced Fares, They Ride More Transit

A study from MIT seems to confirm that the cost of transit is depressing use of service by low-income residents, and that reduced fares help this population take the trips they currently don’t.

June 24, 2019 - Streetsblog Massachusetts

Car-Centric Planning

Congestion Pricing: An Expat View

Writing from London in an Op-Ed for Seattle’s Crosscut, Chuck Wolfe argues for a contextual approach to a much-touted search for transportation equity.

June 23, 2019 - Crosscut

Seawall Crescent City California

As Sea Levels Rise, Some Cities Will Be Saved While Others Will Be Left Behind

U.S. coastal cities need to prepare for the effects of climate change, but the pot of funding is limited. There’s no way around the fact that there will be winners and there will be losers.

June 22, 2019 - The New York Times

Scooter Share

Op-Ed: Cities, Get the Scooters Under Control

Scooters are a useful addition to the mobility landscape, but cities need to address the many safety issues that come along with them.

June 22, 2019 - The New York Times

Power Plant

It's Official: Obama's Clean Power Plan Has Been Replaced by the Trump Administration

It took less than a year for the EPA to finalize the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which will allow older coal-burning plants to continue operating, in the Trump administration's most consequential environmental rollback accomplished to date.

June 21, 2019 - The New York Times

First-Time Buyers

Investment Money Cornering the Real Estate Market

With so many institutional investors buying homes, it's hard for first-time homebuyers to find space in the housing market.

June 21, 2019 - The New York Times

Providence, Rhode Island

The Complete Lack of Rental Housing Affordable to People Making Minimum Wage

Rents in 99 percent of counties in the U.S. are not affordable for residents making minimum wage, according to a recent report.

June 20, 2019 - Curbed

Seattle, Washington

Measuring Job Densification Trends in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

A new report details the trend of jobs densification in U.S. metropolitan areas between 2004 and 2015, finding a few large metropolitan areas leading an overall increase in jobs density. Still, many areas are seeing jobs disperse around the region.

June 20, 2019 - Brookings Institution

Traffic Safety Advocates

An Investigation of the Nation's Increasing Number of Pedestrian Fatalities

PBS New Hour takes a deep dive into the climbing number of pedestrian deaths in the United States—now at their highest level in almost three decades.

June 20, 2019 - PBS News Hour

Proterra Electric Bus

Debating the Merits of Hydrogen and Batteries for Buses

To switch to fully electric bus fleets, transit agencies can invest in batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. Both have their advantages.

June 19, 2019 - Governing

Marquam Bridge

The Biggest Highway Boondoggles in the United States

Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG have released the fifth edition of its Highway Boondoggles report.

June 18, 2019 - U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Exurban Commute

California Looks North for a Climate Partner

California has been lonely for the last seven years as the only state that prices carbon emissions from most sources. Oregon is expected to decide this month whether to join them.

June 18, 2019 - CALmatters

Sprawl

Single-Family Zoning Versus the City, Mapped

There isn't much city in most U.S. cities.

June 18, 2019 - The New York Times

Los Angeles sprawl

Understanding Cities Through Their Life Cycles

Cities go through ups and downs over time, and where a city is in its longer history can reveal the reasons behind population changes.

June 18, 2019 - Governing

Football

New York Times Editorial Takes Pro-Development Stance

The Editorial Board of the New York Times offers perhaps the highest profile support to date for overthrowing the status quo of slow growth and development opposition.

June 17, 2019 - The New York Times

Presidential Campaign

2020 Presidential Campaign: Media Coverage of Climate Strategies

Mayor Pete Buttigieg was criticized for supporting carbon capture and carbon taxes, while Vice President Biden was accused of lifting phrases about carbon capture from a "pro-industry" group. But did the media get these stories right?

June 17, 2019 - Common Dreams

Boston, Co-Working

Which Tech Giant is Best Suited to Understand Cities?

The company that best understands what drives city residents’ decisions is best suited to untangle persistent urban problems.

June 17, 2019 - Lev Kushner

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.