United States
Building Resilience? There's a Standard for That
Resilience standards—like LEED--could transform building practices. But there are many standards to choose from, and few are aware that they exist. A new report helps planners and builders choose the right standard for every project.
The 'Inclusionary Housing Calculator' Will See If Your Affordable Housing Ideas Pencil Out
The debate about inclusionary zoning persists—with some pro-development saying affordable housing fees and requirements stifle development before it can start. A new tool helps crunch the numbers behind the debate.
Using Satellite Imagery, This AI Traces Urban Wealth
Penny is an artificial intelligence program that detects affluence from space. It also lets users experiment with how different visual forms affect its perception of an area's wealth.
Autonomous Vehicles and Streets: A Guide to Potential Impacts
As the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) becomes more of a reality, cities need to start considering how this new technology will affect streets and street networks. This brief guide provides an overview and resources on this topic.
How Soccer Is Changing Land Use
Planners are incorporating the growing popularity of soccer into parks and communities, writes L.A. park planner Clement Lau, and not just with soccer fields.
Senate Appropriations Committee Restores TIGER Grant Program
Unlike the House Appropriations Committee's DOT budget that reduces spending by almost 4 percent from current levels and eliminates the TIGER grant program, its Senate counterpart increased transportation spending, including the TIGER grant budget.
Federal Safety Watchdog Takes a Position on Speeding Drivers
Streetsblog USA breaks the news of a major policy departure for the National Transportation Safety Board: speeding kills, and every level of government must do more to counter the problem.
Big Investment Firms Are Dominating the Landlord Business
Large investment companies are betting against homeownership—by buying up homes in suburban areas and putting them on the rental market.
Art in the Face of Gentrification
Art and culture tend to be integral to helping disenfranchised communities self-identify, develop their identities, and organize around place-based issues. But its presence can also be used be used by real estate interests to market neighborhoods.
How Long Will the Office of Environmental Justice Last in Trump's EPA?
Does environmental justice need its own office to help vulnerable populations impacted by pollution, or can all divisions within the EPA address the issue? The Office of Environmental Justice, established in 1993, may be shut down.
Marine Sanctuaries Not Safe From Drilling
As it has already done with public lands, the Trump Administration is studying how to roll back environmental protections for the sake of the oil and gas industries. This time, marine sanctuaries are the administration's target.
In a Perfect World, Maintenance Is the Coolest Trend in Infrastructure
The New York Times opinion section includes a call for society, politicians, and business leaders to recognize the importance of maintenance.
Bikes That Talk in a World of Self-Driving Cars
The question of whether self-driving cars will make streets and roads a safer place for humans depends on whether technology can protect the most vulnerable users.
Congress Confirms a Controversial Number Two at the Department of the Interior
The confirmation of David Bernhardt as Deputy Secretary of the Interior has upset environmentalists and advocates for public land.
Op-Ed: To Lower Housing Costs, Make it Cheaper and Easier to Build Housing
The argument in the headline, put more specifically: inclusionary zoning, fees, legal challenges, and minimum apartment sizes are counter-productive. The only policy that will add housing stock, is to make it much cheaper to add housing stock.
State Transportation Officials Ask Congress to Hike Transportation User Fees
It's not funding Trump's much-talked-about infrastructure package, but the 2020 termination date of the FAST Act has state transportation officials urging Congress to hike fuel taxes to sustain the Highway Trust Fund.
Police Departments Budgets Grow, but Cities Aren't Any Safer
A Next City article argues that investing in job programs and other public goods would do more to make those communities safe than investing in police departments.
Reality Checking Elon Musk's Hyperloop Nothing Burger—Again
Elon Musk's desire to tunnel a path to freedom from congestion refuses to die.
Are Form-Based Design Standards Easier Than Form-Based Codes?
Randall Arendt looks at how communities can achieve results similar to Form-Based Codes through a simpler set of form-based design standards (FBDS).
Amazon's Mobile Stores Rolling Out Nationwide
Amazon's Treasure Trucks hawk everything from GoPros to poke bowls and Harry Potter books.
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
