United States

Toll Road Truck

Toll Rates at Center of Controversy in Public-Private Partnership in Virginia

Elizabeth River Tunnels, a complex project involving a new tunnel, rehabilitating two existing tunnels, and extending an expressway, is financed by a public-private partnership that includes tolls that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) called "exorbitant."

May 2, 2016 - PBS NewsHour

United States from Space

DataUSA: An Intuitive Tool for Public Data

A collaboration between Deloitte, Datawheel, and MIT has produced an intuitive aesthetically-pleasing gathering point for public data in the United States. Specific locations and industries boast easy-to-read profiles.

May 2, 2016 - CityLab

Denver TOD

3 Examples of Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Policies

Mobility Lab tackles the challenges of building affordable housing near transit (i.e., transit-oriented affordable housing) by providing specific, real-world examples from cities and states.

May 2, 2016 - Mobility Lab

Woman Computer

Four Steps to Enhanced Crowdsourcing

The second "Empowered Design, By 'the Crowd'" article offers insight into making the most out of new crowdsourcing resources.

May 2, 2016 - Kendra L. Smith and Lindsey Collins

Tampa Skyline

'Normal America' According to Demographics

The common perception of everyday America as a land of small towns and white faces doesn't reflect the current reality. Demographic analysis reveals "normal America" in cities like New Haven and Tampa.

May 1, 2016 - FiveThirtyEight

Carfree Freeway

Righting Old Wrongs: U.S. DOT Goes from Urban Renewal to Freeway Removal

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx sees rebuilding America's ailing infrastructure as an opportunity to "right past wrongs," particularly with 1950s and 1960s-era freeways that bisected communities. NPR and Streetsblog describe the new initiative.

April 30, 2016 - NPR

Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta

Environmentalist Alarmed Over California-Focused Federal Water Legislation

An op-ed argues that instead of building a more resilient and sustainable water supply infrastructure, two water bills before congress would rollback exiting environmental protections.

April 29, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

High Line with Denari

Don't Forget the Neighborhoods Zoning Reform Leaves Behind

While urbanists target zoning reform to help build more housing in desirable neighborhoods, other neighborhoods around cities are being left behind to languish, according to this opinion piece published by Forbes.

April 29, 2016 - Forbes

Modern high speed bullet train in China

The Pop Culture Verdict: Transit Is Hip

Several decades ago, public transit was a distinctly low-quality way of getting around. Now, if we can believe TV and movies depicting the near future, all that has changed. Transit has become aspirational.

April 29, 2016 - Governing

Barcelona Bikeshare

Report: Bikeshare Makes Biking Safer

In the United States, not a single bikeshare rider has died in an accident so far. A report from the Mineta Transportation Institute considers why bikeshare may be safer than conventional biking.

April 29, 2016 - Vox

Phoenix is Crane City

Op-Ed: Investing in Cities Could Cure 'Short-Termism'

Bruce Katz argues that federal investment in urban areas fosters a public/private ecosystem that can prioritize long-term thinking, minimizing the "short-termism" endemic to corporations and governments acting alone.

April 28, 2016 - Brookings

Trees

What's a Tree Worth?

The U.S. Forest Service has continued to refine the valuable i-Tree software program, which allows cities to calculate the benefits, in dollar figures, of the urban forest.

April 28, 2016 - CityLab

Greenwich Village

New Storefront Index Reveals Evidence of Jacobs's 'Sidewalk Ballet'

City Observatory illustrates a key contributor to a vibrant urban environment by mapping all of the businesses in the urban cores of the nation's 51 largest cities.

April 28, 2016 - City Observatory

Portland Pearl District Streetcar

PBS Takes on Urban Planning, Good and Bad, with '10 Towns' Special

Beginning with the first U.S. planned urban development, St. Augustine, Fla., and ending with one of Portland's newest neighborhoods, the Pearl District, host Geoffrey Baer takes us through ten developments that left their mark, for better or worse.

April 27, 2016 - PBS

Self-Driving Car

Self-Driving Cars Have Their Own Lobby Now

A coalition of the automated, if you will, as Ford, Volvo, Google, Uber, and Lyft have formed the new Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets to lobby for the causes of the nascent self-driving car industry.

April 27, 2016 - Automotive News

Facebook's Live Video Has Consequences for Local Governments

Localities face differing requirements from state to state when it comes to using social media. Are you ready for live video?

April 27, 2016 - Government Technology

Woman on Transit

How Planning Fails to Make Women-Friendly Urban Places

Planning decisions overwhelmingly don't address women's needs, according to an article in The Huffington Post.

April 27, 2016 - The Huffington Post

Dog Park

Report: Dog Parks 'Lead the Pack' in New Urban Parks

The Trust for Public Land's annual City Parks Facts report finds cities around the country are adding dog parks with the enthusiasm of a pack puppies.

April 26, 2016 - PR Newswire

Millennials

Millennials Now Greater Than Baby Boomers

According to U.S. Census data released this month, Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers, and there are only more Millennials on the way.

April 26, 2016 - Pew Research Center

New York Street

Guide to Improved Street Designs: Pay Attention to Precedent

What does a successfully multi-modal and livable street look like? There are examples all over the world, if you're paying attention.

April 25, 2016 - CityLab

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.