United States

View of Santa Clara valley in San Francisco Bay Area at dusk.

How to Stop the ‘Growth Ponzi Scheme’

Even cities with wealthy tax bases and strong economies face budget shortfalls when it comes to basic needs. Why?

April 10, 2024 - Strong Towns

Chicago fire department fire truck driving down street with blurred background indicating motion at nighttime.

Balancing Road Diets With Emergency Access

Examples from the Netherlands show how bike lanes and traffic calming can coexist with effective emergency response.

April 10, 2024 - Streetsblog USA

WMATA train on elevated track passing by brick multistory buildings in Alexandria, Virginia.

Making TOD More Viable

Tying housing and land acquisition funding to transit projects could make dense, walkable development easier and more cost-effective.

April 9, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Anti homeless bench

Op-Ed: Public Seating Is for Everyone

Seating in the public realm often isn’t designed to accommodate varied body types, ages, and abilities.

April 9, 2024 - Next City

View of street in small town of Camillus, New York on a cloudy day.

Rural Affordable Housing in Crisis

Rural U.S. communities are poised to lose hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units as federally backed mortgages mature.

April 9, 2024 - HousingWire

Close-up of roll of green artificial turf laying on more artificial turf.

Fossil Fuel-Based Artificial Turf Raises Concerns

Cities and states are rolling back support for artificial turf, which can leach chemicals and microplastics into groundwater.

April 9, 2024 - Route Fifty

Two workers in white hard hats looking up at large photovoltaic solar panels.

‘Green Bank’ Network To Fund Climate Projects

The federal government announced a $20 billion investment to support low-interest loans for climate and clean energy projects.

April 8, 2024 - Inside Climate News

View of cars stuck in gridlocked traffic with traffic lights in background

Judge Declares Federal Emissions Rule ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

Another judge already vacated the rule nationwide before the latest case was decided.

April 8, 2024 - Reuters

Black and white photo of a streetcar from the 1900s.

A History of Public Transit Disinvestment in the US

The Union of Concerned Scientists takes us on a “trip down memory ‘train,’” examining the history of public transit, including its chronic disinvestment and perpetuation of racism, from the 1800s to today.

April 5, 2024 - Union Of Concerned Scientists

Sillhouettes of group of people watching solar eclipse.

Towns Preparing for Eclipse Exodus

Monday’s solar eclipse will bring increased traffic to parts of the country in its path.

April 5, 2024 - Smart Cities Dive

Concrete highway overpasses under construction, view from below

Highway Construction Costs Grow for 11th Straight Quarter

FHWA data shows a 23.9 percent rise in costs in the last year.

April 5, 2024 - Eno Center for Transportation

Man sitting on wooden bench under tall streetlight at night.

Elevating the ‘Small Stuff’ in Urban Design

Chuck Wolfe recaps arguments in favor of increased attention to incidentals — from benches to bollards — in urban development practices.

April 4, 2024 - Resurgence: A Journey via Substack

White neoclassical building with cupola and City Hall lettering on front.

Using AI to Analyze Public Comments

A new tool is designed to help local governments organize and understand large volume of community input on projects.

April 4, 2024 - StateScoop

Four-story apartment building with gabled roofs.

Feds Cap Rent Raises on Subsidized Housing

Owners of affordable housing developments that take advantage of federal tax incentives will be barred from raising rents more than 10 percent per year.

April 3, 2024 - Reuters

Rural community qith quaint homes and white steepled church against forest with fall colors and German shepherd dog in foreground.

Rural Communities See Population Growth Two Years Running

Once bleeding population, rural areas gained population once again in 2023.

April 3, 2024 - The Daily Yonder

Multistory buildings under construction in a dense city with cranes.

Soaring Property Insurance Rates Threaten Affordable Housing Development

Rapidly rising insurance premiums are forcing affordable housing developers to cut back on programming, lay off staff, and even sell. To add insult to injury, some insurers also seem to be adding penalties or withdrawing coverage for housing voucher holders.

April 3, 2024 - Shelterforce Magazine

Suburban outdoor mall in muted colors with decorative tower.

Is the City Moving to the Suburbs?

Is the recent trend to build more walkable suburbs a sign of sustainable change?

April 2, 2024 - Governing

View from under Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD.

Protecting Bridges From Ship Collisions

A civil engineer outlines the federal regulations and mechanisms aimed at preventing the damage and loss of life seen in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

April 2, 2024 - Governing

Large brown wood conference table surrounded by black leather chairs.

State DOTs Don’t Resemble Their Constituencies — And That’s a Problem

Streetsblog calls attention to the lack of representation of women, people of color, and other groups in state departments of transportation that are largely dominated by white men.

April 1, 2024 - Streetsblog USA

24-hour parking sign above parking garage entrance through which you can see a white SUV driving

Want to Reduce Traffic Congestion? Cash Out Employer-Paid Parking

Employer-paid parking will undermine New York City’s congestion tolls. But parking cash-out policies like those in California and Washington D.C. can solve the problem.

April 1, 2024 - Donald Shoup

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.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

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.