United States

End of the Line for Honda's CNG-Fueled Cars, Civic Hybrid, and Accord Plug-In

Honda announced that low gas prices contributed to low demand for the Civic Natural Gas, the only compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered car for sale, the Civic Hybrid, and their first plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle, the Accord.

June 18, 2015 - Wall Street Journal

Mapping the Ongoing Challenges of Environmental Justice

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a new tool to visualize the ongoing realties of environmental justice in cities around the country.

June 18, 2015 - Fusion

Urban Institute Report: Peak Homeownership Reached Nine Years Ago

Homeownership peaked at 67.3% in 2006. The Urban Institute forecasts its decline to the year 2030. Emily Badger of The Washington Post Wonkblog writes on the report released this month that evaluates homeownership rates among different demographics.

June 17, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Lyft

Suburbs Jump on Ride-Hailing Bandwagon

Ride-hailing services have already conquered center cities, with companies like Uber and Lyft changing the landscape for commuters, visitors, and late-night revelers alike. The next challenge: solving the suburban-to-urban commute.

June 17, 2015 - InTransition

Legislation to Decimate the Federal Gas Tax Resurfaces

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has reintroduced a bill to cut the federal gas tax by 80 percent and give transportation authority to states, known as devolution. Also, House Transportation Chair Bill Shuster is promoting repatriation as a funding source.

June 16, 2015 - The Hill

San Jose Arterial Street

Study Measures Street Connectivity for Evidence of Sprawl's Decline

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds evidence of the decline of sprawl as the dominant form of construction in the United States and attracted lots of media attention in the process.

June 16, 2015 - Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences

Hollywood Sign

Book Review: 'City by City'

A Planetizen review of "City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis," edited by Keith Gessen and Stephen Squibb, finds too much to fault in the book's essay about Los Angeles.

June 16, 2015 - Josh Stephens

Governing Profiles Charles Marohn's Message on Transportation Funding

An article for Governing profiles the method and message of Charles Marohn, known to Planetizen readers as the name behind the Strong Towns blog.

June 15, 2015 - Governing

HUD's 'Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing' Provokes Controversy in Congress

A rule proposed by the Obama Administration has been criticized for attempting to build an "unrealistic utopia." The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing would require cities to fund affordable housing in a broader spectrum of neighborhoods.

June 15, 2015 - The Hill

Record U.S. Oil Production Assures Low Gas Prices Through 2016

Oil prices plummeted 60 percent since last summer, yet American crude output will reach a record this year according to the Energy Information Administration's Fall Short-Term Energy Outlook. Gas prices will drop about 35 cents this year.

June 14, 2015 - USA Today

Toward a Definition of Mixed-Use

A panel at the recent Urban Land Institute conference in Houston considers the imperative of understanding mixed-use development and its various forms.

June 13, 2015 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Road Diet in the Works

24 Road Diet Case Studies from the U.S. Department of Transportation

Following a "Mayors Challenge" for bike safety by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently released a "Road Diets" report, providing a geographical diverse collection of case studies.

June 12, 2015 - Publicola

Harvard Report: Fracking Yields Equity Gains for American Workforce

A new Harvard Business School report lays the economic and equity case for fracking—through direct and indirect job creation, America's middle class is reaping substantial wage gains and reduced energy costs. Renewables are also discussed.

June 12, 2015 - NPR Morning Edition

Report: How Did Reagan More than Double the Gas Tax in 1982?

A new report by the Eno Center for Transportation looks at the landmark five cent gas tax increase of 1982, more than doubling the existing tax, and explores its relevance to today's federal transportation funding crisis.

June 11, 2015 - Eno Center for Transportation

How Landlords Segregate Neighborhoods

Exploring the persistence of racial segregation as a result of U.S. housing policies—policies intended to break patterns of segregation, not reproduce them.

June 10, 2015 - The Atlantic

New York City Construction

U.S. Opposition to New Development

New data from the 2015 Saint Index shows what projects provoke the most opposition in the United States when proposed "In your community."

June 10, 2015 - The 2015 Saint Index

A Progress Report for the New Markets Tax Credit Program

During the ups and downs of recovery, acquiring and making the most of funding has been critical for distressed communities. A new report details the recent results from one such source, the New Markets Tax Credit program.

June 10, 2015 - New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

McKinney: Public, Private Divide Often Follows Race

Urbanism media noted the growing privatization of recreation facilities, such as pools, as one of the lessons to be taken from a controversial encounter between police and black teenagers in McKinney, Texas over the weekend.

June 9, 2015 - The Atlantic

U.S. EPA Provides Guidance for Infill Development in Distressed Communities

Not every city is benefitting from downtown revitalization in the same way, so the U.S. EPA has released a new report offering strategies for in fill development in "distressed" communities.

June 9, 2015 - U.S. EPA

Uhaul Trucks

The New Housing Crisis: Declining Homeownership, Increasing Rental Costs

Research from the Urban Institute identifies market and demographic trends that could mean a future housing market that will stand in stark contrast to the "subprime mania of the early 2000s."

June 9, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.