United States

corn field in polk county iowa

Summertime Ethanol Restriction Lifted to Help Corn Farmers—But at What Cost?

President Trump made good on his promise last October to lift the E15 ban in time for the summer driving season. Not mentioned by the Des Moines Register are the downsides to allowing the higher ethanol blend to be sold during the summer, e.g., smog.

June 14, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Public Meeting

Friday Funny: Scathing Satire of Anti-Development Rants at Public Hearings

A new satirical essay for McSweeney's provides a template for NIMBY opposition to planning and development, and does not pull any punches in the process.

June 14, 2019 - McSweeney's

San Francisco Construction

The Housing 'Migration Chain' That Results From Upzoning

A new working paper adds another perspective to the debate about easing zoning regulations to address the affordable housing crisis.

June 14, 2019 - CityLab

Los Angeles Bungalow Court

On the Massive Carbon Savings of Gentle Density

A thought experiment compares the carbon impact of three new single family homes with the same block if it contained a duplex, a triplex, and a fourplex.

June 13, 2019 - Sightline Institute

Seattle Multi-Family and Downtown

Doubt Cast on Induced Demand for Housing

Applied to roads, the theory of induced demand says new construction only brings out more users. But can something similar be said of housing? According to this research, the likely answer is no.

June 12, 2019 - City Observatory

McMansion

Study: A McMansion Can't Buy Happiness

As houses grow and households shrink, many Americans have a lot more space to themselves. But recent research says they aren't any happier trying to keep up with Joneses.

June 12, 2019 - The Atlantic

Adams Morgan District

The Case for Upzoning

The parallel crises of pollution and housing affordability require denser zoning of land uses, otherwise known as upzoning, according to this article.

June 12, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Homeless in New York City

Beyond YIMBY: Racism and Finance in the Housing Crisis

Upzoning without addressing speculation and finance could exacerbate the housing crisis for the nation’s most vulnerable communities, a professor of urban planning warns.

June 11, 2019 - The Planning Report

A Community of Brick Suburban Homes on a cloudy summer day

New Opportunities for First Ring Suburbs

Cincinnati’s first ring suburbs have gone through a pattern of boom and bust, but civic boosters are focusing on the opportunities of the present day.

June 11, 2019 - WVXU

Elaine Chao

Scrutiny for U.S. DOT Secretary Elaine Chao's Entangled Interests

The results of two recent investigations allege questionable ethical practices by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, connected to the secretary's family shipping business and marriage to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

June 11, 2019 - The New York Times

Small Town Craft Brewery

Which Cities Have the Most Breweries Per Capita

A new study reveals with cities have the most beer to go around.

June 11, 2019 - The Oregonian

Denver Region

Cities on the Verge of a Housing Crisis

This analysis of the largest metropolitan areas in the country reveals high housing prices spilling over into many parts of the country not located on the coasts.

June 11, 2019 - 24/7 Wall St.

Flood

Corps of Engineers Faces Criticism for Flood Management

Recent heavy rains and flooding have put the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the defensive about its flood control policies and procedures.

June 10, 2019 - The New York Times

Self-Driving Cars

When the Autonomous Vehicles Come, Will Cities Be Ready for Them?

A study about planning for AVs shows that most cities are not actively working to prepare for them and officials are worried about the many potential effects they will have on cities.

June 10, 2019 - CityLab

Uber Car

Ride-Hailing Companies Eye Public Transit Opportunities for the Wrong Reasons

Uber and Lyft say they want to improve public transit, but the focus on profit could have serious consequences.

June 10, 2019 - The New York Times

Golden Gate

The Generational Warfare of Our Times

If action isn’t taken to address the major issues the nation faces today, younger people will be contending with a lifetime of hardship. But older generations seem mostly to be looking the other way.

June 10, 2019 - Slate

Michael Bloomberg Launches $500 Million 'Beyond Carbon' Campaign

The "War on Coal" is back, in the form of a new grassroots political campaign bankrolled by Bloomberg Philanthropies to decarbonize power generation by targeting existing coal power plants and halting the growth of natural gas replacements.

June 10, 2019 - The New York Times

Multi-Modal Transportation

U.S. Department of Transportation Launches Two New University Transportation Centers

The University of South Florida and Washington State University were chosen as the locations for new University Transportation Centers (UTCs) over 51 competitors. There are now UTCs at 37 universities.

June 10, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Wounded Warrior Ride

Overcoming Misconceptions About Disabled Cyclists

Not everyone can ride a traditional two-wheeled bicycle, and it's ableist to assume they can, according to this op-ed. It's time to consider adaptive cycling as a crucial tool for providing access to mobility.

June 9, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

Sprawl

The Return of Suburbanization

The "back to the city" movement of the past decade or so could prove to be the outlier, as Census data shows population growth slowing in the biggest cities while suburban areas lead population growth in more metropolitan areas.

June 9, 2019 - Brookings Institution

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.