United States

Birds Eye View of the George Washington Bridge

Bridgegate Implications for New Jersey and Beyond

In The New York Times Sunday Review, Matt Katz, a political reporter for WNYC and New Jersey Public Radio, gives an update on the federal trial for 'Bridgegate' and also paints a bleak picture for New Jersey, and maybe the United States.

October 3, 2016 - The New York Times - Sunday Review

Landmark Agreement Reached to Increase New Jersey Gas Tax by 23 Cents

A day after a fatal NJ Transit train crash at the Hoboken Terminal, Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic leaders of the legislature announced the agreement to raise the tax by 159 percent; the first increase to the *14.5-cent tax since 1990.

October 2, 2016 - The New York Times - N.Y. / Region

Amsterdam

Tamping Down Urban Heat Islands

As summer temperatures rise and heat waves roll through, cities can take steps to keep cool. But shedding the heat may be difficult for urban areas designed to retain it.

October 2, 2016 - The New Yorker

Drive Thru

Are Drive-Thru Stores Appropriate For Walkable Neighborhoods?

Anthony Morando of New York's Cuddy & Feder LLP offers an opinion that drive-thru uses like fast food stores and pharmacies can co-exist in walkable communities. Examples given of drive-thru stores that have been designed to be contextually sensitive

September 30, 2016 - Modern Cities

Google Headquarters

Is the Company Town Back? Sort Of.

Unlike the earlier iteration, today's full-amenity tech campuses provide their well-paid engineers with Millennial-friendly upper middle class comforts. But is that enough?

September 30, 2016 - Architecture Boston

Cars

White House Announces New Wave of 'Smart Cities Initiative' Funding

The Obama Administration is offering another $80 million in funding to test new transportation technologies.

September 30, 2016 - Next City

Old Man Cyclist

Friday Funny: Some Cyclists Hand Signal Better Than Others

The satirical website The Onion once again casts its gaze on the habits of cyclists.

September 30, 2016 - The Onion

Washington D.C. - The White House

Planetizen Week in Review: September 30, 2016

Welcome, President Obama, to the NIMBY wars.

September 30, 2016 - Planetizen

Home For Sale Signs

A Case Against Homeownership

Against all odds, both political parties agree on at least one thing: the merits of homeownership. But is buying a home really such a great investment, even for the well-off?

September 29, 2016 - Market Urbanism

I-5 Widening

Critiquing the $1.9 Billion Project to Widen I-5 in Los Angeles County

Streetsblog slams Caltrans for wasting $1.9 billion on futile freeway widening projects.

September 29, 2016 - LA.Streetsblog

Tuscany

'The Well-Tempered City': An Epic Book, and Why

In a review of Jonathan F.P. Rose's new book, 'The Well-Tempered City,' Chuck Wolfe enthusiastically endorses Rose's refreshing world view.

September 28, 2016 - The Huffington Post

Fund Clean Energy - Stop HRL Coal Fired power station - withdraw federal grant

Clean Power Plan Showdown in U.S. Appeals Court on Tuesday

The Obama Administration's most powerful environmental initiative, the Clean Power Plan, was put on hold by the Supreme Court last February. It was heard by 10 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. on September 27.

September 28, 2016 - The Associated Press

Debate

What the First Debate Taught About the Candidate's Positions on Cities

Urbanists and their ilk might have been disappointed in the first presidential debate's lack of focused attention to affordable housing, infrastructure, and other issues of importance to cities.

September 28, 2016 - Next City

Wildfire

Building Houses in Wildfire Country

Developments boom in high risk fire areas, even as fires continue to increase in duration, severity and damage.

September 28, 2016 - The Wall Street Journal

Outhouse

Close to a Half Million Americans Lack Proper Plumbing

Nearly 500,000 people in the rural parts of the United States cannot afford modern plumbing.

September 28, 2016 - The New York Times

Melbourne

Jan Gehl on the Politics of Transforming Cities

Advancing the politics of public transportation and public spaces is not easy. Danish architect Jan Gehl and his firm Gehl Architects, however, have a track record of success with cities around the world.

September 28, 2016 - Lily Song

Buffalo, New York

Geographers Seek Patterns and Solutions to Help Declining American Cities

Geographers publish results of a two-year study on declining cities around the country in a new book, "Shrinking Cities: Understanding Urban Decline in the United States."

September 27, 2016 - Next City

Cleveland

Cleveland–East Cleveland Merger Plan Overlooks Main Issue

East Cleveland, a struggling suburb of Cleveland, has ended up in so much fiscal distress that it is considering allowing Cleveland to annex it as a desperation move. We may need to rethink our decades of assumptions about home rule in the Northeast.

September 27, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Gas Pump

Unable or Unwilling to Hike Gas Taxes, Illinois and New Jersey Go to Voters

However, neither state will ask voters to increase the gas tax. Instead, they ask voters to assure that gas tax and other transportation-derived revenues are spent on transportation. Neither state has raised the tax in over 25 years.

September 27, 2016 - Governing

Gehry Fondation Louis Vuitton

Foolish Utopianism in Today's Top Architecture

Reviewing Douglas Murphy's book "Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture," Jonathan Meades lays into the new utopianism of contemporary architecture. Silicon Valley gets portrayed as both foolish and hypocritical.

September 27, 2016 - London Review of 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.

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.