United States

Black Panther's Many Lessons in Urbanism

Black Panther is a smash hit with critics and audiences. In addition to long-needed perspective about race, the movie has presented urbanism in a new light.

February 24, 2018 - CityLab

Black Americans

Black Millennials Not Keeping Up With Peers

While Millennials are coveted by marketers and consumer goods companies, young adults of color are not equally sharing in the benefits of Millennials' economic popularity.

February 24, 2018 - Modern Cities

Pretty City. Don't swim after storm.

U.S. EPA's Enforcement Drops to Unprecedented Low

Polluters are going unpunished.

February 23, 2018 - Vox

Seattle Electric Bus

The Best Cities for Transit

Redfin's most recent ranking of public transit access features some serious moves, both up and down the list.

February 23, 2018 - Redfin

Buffalo, New York

Uneven Geographic Performance Defines This Economic Boom

The Metro Monitor 2018 reports economic data for 2016, and it continues a tale of two cities (or metropolitan areas) around the United States.

February 22, 2018 - Brookings Institution

Construction

Residential Construction, Permitting Spiking in Early 2018

Residential construction activity hummed at a higher level in January 2018 than any point in all of 2017, according to newly released federal data.

February 22, 2018 - Globe St

Immigration Arrest

Mapping the Trump Administration's Immigration Crackdown

The effects of one of the Trump Administration's most aggressive policy objectives, a crackdown on illegal immigration, have differed by region.

February 22, 2018 - Pew Research Center

Traffic

EPA Releases Draft Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 1990 to 2016

The inventory, a requirement from a 1992 U.N. treaty, shows emissions from most sectors are either decreasing or holding steady. The major exception: transportation.

February 21, 2018 - Climatewire

Sutro Tower

Reevaluating Rent Control

Cities and researchers are reconsidering the effects of the controversial housing policy known as rent control.

February 20, 2018 - Governing

Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Nation's Most Important Rail Project Downrated by the FTA

Amtrak's Gateway Program to replace a century-old rail tunnel and bridge from New Jersey to Manhattan, both bottlenecks on the busy Northeast Corridor, did not score well on an evaluation by the Federal Transit Administration for grant funding.

February 20, 2018 - Progressive Railroading

Trees and People

Report Details the Long-Term Financial Benefits of Green Design

This report estimates that U.S. cities could save half a trillion dollars by investing in "smart surface technologies." The study takes into account obvious factors like energy use and less intuitive ones like tourism revenues.

February 20, 2018 - Next City

No Walking

How Sidewalks Literally Sideline the Pedestrian

Plenty of sidewalks stand in need of improvement, and many aren't there at all. But they're also a symbol of the automobile's engineered dominance of our roads.

February 20, 2018 - Curbed

Produce Aisle

'Food Deserts' May Not Be Biggest Factor in Nutrition Discrepancies

According to one recent study, regional culture plays a major part in how healthily people eat. Supply may be less of a factor than demand.

February 19, 2018 - The Washington Post

oil spill

Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Reenacted

Unlike Trump's suggested quarter-per-gallon gas tax, this 9-cents-per-barrel tax is real. Like the gas tax, it goes to a trust fund, to respond to oil spills rather than build and maintains roads. While small, it brings in $500 million annually.

February 19, 2018 - Washington Examiner

Sacramento

Sacramento Streetcar Faces Uncertain Future Due to Trump Budget

The president's Fiscal Year 2019 Budget cuts the critical Capital investment Grants program run by the Federal Transit Administration. Projects lacking a full-funding grant agreement, like the Sacramento Streetcar, may fall victim.

February 18, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Arch Rock Beach

The Vast Economic Footprint of the Outdoor Recreation Industry

The outdoor recreation industry grew faster in 2016 than the rest of the U.S. economy.

February 18, 2018 - Earther

Trump

Trump's 25-Cent Infrastructure Tax?

During a closed-door meeting Wednesday with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, President Trump endorsed hiking the gas tax by 25-cents per gallon to help pay for the $200 billion investment and restore solvency to the Highway Trust Fund.

February 18, 2018 - Politico

Chevy Bolt

Where's the Interest in Electric Vehicles?

Policymakers, auto manufacturers, and especially advocates are very engaged in transitioning from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. The problem is that interest isn't shared by the general public, according to research by UC Davis.

February 17, 2018 - UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies

Transportation Network Companies

Uber's CEO Wants to Take Over for Buses

Bus advocates aren't going to like the sound of this.

February 17, 2018 - Recode

MARTA Interrupting Bus

Why Can't Public Transit Get a Role on the Silver Screen?

Or even Netflix, for that matter.

February 16, 2018 - Mobility Lab

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.