United States
Friday Eye Candy: A Satellite View of the Country's Winter Blanket
We know not everyone is pleased with the winter right now, but there's no denying the beauty of the United States when it's covered in snow.
A Case for Putting Kids First
Instead of "Bikers First!" or "Creative Class First!" James Siegel, president of Kaboom!, proposes an alternative for cities: "Kids First!"
Are You Getting the Change You Want from the Status Quo?
That question may seem like a contradiction, but it couldn't be more pertinent to communities and land use—existing codes and policies generate change by shaping investment.
Cause of Crude-by-Rail Explosions Identified
The Wall Street Journal's senior energy reporter, Russell Gold, is interviewed on NPR about the February 16 derailment and explosion in West Virginia of an oil-train hauling 109 tanker cars of Bakken crude from North Dakota.
Friday Funny: Infrastructure: 'If Anything Exciting Happens We've Done it Wrong'
The news satire show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" gave comic treatment to the country's ever-present, much-neglected infrastructure crisis. It's hilarious and scary. At the same time!
Nextdoor—the 'Facebook for Neighborhoods—Catching on with Investors and Users
As social media platforms evolve into specific niches, the Nextdoor platform is quickly expanding its online version of neighborhood-level interaction.
On the U.S. Transportation System's Structures of Inequality
The tendency of transportation planning of the 20th and 21st centuries to negatively impact poor and minority populations received deep attention on national media outlets over the past few days.
Book Review: Zoned in the USA
"Zoned in the USA: The Origins and Implications of American Land-Use Regulation," by Sonja Hirt, describes the exceptional characteristics, compared to European land use regulations, that make U.S. zoning laws so conducive to sprawl.
Expiring Leases Causing Headaches for EV Manufacturers
The Nissan Leaf, the world's best selling electric vehicle (EV), has a major depreciation problem: leasing contracts are so favorable that when the lease expires, dealers return many of them to the manufacturer because of low demand.
1954 Report Explains a lot About Parking Requirements, Shopping Centers
Historic planning documents, like those found in the APA's Planning Advisory Service, are full of lessons about how past planning doctrines failed their intentions, and it's always a good time for planners to re-evaluate their antecedents.
New Mobile App Alerts Drivers to People on Bikes
A free app, still very nascent in its adoption, alerts drivers to the presence of bikers.
Where the United States Is Diversifying the Fastest
The Brookings Institution has been using new media formats to illustrate the striking demographic changes sweeping the country.
How Form-Based Ideas Could Transform Community Planning
Let's discuss how community planning could be fundamentally reorganized to improve both efficiency and placemaking.
Norfolk Southern's $2.4 Billion Capital Improvement Plan for 2015
A railroad that spans 22 states on the East Coast as well as in the South and Midwest plans to spend a record $2.4 billion on capital improvements this year.
ULI Launches Online Housing Resource
The Urban Land Institute just rolled out How Housing Matters, an online portal for news, research, infographics, and multimedia examining how housing affects community health.
Does America Still Want Sprawl?
Increased awareness of sprawl’s negative effects has not led to a drop-off in its construction. Developers say they only build what the market demands.
How Dense Cities Reap Green Benefits
What they may lack in peace and quiet, crowded cities more than make up for by requiring residents to live smaller. Tangible environmental benefits follow.
Regulating the Little Free Library
The Little Free Library movement is a well-intentioned overture to literate neighborliness. In spite of lacking obvious drawbacks, certain officials argue it should undergo more stringent permitting.
Revised Data Shows Vehicle Miles Traveled Increased in 2013
Peak VMT reportedly occurred in 2007, but that may not stand long according to updated DOT estimates of 2013 travel. According to the data, Americans drove nearly three trillion miles. Another finding is the large increase in number of vehicles.
Survey Finds Surprising Attitudes toward Increasing Gas Tax
If there's a solid take-away from the California Field Poll, it is not to ask residents how they feel about raising gas taxes, or any one option for that matter. Rather, offer a menu of funding alternatives and the results become more meaningful.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
