United States

Traffic

U.S. Drivers Continue Mileage Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year

Americans have increased their driving every year since 2011, and the first six months of 2017 were no different, increasing 1.6 percent compared to last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Highway Administration.

August 30, 2017 - Federal Highway Administration

Metro Bus

Time to Worry About Declining Bus Ridership Again

The news about the decline of bus ridership around the country is making the rounds again. The future of bus transit as we know it seems to be in question.

August 29, 2017 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco Construction

Time Is Money for Housing Developments (and Residents)

While strict, suburban-style regulations often get a bad rap for the lack of housing in high demand cities, the red tape and other obstacles that delay development could be the worst culprit.

August 29, 2017 - Sightline Institute

Warning restrictions

Getting Creative to Reduce (or Increase) Beach Access

Communities and municipalities have deployed a surprisingly creative menu of policies to increase or restrict access to beaches. The Public trust doctrine, it turns out, is in the eye of the beach-holder.

August 29, 2017 - Next City

Austin Construction

For Discussion: Why Are More Millennials Choosing the Suburbs?

A trio of journalists gathers to discuss statistics that show the trends of U.S. population growth has shifted to suburban areas.

August 29, 2017 - Bloomberg

Satellite Image

Hurricane Effect: Rising Gas Prices

One need not be on the Gulf Coast to experience some of the effects of Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm that landed near Corpus Christi on Friday night. Gas prices are expected to rise five to ten cents per gallon in some regions, then recede.

August 28, 2017 - USA Today

Miami Brightline Construction

Trump Administration Kills Obama Era Local Hiring Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation quietly killed an Obama Administration program that would have been the only federal level local hiring initiative.

August 28, 2017 - The New York Times

Sixth Street, Austin

Lessons From Victorian Era Land Use Policy

The tools of the planning profession helped clean up many unhealthy aspects of the industrial revolution, but also stifled some of the best innovations of Late Victorian urbanism.

August 28, 2017 - The American Conservative

Coal Mining

Study on Health Effects of Strip Mining Stopped by Trump Administration

The mining industry felt some of the National Academies of Sciences' studies were biased against them, and its studies were unfair in the way they documented the health problems among workers.

August 27, 2017 - Courier-Journal

Home For Sale Signs

Changes to Mortgage Interest Deduction Cap Still on the Table

One hot button item to watch as Congress takes up the issue of tax reform in the coming weeks: whether Republicans are able to follow through on a promise to reform the mortgage interest deduction.

August 27, 2017 - CNBC

Wildfire

Climate Change Impacts at the County Level

A recent study lends new specificity of the human cost and economic damage wreaked by climate change in the coming decades.

August 26, 2017 - Governing

Charlottesville

Do Confederate Statues Belong in Public Spaces?

In the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville, resulting from the gathering of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, American cities are rethinking whether statues honoring the heroes of the Confederacy belong in public spaces.

August 25, 2017 - Vox

Cross-Laminated Timber

Fire Tests Enable New Timber Typologies

After a long time lost in the woods, architects and engineers are rediscovering timber. Recent fire tests have demonstrated that timber can be a viable building material and meet existing code requirements.

August 25, 2017 - Doggerel

Trolls

Friday Eye Candy: Mapping the Nation's Internet Trolls

Finally, we know where Internet trolls come from—no, not the basements of parents' houses.

August 25, 2017 - Wired

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

Interior Department Recommends Shrinking, Not Eliminating, National Monuments

What we now so far about the Interior Department's plans to shrink a "handful" of national monuments around the country.

August 24, 2017 - AP for the Oregonian

Empty Parking Lot

AVs and Real Estate - A Guide to Potential Impacts

AVs are more than a transportation issue and will have significant impacts on real estate. Expect AVs to affect parking, sprawl, housing prices, and transit.

August 24, 2017 - Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative

New York Development

Using Drones to Inspect Urban Building Façades

Many cities require the owners of multistory buildings to regularly inspect their façades, looking for problems that may lead to injury or property damage. Drones can potentially help ease the process and cost of doing so.

August 24, 2017 - Doggerel

Lombard Street San Francisco

Too Much Driving is Spoiling California's Emissions Report Card

A new economics report from Beacon Economics for Next 10 shows that what good for the environment is good for the state's economy, but the results are marred by increasing vehicle-miles-traveled. The state's housing crisis is partly to blame.

August 24, 2017 - Business Wire

Sprawl

The Tax Code's Special Interest: Suburban Real Estate

Suburbia isn't an accident.

August 24, 2017 - Devon Marisa Zuegel

Metro Subway

Recommended Listening: Podcasts for Designers and Planners

The American Society of Landscape Architects' list of podcasts for landscape architects is heavy on planning-related content.

August 23, 2017 - THE DIRT

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.