United States

Pedestrians

Pedestrian Shaming Is the Wrong Way to Vision Zero

It seems like pedestrian safety campaigns that focus on the errors and guilt of pedestrians miss the point. Shaming pedestrians will not keep them safe, but safer streets will.

November 3, 2016 - Curbed

Amazon Drive Thru

Amazon Planning to Open 2,000 Drive Thru Grocery Stores

Amazon plans to build 2,000 drive through grocery stores across the country.

November 2, 2016 - Modern Cities

Los Angeles STreet

How Los Angeles Redefined Mobility as a Service

Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds discusses her vision for urban mobility and the growing role of city leadership.

November 2, 2016 - The Planning Report

Harvard

Advocates to Harvard: We Don't Need Another Study

After receiving a large grant to study poverty and income inequality, the Hutchins Center of African and African-American Studies finds itself having to justify the need to study the problems, rather than spending that money on programs or services.

November 1, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Flood

Small Number of Repeatedly Flooded Properties Account for Much of Flooding’s Cost

New policies may be needed to encourage more responsible development and keep builders from constructing structures that will inevitably be flooded.

November 1, 2016 - Pew Charitable Trusts

Climate Change

The White House Announces a Big New Resilience Collaboration

The White House yesterday announced several initiatives aimed at improving awareness of resilience practices around the country. One of the initiatives has enlisted 97 universities and other organizations to train design professionals.

November 1, 2016 - WhiteHouse.gov

Pumping Gas

U.S. Gasoline Consumption Jumps Three Percent in First Six Months of 2016

Gasoline consumption continued to increase for the first six months of the year, as it has for the last years, reports the Federal Highway Administration. What's different this year is that it was by the largest amount, ever.

November 1, 2016 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

The Bronx

The Promise and Significance of Planning Month

This October, the American Planning Association celebrated National Community Planning Month, or #PlanningMonth for short.

October 31, 2016 - James Brasuell

Volkswagen

U.S. District Court Judge Approves $14.7 Billion Settlement in VW Emissions Scandal

The record deal between Volkswagen, the federal government, California, and consumers directs $5 billion to states to mitigate air pollution. The remainder will be used to compensate consumers who purchased the tampered diesel cars.

October 31, 2016 - Reuters

Cement

Google Fiber Halts Expansion Plans

Alphabet will likely pursue other ways to deliver high-speed fiber-optic internet service.

October 31, 2016 - New York Times

Section 8 Kids

Study: Children Benefit From Public Housing

New research challenges prevailing wisdom on the best kind of housing assistance.

October 31, 2016 - The Washington Post

Stunning Acquittal of Defendants in Standoff with Feds at Oregon Wildlife Refuge

Will the acquittal of seven defendants in a U.S. district court who used force to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon last January embolden other takeovers of public lands by resentful ranchers or militia?

October 31, 2016 - High Country News

Camden

How *Not* To Do Economic Development

It's clear that New Jersey’s economic development planners didn't spend much time thinking about opportunity costs when they approved $1.1 billion in tax incentives under the Grow NJ program.

October 28, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Facebook Ads Haven't Figured Out the Fair Housing Act

Facebook's advertising platform might run afoul of the Fair Housing Act of 1968—a reminder of the risks as new business models gain traction on the Internet.

October 28, 2016 - ProPublica

Urban Sky

Y Combinator's New Cities Project Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

The Silicon Valley start-up devoted to reinventing the city made a splashy hire this week.

October 28, 2016 - TechCrunch

Busy Downtown

Density Doesn't Measure the Success of Cities

Using density as a metric of urban quality is misleading and inadequate, according to an article on CityLab.

October 28, 2016 - CityLab

Millau Viaduct

Lack of State, Local Infrastructure Investments Slowing the U.S. Economy

The Wall Street Journal builds a case that a slow down in state and local infrastructure investments is having a broad impact on the national economy.

October 28, 2016 - The Wall Street Journal

Tax

Behind the Popularity of Transportation Tax Increases

Transportation ballot measures are popular this November: over 70 populate ballots across the country. In California and elsewhere, they supplement declining federal and state funds for local infrastructure.

October 27, 2016 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Pope Francis

In the U.S., Climate Politics Trump the Pope's Message

The encyclical "Laudato si: On the Care of Our Common Home" might have scored public relations points among environmentalists last year, but according to a new study, it didn't score any points with Catholics or the broader U.S. population.

October 27, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Three-Car Garage

Garage Construction Continues to Outpace Apartment Construction

New data reveal the U.S. housing industry's preference for garages for cars over apartments for people.

October 27, 2016 - Bloomberg

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.