United States

Train with black oil tankers.

Supreme Court Ruling in Oil Railway Case Guts Federal Environmental Law

The decision limits the scope of a federal law that mandates extensive environmental impact reviews of energy, infrastructure, and transportation projects.

June 5, 2025 - NPR

Line of multi-colored big rig trucks drivign down highway with other traffic including a yellow school bus.

Study: 4% of Truckers Lack a Valid Commercial License

Over 56% of inspected trucks had other violations.

June 4, 2025 - FreightWaves

Screenshot of shade map of Buffalo, New York with legend.

Interactive Map Reveals America's “Shade Deserts”

Launched by UCLA and American Forests to combat heat-related deaths, the tool maps the shade infrastructure for over 360 U.S. cities.

June 3, 2025 - UCLA Newsroom

Farm workers in long sleeves and hats working in a green field in Nipomo, California with small hills in background.

Without International Immigrants, the Rural US Population Would Be Falling 58%

Census data shows that population growth in rural areas is due in large part to international migrants.

June 2, 2025 - The Daily Yonder

Aerial view of Lake Shore Drive, eight-lane highway adjacent to lakeshore in Chicago, Illinois with city skyline in background at sunset.

Dead End: Nine Highways Ready for Retirement

The Freeways Without Futures report describes the nation’s most promising highway removal proposals.

June 2, 2025 - Congress For New Urbanism

Tall red brick public housing building in New York City surrounded by shorter apartment buildings.

Trump's “Able Bodied” Public Housing Limits Could Displace Over 300,000 New Yorkers

As part of 43% cut to federal rental assistance, Trump is proposing a two-year limit on public housing tenure for “able bodied adults.”

June 2, 2025 - The City

Aerial view of homes and businesses destroyed by Altadena wildfire.

Tenant Advocates: Rent Gouging Rampant After LA Wildfires

The Rent Brigade says it's found evidence of thousands of likely instances of rent gouging. In some cases, the landlords accused of exploiting the fires had made campaign donations to those responsible for enforcement.

May 29, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

Woman and man in orange safety vests and hard hats doing surveying work at road construction site.

DOJ Seeks to End USDOT Affirmative Action Program

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program encouraged contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation sector, where these groups are vastly underrepresented.

May 29, 2025 - The Washington Post

Aerial view of Springfield, Missouri small town USA.

A Missouri Tenant Union’s Fight Against Millennia Housing

In Springfield, Missouri, senior and disabled tenants at one Millennia affordable housing building say they’ve gone about a year without a working elevator, but their organizing has gotten the city to threaten receivership if it's not fixed soon.

May 29, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

Blue sidewalk curb cut painted with white accessibility symbol.

How Infrastructure Shapes Public Trust

A city engineer argues that planners must go beyond code compliance to ensure public infrastructure is truly accessible to all users.

May 28, 2025 - Governing

Protester at Echo Park Lake, Los Angeles holding sign that says "Housing is a human right"

Photos: In Over a Dozen Cities, Housing Activists Connect HUD Cuts and Local Issues

We share images from six of the cities around the country where members of three national organizing networks took action on May 20 to protest cuts to federal housing funding and lift up local solutions.

May 28, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

"Heat Danger Extreme Today" sign on desert roadside with orange flags on either side.

U.S. Braces for Another Record-Breaking Summer of Heat and Drought

The U.S. is heading into another dangerously hot summer, with widespread extreme heat, drought, and wildfire risks compounded by underfunded federal agencies and growing pressure on local governments to protect vulnerable communities.

May 27, 2025 - The Guardian

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23, 2025 - The Daily Yonder

Waffle House restaurant in rural open area with large yellow and black sign and several cars parked in front.

Starting in 2026, You Can Charge Your EV at Waffle House

The 24-hour chain infamous for brawls and, to a lesser extent, waffles plans to install fast-chargers at many of its locations.

May 23, 2025 - Jalopnik

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

May 22, 2025 - Wired

Electric car charging station with several Chevy Bolts charging in parking lot of store in Bellingham, Washington

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth

Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

May 21, 2025 - GovTech

Passengers exiting the back door of a blue public bus.

Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks

Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?

May 21, 2025 - Fast Company

Protest

How Cities Can Support Climate Adaptation

In the face of federal cuts to climate resilience funding, a panel at ULI’s Resilience Summit offered suggestions for maintaining managed retreat and other climate adaptation programs.

May 21, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Screenshot of University Transportation Centers website

Transportation Research Centers Lose Key Federal Funding

The federal University Transportation Center program funds critical transportation research and innovation at 35 consortia of colleges and universities.

May 21, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

"Units for sale - contact your local realtor" sign in front of homes.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods

A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

May 19, 2025 - Next City

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.