United States

Townhouses

Get Ready, Suburbia: Apartments Are Coming

From high-rises to townhouses, the suburban multi-family market is growing fast.

September 14, 2018 - Governing

Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos Announces $2 Billion Fund to Support Homeless Services

After the company he founded fought off a tax to fund homeless and affordable housing funds in Seattle earlier this year, Jeff Bezos has announced a new $2 billion fund that will fund homeless services, among other efforts.

September 13, 2018 - GeekWire

Methane

Latest Obama-Era Regulations Targeted by the Trump Administration: Methane Rules

One Obama-era climate regulation still on the books deals with methane leakage from oil and gas wells. The greenhouse gas is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Another methane regulation targeted deals with flaring on federal lands.

September 13, 2018 - The New York Times

drinking fountain

Drinking Water Lessons from West Texas

Several cities in West Texas have a long history in wastewater reclamation, even using the water for drinking, due to the Texas drought. El Paso aims to build the nation's largest advanced purification project for direct water reuse.

September 12, 2018 - Quartz

Security Camera

Homeland Security Grants Aim to Harden Transit

Amtrak and a range of big city transit agencies have received federal grants to upgrade their security in the face of terrorism.

September 12, 2018 - Progressive Railroading

Urban Freeway

Final Piece of Eisenhower's Interstate System Complete

It's been over 60 years, but at long last a missing stretch of I-95 between New Jersey and Pennsylvania has been completed. Meanwhile, disrepair threatens the rest of the system.

September 12, 2018 - Quartz

Venice Beach Pedestrian and Bike Path

Weekly Scooter Media Brief: September 3–11

The news and opinions are filling newspapers and websites faster than electric scooters are filling sidewalks.

September 12, 2018 - Planetizen

Road Construction

Ten Years of Highway Trust Fund Insolvency

Earlier this month marked the ten-year anniversary of an event that lives in infamy in the annals of the federal government.

September 11, 2018 - Eno Transportation Weekly

Crowd Sourcing

Using Yelp to Predict Gentrification

New research draws on the popular review site Yelp to predict changes in housing prices and demographics.

September 10, 2018 - CityLab

Keep it in the Ground – 2018

As climate hawks gather in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit that convenes Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown, host of the summit, is dogged by critics who can't distinguish between oil production and consumption.

September 10, 2018 - CALmatters

Los Angeles City Hall

Five Key Data Sources for Park Planning

Park planner Clement Lau discusses five (plus one in Los Angeles) key data sources for parks and recreation planning.

September 10, 2018 - UrbDeZine

The Far-Reaching Consequences of Remaking the Mercury Emissions Rule

The EPA intends to review the rulemaking process behind the mercury rule, the subject of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2015, to place more value on a rule's compliance cost to industry and less to its beneficial impact on human health.

September 9, 2018 - The New York Times

Houston Freeway

Induced Demand, Explained

CityLab University tackles a widely misunderstood concept: induced demand.

September 8, 2018 - CityLab

Crowded Subway Platform

Next Train ETA: Never

The Onion feels the pain of everyone who takes the train.

September 7, 2018 - The Onion

Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Which Cities Are Protected From Climate Change?

Put another way: Which cities will be more attractive to in-migration once the effects of climate change become more obvious.

September 7, 2018 - Business Insider

Hoover Boards and Bus Transit

Ensuring the Benefits of Multiple Mobility as a Service Options

Vertically integrated mobility as a service options can offer great benefit to users, but unless cities create the right framework, it could stifle innovation and competition, as well as making the playing field too difficult for small companies.

September 6, 2018 - Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative

Homeless and Police

Court: It's Cruel and Unusual Punishment to Ban Homeless From Sleeping on Streets

A 2009 law that banned sleeping in public spaces has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court.

September 6, 2018 - AP via Idaho Statesman

Video Games

Donut County: A Villainous Raccoon, a Hole in the Ground, and the Effects of Gentrification

In a new video game, the player is a no-good raccoon wreaking havoc on the world around him.

September 6, 2018 - Los Angeles Magazine

Scooter Share

Weekly Electric Scooter Media Brief: Aug. 29 – Sept. 4

The second installment "Weekly Electric Scooter Media Brief" presents a veritable cornucopia of breaking news, opinions, and insights into the wild west of electric scooter regulation.

September 5, 2018 - Planetizen

Downtown Phoenix

How Cities in the 'Heat Belt' Are Addressing Extreme Heat, the New Normal

As the number of excessive heat days steadily increases, cities face a range of new challenges. But they are also trying to get ahead of the problem while they still can.

September 5, 2018 - The Washington Post

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.