United States

Lowest Gas Prices in 12 Years Contribute to Record Travel This Holiday Weekend
Two new reports on transportation funding issued in advance of the July 4th weekend focus attention on gas prices and vehicle travel. Seven states will increase gas taxes on July 1 according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Seattle Tackling Equity Challenges With Global Lens
Seattle is faced with an affordable housing crisis that has led the new Planning & Community Development Director Sam Assefa to look globally for solutions.

Climate Change Is Shrinking the Colorado River
Documenting the effects of climate change on the West's most vital source of water.

Six Methods for Understanding Transit Users
SPUR has a created a toolbox of resources and ideas for how to figure out what transit users want, because not all transit users are the same.

Friday Funny: The Onion Deconstructs the 'Gig Economy'
Satirical news site The Onion lambastes (in familiar fashion) the gig economy—i.e., the euphemism applied to the side jobs and revenue sources offered by transportation network companies like Uber and short-term rental companies like Airbnb.

Do Members of Congress Need a Housing Stipend?
The cost of living in Washington, D.C. might make it difficult for less wealthy members of Congress to pay rent or mortgages in their home state and the seat of power. Thus, a surprising voice has suggested housing assistance for Congress.

Who's Mapping Gentrification, and Where?
In these cities, data on gentrification has been compiled to build mapping tools documenting the process. The hope is to identify neighborhoods where low-income residents are at risk of displacement.

Public-Private Partnerships: Cost-Effective or Cash Cow?
Public-private partnerships between local governments and private contractors have the Trump Administration's favor. But in a "P3 market in its infancy," can they cut costs or simply line pockets?
Subsidized Carpool Rides: There's an App for That
Contra Costa County, California, located in the East Bay Area, is looking for new incentives to get commuters to carpool through the congestion region. If only there were an app for that.

Mapping Rooftop Solar to Make It a Social Norm
Debuted in 2015, Google's Project Sunroof is designed make it easier for homeowners to go solar. Now the tool is harnessing peer pressure to "create a social norm" around solar.

McMansion Hell Blog in Legal Hot Water with Real Estate Site Zillow
[Updated June 29, 2017] It's been a mixed bag for viral sensation McMansion Hell. The same day as a feature video by The Washington Post, the news broke that the website is facing potential legal charges from real estate site Zillow.

A Church Playground Controversy Grew Into a Supreme Court Decision
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court this week could reframe the separation of church and state, especially with regard to the flow of public funding and aid programs.

Bloomberg Announces $200 Million 'American Cities Initiative'
The former mayor of New York is launching the "American Cities Initiative." The initiative comes with a scathing critique of the federal government's treatment of urban areas.

Cities Seeking New Weapons in the Battle Against Waze-Induced Traffic
Los Altos, California has erected a new roadblock in its ongoing effort to keep drivers from cutting through residential neighborhoods, beckoned by the popular navigation app Waze.
Do Traffic Crashes Increase When Recreational Marijuana Sales Are Legalized?
A new report by the insurance industry studying the relationship between crashes and legalized recreational marijuana sales found that crashes can be expected to increase by three percent. A news report from Denver questions their findings.

Amazon Files Patent Application for a Hive-Like Structure for Urban Drone Deliveries
Recode reveals a radical idea for how Amazon could consolidate delivery services in urban areas.

The State of Affordable Housing
An in-depth feature in Architect magazine surveys the affordable housing landscape and finds architects, planners, and developers trying to find a better way through an inefficient system.

April FHWA Report Shows Americans Continue to Drive More
There is good news in the most recent Federal Highway Administration Travel Trends report—if you look hard enough.

Evidence of Softening Rental Markets
According to Joe Cortright, a slowing pace of rent inflation in most large cities in the United States, combined with decreasing rents in many cities, shows how adding supply can help balance the market.

Can Planning Offer a Line of Defense Against Terrorism?
Planning for resilience might mean more than preparing for climate change, according to this opinion piece. Urban terrorism, in its current, tragic form, will require planners to prepare for the worst.
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