United States

Ten Provocative Ideas for Bicycling Architecture
Arch Daily presents the ten major ideas to emerge from a "design provocation" for big ideas to push trip share of bike in New York City closer to, and even beyond, the levels of Copenhagen.
Op-Ed: Urban Design Should Mind the Line Between 'Cute' and 'Safe'
Sarah Goodyear writes a dissenting take on the "cutestification" of urban design—calling for a priority on clean and safe over "fun."
Manufactured Housing: Underutilized and Misunderstood
What will it take for manufactured housing, the principal source of unsubsidized, affordable homes in the United States, to reach its potential?
Is There Ever a Good Time to Increase the Federal Gas Tax?
Oil prices are at a five-year low with gasoline prices averaging $2.67 a gallon, lowest since February 2010. Furthermore, they are expected to drop another 17 cents to $2.50 a gallon in time for Christmas, so why not raise the gas tax by a nickel?
Former D.C. Mayor Reminds Cities to Retain a Sense of Place
Anthony Williams, who served two terms as D.C. mayor and is credited with the city's turnaround, spoke about creating great neighborhoods at a panel event held by local media company Elevation DC. Cities, he said, need to retain their sense of place.
Explained: How Protected Bike Lanes Improve Pedestrian Safety
An article in Treehugger explains the public safety benefits of protected bike lanes by appealing to common sense.

When Planners Misread Maps: It's Time to Rethink Zoning
Jordan Fraade writes of the embarrassing mishap of the New York City department that misread its own zoning maps. What else are we missing, and at what cost, because of byzantine land use regulations?
Mileage Fee Worries in the Golden State
California's mileage fee pilot program legislation is now law. Dan Weikel of the Los Angeles Times raises two concerns drivers have regarding the switch to a mileage-based fee from a gas tax: privacy and fairness.
How a Land Trust Property Went Viral
Defy Media created a Prank It Fwd video that has received over 5 million YouTube views. What those viewers didn't know was that the house given away in the video is part of a land trust from Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland.
Study Finds that Gasoline Prices Impact Home Values
A study published by the Brooking Institution finds varying results, depending on the neighborhood, for a study of the impact of gasoline prices on home values.

Top 10 Books - 2015
Planetizen is pleased to release its list of the ten best books in urban planning, design, and development published in 2014.
Republican Co-Sponsors Rep. Earl Blumenauer's 15-cent Gas Tax Bill
The good news is that a House Republican now supports raising the gas tax to balance the ailing Highway Trust Fund. The bad news is that come Jan. 3, Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), a 36-year member, will be a former congressman—he is retiring on Dec. 26
House Approves Defense Bill; Compromises on Protections of Public Lands
As part of a compromise, the most ambitious public lands package in years was approved earlier this week by the House of Representatives as an addendum to a must-pass defense bill.
Report Finds Doubled Concentrations of Poverty Since 1970
A new report from City Observatory analyzes urban poverty and gentrification using census data from 1970 to 2010.
Does Peak Car Mean the End of Induced Demand?
Aaron Renn provides a dissenting argument on the implications of peak car, namely, "if we’ve really reached peak car, maybe we really can build our way out of congestion after all."

Affordable Accessory Dwelling Units
Prospect Newtown, in Longmont, CO, has seamlessly integrated affordable housing by creating a host of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The ADUs are perfectly blended within the town overall—and actually help contribute to the development’s success.
Explained: America's Complex System of Oil Transportation
A new analysis by Joseph Kane, Robert Puentes, and Adie Tomer examines America's current infrastructure of transporting oil throughout the country.
Report: Bus Rapid Transit Up 383 Percent in Ten Years
Jarrett Walker shares news and analysis of a recent study by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) finding explosive growth in the construction of bus rapid transit lines around the world in the last ten years.

The 20 Cities with the Deepest Roots
Cities with long-time residents develop their own character—a recent analysis by Governing identified data to rank such distinct cities.
2015: Year of the First-Time Homebuyer
New data released by online real estate marketplace Zillow suggests that 2015 will be a breakthrough year for first-time homebuyers.
Pagination
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
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Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie