United States

Comparing Taxi, Transportation Network Company Fares Reveals the 'Cost of Loyalty'

An app that compares fares across transportation network company platforms reveals several lessons about the state of competition in this new transportation frontier.

November 1, 2014 - Architect This City

Scientists Pick up Seismic Vibrations from Human Transportation

For the first time, researchers were able to detect the vibrations created by human transportation systems.

November 1, 2014 - Popular Science

Oil Rigs

Report Predicts Early End to Shale Boom

The current shale boom can't last forever. A new report says it will end much sooner that the federal government realizes.

November 1, 2014 - CleanTechnica

Campaign 2014: Louisiana, Maryland, and Wisconsin Transportation Measures

Maryland and Wisconsin will not ask voters to raise taxes for transportation, but will ask them to adopt constitutional restrictions to ensure gas tax funds are not diverted for other purposes. Louisiana hopes to create an infrastructure bank.

November 1, 2014 - Governing

Hoover Dam

Mapping the New Deal

The Living New Deal Project Map from the University of California, Berkeley was released earlier this month, pinpointing all of the New Deal projects around the United States.

October 31, 2014 - Vox

Roosevelt Arch

MapStory Traces the Development of the United States

Interested in tracing the development of everything from urban bike lanes to national parks to rocket test sites?

October 31, 2014 - CityLab

The Environmental Downside of Falling Oil Prices

Ben Adler of Grist writes how falling oil prices will affect climate change. Cheaper gas prices may encourage more driving and more truck sales at the expense of hybrid, electric, and fuel efficient cars, but the news may not be all bad.

October 31, 2014 - Grist

The Federal Housing Administration's Ongoing, Systematic Obstruction of Density

Scott Beyer writes that despite changes to policies allowing insured mortgages by the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA), the federal government continues to obstruct density by limiting support for condo owners.

October 30, 2014 - Governing

play fountain

For Playable Cities: Make the City a Playground

The "Using Behavioral Economics to Create Playable Cities" report suggests that so much time spent in front of screens, and the continued need to counter the obesity epidemic, requires new thinking about play for children living in cities.

October 30, 2014 - Next City

Racial Inequalities Withholding $2.1 Trillion from U.S. GDP

A new study by PolicyLink and the University of Southern California's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity showed that U.S. GDP would expand by $2.1 trillion if racial minorities had equal access to opportunities within the job market.

October 30, 2014 - National Journal

Home For Sale Signs

Generation X Leads the Decline of Homeownership

A snarky post written for The Atlantic identifies a forgotten culprit in the country's dropping homeownership rates: Generation X.

October 29, 2014 - The Atlantic

Congestion Pricing on Legacy Roadways

What happens when there is no room to widen a congested roadway? One solution is to build above the roadway. Another, suggests an HNTB expert, would be to convert an existing lane into a managed toll lane and fund transit with the revenue.

October 29, 2014 - Roll Call

Dispute Over Bike Fatality Report

The Governors Highway Safety Association released a report titled Bicyclist Safety showing a surge in bike fatalities since 2010. The report provoked widespread media coverage and, also, strongly critical reactions.

October 29, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Marshaling a Grab for Public Land in the Western United States

Faced with the prospect of states seizing control of federal lands to potentially sell to private owners, a resident of New Mexico argues against "the land grab out west."

October 28, 2014 - The New York Times

Housing Affordability Follows Partisan Divide

Recent analysis by Trulia found that the current housing market shows trends that follow along conservative and liberal lines—specifically, that the country's "blue" states are much more expensive than the "red" states.

October 28, 2014 - Trulia Trends Blog

The ULI Urban Open Space Award Goes to Klyde Warren Park in Dallas

The ULI has granted its annual award for the best new open space to Klyde Warren Park, a freeway cap park in Dallas.

October 28, 2014 - Urban Land Institute

Is there a Right Way to Measure Bad Driving?

There isn't one way to measure how badly groups of people (like, say, residents of New Jersey) drive, but there is plenty of data available about how driving often goes terribly wrong.

October 27, 2014 - Five Thirty Eight

Cars Still Essential for Economic Opportunity

Recent data shows that workers need cars to access jobs and economic opportunity. What can planners do to expand access to jobs via other alternative modes of transportation?

October 27, 2014 - Brookings: The Avenue

Bikeshare's Income Disparity Problem

A new report sheds light on the income gap in the use of bikeshare systems around the world.

October 27, 2014 - CityLab

Tolls vs Taxes and the State of the American Highway

Making up only seven percent of U.S. interstate miles, the future of toll roads is bright according to Brooking's Robert Puentes and Diane Rehm's other guests in a 52-minute, wide ranging discussion on gas taxes, toll roads, and privatization.

October 27, 2014 - WAMU

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.