United States

Infrastructure

President Trump's $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Just Became More Costly

While he has yet to explain how he would pay for the plan, the 'anti-regulation' president did add a costly and controversial requirement on Tuesday — a 'Buy America' provision that likely extends beyond the existing regulation.

March 2, 2017 - NPR

Train Tracks Los Angeles

U.S. Cities Brace to Lose Infrastructure Funding Over Immigration Policies

Politico explores some of the projects that could be scrapped as a result of being located in sanctuary cities.

March 2, 2017 - Politico

Kid on Bus

Review: Seeing the City

Hoping to shake city folks out of our everyday stupor, Charles Wolfe has written a book on observing the city.

March 2, 2017 - CityLab

Self-Driving Car

Trump Administration Reviewing U.S. DOT's Automated Vehicle Guidelines

Among the many guidelines and rules going back to the drawing board (or ceremonial execution by executive order) at the federal level are guidelines for self-driving cars released only months ago by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

February 28, 2017 - Reuters

Changes in Environmental Policy Already Apparent on the EPA Website

A group of researchers monitoring government websites noticed changes to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website. The changes fit into the Trump Administration's "America First" politics.

February 28, 2017 - Climate Central

Old houses with large porch and colorful siding

Why Aren't We Building Middle Income Housing?

For low-income residents in high-cost areas, there's no substitute for the public sector to provide below-market rate housing. But for middle-income households, the market should be able to produce housing without subsidy. So why doesn't this happen?

February 28, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Denver TOD

Checking In With Cities That 'Lost' the Smart Cities Challenge

Denver and Austin were finalists in the competition. Since then, they've found ways to implement their ideas.

February 27, 2017 - Governing

Walkable Street

Study: Reduce Traffic with Mixed-Use Development

A new study explores how the built environment influences vehicle miles traveled.

February 27, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

Hard Rock Coliseum

Unique 'Audio Portraits' Pay Homage to Urban Noise

One man's noise pollution is another man's symphony.

February 27, 2017 - CityLab

Feather River Dam

Dams Throughout the U.S. Fail to Meet Safety Standards

It's not just Oroville and Elko County. By 2020, 70 percent of the dams in the United States will be more than 50 years old.

February 27, 2017 - The New York Times

Endangered Species

A Warning About the Threat to the Endangered Species Act

The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board issues a strong critique of ongoing Republican efforts to gut the Endangered Species Act.

February 25, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

France Public Life

We Don't Play in Public Like We Used To

As more and more children are kept in homes and yards, Joe Cortright worries about the effects of private play on American culture and public spaces.

February 25, 2017 - City Observatory

Daytona

Are EPA's Fuel Efficiency Standards the Next Environmental Rollback?

Next on President Trump's environmental chopping block may be a rollback of fuel efficiency standards. Two auto associations have asked EPA Administer Scott Pruitt to review a decision made last month to retain a 54.5 mpg target.

February 25, 2017 - The Washington Post

Uber Lyft Departure

Lyft Expands to 54 New Cities as Uber Fights Wave of Bad Press

Lyft is looking to take advantage of the recent scandals dogging Uber by expanding to 54 new cities.

February 24, 2017 - CNN

Idiot brigade

Understanding the Varieties of NIMBYism

"To get beyond NIMBYism, we first must understand it," writes Richard Florida.

February 24, 2017 - CityLab

Kid with map

Friday Eye Candy: The Childhood Maps of 8 Professional Mapmakers

Choosing cartography as a career is a natural result of a lifelong love of maps. National Geographic gathers the proof.

February 24, 2017 - National Geographic

Trump

Trump Targets Obama's Signature Environmental Rule, the Clean Power Plan

The first environmental regulation to be rescinded under President Trump was the Stream Protection Rule. It will not be the last. The president has his eyes on a rule that limits greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.

February 23, 2017 - The Washington Post

Bipartisan Support for New Market Tax Credits Emerges

Members of Congress are mobilizing to protect the popular New Market Tax Credit program, which has offered benefits in rural and urban environments.

February 23, 2017 - Next City

Spring Lake, New Jersey

Doubling Down on Infrastructure

The challenge facing the nation's infrastructure is massive in scale, requiring ambition lacking since the New Deal and Eisenhower eras. Building on those historic models, the following op-ed suggests a "WPA 2.0" approach to infrastructure.

February 22, 2017 - Armando Carbonell and Susannah Drake

Traffic

2016 Sets New U.S. Driving Record as Gas Prices Remain Low

So much for the 2015 record of 3.148 trillion miles. Last year saw a cumulative travel increase of 2.8 percent to 3.218 trillion miles, setting a new record as cheap gas contributed to increased driving.

February 22, 2017 - E&E News

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.

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.