United States

Suburban multi-family

Debating the Feasibility of Retrofitting Suburbia

Is the challenge of retrofitting sprawl intractable or unavoidable?

August 5, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Mapping the Location and Scale of U.S. Electricity Capacity

A series of maps from The Washington Post answers the questions of how and where the United States gets its energy.

August 5, 2015 - The Washington Post

Gentrification

Calculator Answers the Question: Are You a Gentrifier?

Let the debate ensue about the accuracy (not to mention the appropriateness) of the "Gentrifier Calculator" exercise.

August 5, 2015 - Slate

5 Lessons from the Growing Open Streets Movement

As Open Streets events become more popular and spread to cities all over the world, emerging trends show how to make the most of the opportunity to reclaim streets from cars for a few hours.

August 5, 2015 - Open Streets Project

Old Timey Ticky Tacky

400 Years of Single-Family Homes in America

A data visualization project illustrates the long and varied traditions of American single-family housing.

August 4, 2015 - The Washington Post

Traffic and Speed

End These 5 Transportation Planning 'Rule of Thumbs'

An op-ed calls for an end to five examples of them planning status quo, and recommends four new "rule of thumbs" that can provide a better model for the transportation planning of the future.

August 4, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

Human-Centered Design

Innovating the Planning Process Through Community-Centered Design

Sean O'Malley and Andrew Watkins, of the landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm SWA, describe the benefits of a design process that empowers people and communities to participate.

August 4, 2015 - Sean O'Malley and Andrew Watkins

President Obama's Clean Power Plan Is Nation's Strongest Climate Initiative

Just over a year ago President Obama's draft Clean Power Plan was unveiled. That proposal has been finalized and the president promoted it at a press event on Monday. The final rule is both stronger and more lenient that the original proposal.

August 3, 2015 - The Guardian

A Really, Really Big Fuel Cell Vehicle Possibly Coming to the Bay Area

This vehicle would be larger than a Hummer, a bus, and even an 18-wheeler. Then again, it would not travel on land. The proposal goes by an appropriate acronym: SF-BREEZE. Think fresh air over the bay.

August 3, 2015 - AASHTO Journal

Harnessing Social Resilience in the Rust Belt

Paterson, New Jersey's diverse immigrant population holds the potential to revive the city's declining economy. Writer Jeff Byles documents key resources the city has and how similar postindustrial cities have harnessed community-driven planning.

August 3, 2015 - Doggerel

Busy Crossing Street

A Decade of Walkable Strides in Transit Innovation

A new Transit Center report shows what it takes to enact change.

August 3, 2015 - Next City

Smiling couple on a blanket in a park in Denmark

Measuring Well-Being in Santa Monica

The beachfront town known for its surfers and celebrities is collecting data that dig deeper than traditional measures of economic prosperity, and the results may be surprising.

August 3, 2015 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Arpingstone

First Roundabout Comes to New York City

Roundabouts, not to be confused with traffic circles, are becoming popular throughout the United States. The Bronx will get the first one in NYC. The insurance industry and FHWA consider them far safer than traffic lights and stop signs.

August 3, 2015 - The New York Times - Wheels

Speed Limit

The Origins of Speed Limits

Motor vehicle crashes claim over 30,000 lives per year, with related costs in the hundreds of billions. While we sometimes view that frightening statistic as inevitable, there are reasons to reexamine speed limits and how we set them.

August 2, 2015 - Five Thirty Eight

President Obama Signs Three-Month Transportation Funding Bill

The Senate was hard at work on Thursday, passing not one but two transportation funding bills—first its controversial six-year (funded for three) transportation reauthorization bill, the DRIVE Act, and then, most importantly, the patch bill.

August 2, 2015 - The Hill

Tax the 1 Percent

How Falling Inequality Rates Mislead

While the vast majority of cities saw an increase—or no decrease—in neighborhood inequality since 1990, nearly 30 regions became more equal. But paper equality can be problematic when the rich simply up and left town.

August 1, 2015 - Urban Institute

Bed Stuy view

The Political Semantics of Housing Segregation

Two authors agree that housing policies in the War on Poverty have failed. Are those policies too progressive, or not progressive enough?

July 31, 2015 - Market Urbanism

Brooklyn

Friday Funny: Hipster Havens in All 50 States

Everyone has heard about Silver Lake, the Mission, and, of course, Brooklyn. But what about East Village, NuLu, Fondren, and Haymarket? Hipsters are everywhere! These are the top hipster neighborhoods—the Brooklyns, if you will—in all 50 states

July 31, 2015 - Thrillist

New Report Ranks Metros on Transportation, Land Use, and More

To make a strategic assessment of the St. Louis region, the 7th edition of "Where We Stand" ranks the largest 50 metropolitan areas on more than 200 variables.

July 31, 2015 - East-West Gateway Council of Governments

A Community of Brick Suburban Homes on a cloudy summer day

The Changing Face of Suburban America

As the nation becomes more racially diverse, so too do the suburbs.

July 31, 2015 - Brookings: The Avenue

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.