United States

Self-Driving Car

Self-Driving Car Companies Could Print Money If They Play User Experience Right

Providing user experience in self-driving cars offers an under-appreciated business opportunity.

May 19, 2018 - Quartz

Voltaire

Friday Funny: A Satirical Adaptation of 'The Best of All Possible Worlds' from Candide

This version is called 'The Best of All Possible Plans.'

May 18, 2018 - Twitter

Sprawl

Documentary Explores the Realities of the Mega-Commute

What does the way people commute reveal about the role of individuals in society?

May 18, 2018 - CityLab

Pedal Pub

'Pedal Pubs' Challenge Established Traffic Laws

What they lack in speed they make up for in revelry. But multiple-rider "beer bikes" also pose challenges to regulators.

May 17, 2018 - Governing

Multi-Modal Intersection

The Case for Ending Legal Right Turns on Red Lights

Right turns on red became legal at a large scale across the country in the 1970s, despite the threats the practice represents to pedestrians and people on bikes.

May 17, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Seattle Homeless

The Cost of Solving Homelessness in Seattle: $400 Million

It’s "dramatically higher" than any number under discussion, and not even close to what the city will raise with its new tax on large businesses.

May 17, 2018 - Crosscut

Self-Driving Bus

Automated Vehicles Pose 'Political Threat' to Transit

TransitCenter's Steven Higashide argues that despite all the hype around self-driving vehicles, traditional high-capacity transit still has some distinct advantages. As long, that is, as transit agencies are willing to recognize them.

May 17, 2018 - TransitCenter

Green Healthy Community

A New 'City Health Dashboard' for 500 U.S. Cities

The new City Health Dashboard might be the first time many communities have had access to a treasure trove of public health data at the click of a mouse button.

May 17, 2018 - Crain's New York Business

Miami

Senate Bill Would Fund Climate Change Resilience in Coastal Communities

Grant and loan funding, new research, and a competition are some of the ideas included in the Coastal Communities Adaptation Act.

May 17, 2018 - U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation

Millennials

'Little Evidence of a Substantial Cultural Turn' Away from Driving Among Millennials

According to an analysis of U.S. National Travel Surveys, the Millennial preference for non-automotive travel is mostly hype. Millennials show behavior similar to other age groups and respond to the economy.

May 16, 2018 - Transfers

Waste Stream

U.S. Recycling Markets in Free Fall After China Pulls Import Plug

China has stopped purchasing the recyclables that millions of Americans place curbside on recycling days, upending the industry. Recyclables are already directed toward landfills as domestic markets are sought. Berkeley, Calif. may go a novel route.

May 16, 2018 - The Wall Street Journal via MSN Money

'Father of GPS' awarded IEEE Medal of Honor

At the IEEE honors ceremony today [May 11] in San Francisco, Bradford Parkinson, a retired Air Force colonel who spent his life between maps and navigation systems, will be awarded the 2018 IEEE Medal of Honor,.

May 16, 2018 - Iot Times

Coal Power Plants to Retire Faster Under Trump

Coal plants will retire faster than analysts had figured under the Clean Power Plan, which the Trump administration is repealing, yet the Department of Energy proposes to make building new coal plants a centerpiece of its energy policy.

May 15, 2018 - Forbes

Pasadena Bike Infrastructure

Shouting Down Road Diets

In car-dependent communities, road diets and bike lanes can be a tough sell.

May 15, 2018 - CityLab

Sports Utility Vehicle

SUV Boom May Be Tied to Jump in Pedestrian Deaths

The number of fatalities from SUVs is up more than 80 percent in the United States since 2009.

May 15, 2018 - Jalopnik

Refueling

Car Manufacturers Worried After Trump Administration Gave More Than Expected

The auto industry lobby is meeting with Trump Administration officials to convince them to ease off the throttle.

May 14, 2018 - The New York Times

recycled greywater

The Real Cost of Clean Water in One Kansas Town

Pretty Prairie has water with very high levels of nitrates, and lots of farmers that need to use nitrates if they want to keep the local economy going.

May 14, 2018 - Harper's

Houston

Post-Harvey Homeowners Face an 'Army of Speculators'

In Houston, investors are snapping up damaged homes that will be dependent on flood insurance.

May 14, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Driving

The Future of the American Auto Industry: Not Cars

The American passenger vehicle fleet is being transformed into bigger, fuel-thirstier, and more dangerous models (for those hit by them). Americans have shown a preference for light trucks, and manufacturers are responding by ditching cars.

May 14, 2018 - Car and Driver

Food Trucks

Defeating SB 827 Did Not Discourage the YIMBY Movement

Though the California housing bill was a high-profile failure for pro-development activists, there are initiatives all over the country that carry its spirit.

May 14, 2018 - CityLab

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.