United States
Thumbs Down to Planning Rules of Thumb
In planning, a number of common principles of practice are widely accepted. However, an alternative set of guidelines can better serve as information and decision-making tools.
The U.S. Has Pole Position in the Race to Deliver Autonomous Vehicles
For a country that loves cars and driving so much, the eagerness to automate transportation is conspicuous.
Where Campus Planning Meets Urban Planning
As universities become a universally accepted and celebrated economic development power, there's still work to be done in getting the town and gown relationship on the same page.
Public Transportation Is Good for Kids
Using transit gives children experiences, skills, and perspectives that they won’t get riding in a car.
HUD's Spotty Record on Inspections
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is desperately in need of reform in its system of inspections and enforcement of living conditions in public housing.
The Study of Maintenance
A highly recommended long-read, published by Places Journal, lays the groundwork for the study of maintenance and care.
Putting a Bow on Top of the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan
The City Council overcame a last minute legal challenge to approve the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan late last week.
U.S. Report: Raise the Federal Gas Tax to Pay for Infrastructure Fixes
A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine endorses an idea that is sure to be controversial.
When Cities Prosper, Rural Areas Are Better Off
The pitting of cities and rural communities against one another is the wrong approach. Instead, policies that help cities thrive will benefit rural areas in the long run.
Aging in Place in Margaritaville
A Jimmy Buffet-branded 55-plus community in Daytona, Florida is wildly popular. The New York Times Magazine gained early access and ponders its deeper significance.
Major Increase in Global Carbon Emissions Projected for 2018
The report from the Global Carbon Project, an international group of scientists who track greenhouse gas emissions, comes as a surprise as emissions had been relatively flat for the last four years. Global emissions this year will increase 2.7%.
Friday Funny: The Onion Eviscerates Bike Planning
More scathing satire from The Onion, which continues a long history of dissecting the priorities of society as reflected in the built environment and the public realm.
Virgin Trains, Formerly Brightline, Planning Eight Expansion Corridors
November's bombshell news about the partnership between Virgin and Brightline has now yielded ambitious plans for private investment in intercity rail service.
How Residential Architecture Got So Cookie Cutter
While it's fun to tease about the architectural shortcomings of most newly constructed urban residential buildings in the United States, the causes of its ubiquitous sameness reveals the depths of the country's housing crisis.
Investigation Reveals the Failures of 'Clean Coal'
As the federal government sends massive subsidies to encourage so-called clean coal technology, coal-burning power plants aren't sending less pollution into the air and into the earth.
2018 Presents for Plannerds: The Gifts of Parks
In his sixth annual list of gift ideas for “plannerds,” park plan-nerd Clement Lau takes a different approach.
'Tis the Season for Abundant Parking
On what is arguably a peak parking day, parking lots around the country still had plenty of space.
OC Streetcar Breaks Ground After Receiving Full Funding Grant Agreement
It's only the third full funding grant administration signed by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The $149 million capital investment grant will help fund the 4-mile modern streetcar line from Santa Ana to Garden Grove in Orange County, Calif.
Inequality Found in the 'Unstudied Neighborhoods' Too
A new journal article calls out the academic community of planning and urbanism for relying too much on the usual suspects when researching marginalization and inequality, and assuming too much about what makes a neighborhood "normal."
Airbnb Getting Into the Housing Business
Correction: Airbnb is diversifying its housing business.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
