United States

Gentrification

Friday Funny: A History of Political Cartoons on the Subject of Gentrification

Cartoonists have been satirizing the issue of gentrification for almost a century. Witness the evolution of gentrification political cartoons in an article by The Guardian.

January 22, 2016 - The Guardian Cities

Miami Highway

On the Surprising Efficiency of Big City Commutes

Logically we might assume that as cities grow larger, commutes get harder. It can certainly feel that way. But research points to structural factors that actually make commuting in big cities more efficient.

January 21, 2016 - CityLab

Demographic Changes Spell Trouble Ahead for Auto Industry

It's not only young adults who are delaying in getting drivers licenses, but a drop in licenses among all age groups according to a new analysis of license data from 1983-2014 by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

January 21, 2016 - The Fiscal Times

Walking

Reading List: Walking in the City

Sometimes, city walks can mean more than just getting from place to place. Author and book critic David Ulin discusses his favorite accounts of that rich experience.

January 21, 2016 - Barnes and Noble Review

Snow in Bike Lane

When Bike Lanes Get Snowed In

After heavy snow, protected bike lanes can be caught in an unfortunate position between roads and sidewalks. More public awareness may help keep them clear for winter cyclists.

January 21, 2016 - Chi.Streetsblog

New York Sandy Power Outage

A New Metric for Community Resilience

Though the need for resilient communities is obvious, exactly how to measure resilience is less obvious. Edward J. Jepson, Jr. provides a new metric of the evidence of a community's resilience and produces a corresponding ranking of 30 U.S. cities.

January 20, 2016 - Edward J. Jepson Jr.

Study: Transit Agencies Should Respond to the Haters

Here's a counter-intuitive proposition for transit agencies: feed the Twitter trolls.

January 20, 2016 - The Urban Edge

New Evidence of the Superiority of Bike Lanes Over Sharrows

A study presented last week to the Transportation Research Board shows that the quality of the bike infrastructure has a significant effect for commuting rates and safety.

January 20, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Report Identifies 12 'Highway Boondoggles'

A new report by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group identifies the highway projects most likely to break the transportation funding bank.

January 19, 2016 - Frontier Group

Mortality Rate Increases Dramatically Among 25-34 Year-Old White Men and Women

Similar to a recent Nobel Prize-winning study that showed increased deaths in middle-aged whites from heroin, opiates, and alcohol, a New York Times analysis shows that deaths for whites aged 25 to 34 from drug overdoses has reached historic levels.

January 19, 2016 - The New York Times

Brutalist Lines, Wales

A Critique of the Built Environment: How We Built Unhappiness

One writer's view of the modern city goes negative. If our environment affects our happiness, surely we're all suffering from depression.

January 19, 2016 - Adbusters

Mt. Hood and Traffic

Carrots and Sticks: Making Driving Alone the Worst Option

The build out of mass transit and bicycle infrastructure hasn’t been the cure-all for shifting commuters from single-person autos to alternate modes of transit, as many had hoped. Maybe it's time we start looking at how to disincentivize driving.

January 19, 2016 - The New Republic

Interior Department Halts New Coal Leases on Federal Lands

Following-up on the president's assertion in his State of the Union address to better manage coal and oil resources on federal lands to account for environmental and financial costs, the administration declared a 'pause' on issuing new coal leases.

January 18, 2016 - US News & World Report

New Research Explains Why Only Some Neighborhoods Get Bike Infrastructure

Canadian researchers made the case at the Transportation Research Board this past week that improved bike infrastructure and neighborhood gentrification go hand in hand. They used research gathered fromi Portland and Chicago.

January 18, 2016 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Tiny House

Are Tiny Houses All They Are Cracked Up To Be?

Maybe not so much, according to an article in the Globe and Mail.

January 16, 2016 - The Globe and Mail

Creating a Community of Choice

The Mountain View neighborhood in Anchorage is described as the most diverse neighborhood in the U.S., becoming a model of neighborhood change and a community of choice thanks to the efforts of local leaders and many dedicated community residents.

January 15, 2016 - Anchorage Press

Trulia Ranks the Best and Worst Neighborhoods for Renters to Park

The availability of parking can make or break opinions of neighborhoods, and renters are especially likely to be impacted by parking difficulties.

January 15, 2016 - Trulia

Tracking Cash-Only Real Estate Transactions

The U.S.Treasury Department will begin identifying and tracking secret buyers of high-end luxury real estate in Manhattan and Miami Dade County because of concerns about the illicit flow of money.

January 15, 2016 - The New York Times

FAST Act Missing from President Obama's Last State of the Union Address

President Obama's final State of the Union made no mention of the FAST Act—the first long term transportation reauthorization since SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009. It's omission baffled many high ranking leaders.

January 15, 2016 - Politico Morning Transportation

Bike Racks

Friday Funny: Parody Twitter Account Roasts the Transportation Research Board

The week has been marked by a steady stream of news about new research and ideas coming from the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. There to poke fun at it all was parody Twitter account @FakeTRB.

January 15, 2016 - Twitter

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.