United States

The Case for Selling Air Rights

Scott Beyer argues that more compact, vertically-oriented cities, like Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C., should sell the air rights above public projects.

October 1, 2014 - Governing

Map Shows the Transportation Agencies Buying Buses and Trains

Looking for a mapping tool that makes it easy to reference news about which agencies are buying what kind of rolling stock and when?

October 1, 2014 - Next City

Perfect Logic—Why Drivers and Transit Users Support Public Transportation

The American Public Transportation Association's Director of Policy Development and Research responds to Eric Jaffe's question: "If So Many People Support Transit, Why Do So Few Ride?"

October 1, 2014 - American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Republican Party Logo

A Conservative's Response to Joel Kotkin

A column by Reihan Salam takes exception to Joel Kotkin's recent portrayal of "anti-suburban conservatives."

October 1, 2014 - National Review Online

Two Narratives Derived from New Commute Data

When it comes to making sense of the American Community Survey's data on commute times, it's all about how you frame the data.

October 1, 2014 - The Brookings Institution

Calatrava PATH New York

Why Design Matters in Transportation Infrastructure Design

New Jersey School of Architecture Director Darius Sollohub writes that transportation planners and engineers should consider what their infrastructure designs will say to today's users and future generations in an essay in InTransition magazine.

September 30, 2014 - InTransition Magazine

Why Smart Cities Must be Sharing Cities

Julian Agyeman and Duncan McLaren make the case that the only smart city is a shareable city.

September 30, 2014 - Zocalo Public Square

pallets of green oil barrels stacked

Whatever Happened to Peak Oil?

The Wall Street Journal re-examines the doomsday scenarios of Peak Oil now that fracking has pushed oil production to record levels.

September 30, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Speaker Boehner: Highway Bill is 'Doable'

On a Sunday talk show, Speaker John Boehner called a long-term highway bill "in the realm of doable," though he didn't give a time frame other than "in the last two years" of President Obama's term. The current short term funding expires May 31.

September 30, 2014 - The Hill

San Francisco View from Dolores Park

Report: Cities Segregating by Employment Type—Not Just Income Level

New analysis from Richard Florida and the Martin Prosperity Institute maps segregation by employment type, finding the darker effects of the creative class.

September 29, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Mobile Apps to Inspire Walking

Bill Lindeke examines a few examples of mobile technology that encourage citizens to ditch their cars and walk. Could these technologies inspire the cultural side of the equation needed for widespread adoption of walkability?

September 29, 2014 - MinnPost

Mixed Reviews on New Passenger Rail Reauthorization Act

Six years ago Congress passed the first Passenger Rail Reauthorization Act, known as PRIIA. Reauthorization was introduced on September 11, in a bill (known as PRRIA) praised by some but also criticized for decreasing Amtrak funding by 40 percent.

September 28, 2014 - RT&S (Railway Track & Structures)

Rural Community

Quality of Life Driving 'Brain Gain' in Rural Communities

Many rural counties are experiencing “brain gains” as newcomers age 30-49 move in. This migration is keeping small towns alive and contributing to a new narrative about rural places.

September 27, 2014 - CommunityMatters

State Transportation Funding Falling Faster than Federal Transportation Funding

A new analysis form the Pew Charitable Trusts showed a 20 percent reduction in state spending on transportation between 2002 and 2011, compared to a 4 percent drop from the federal government over the same period.

September 26, 2014 - Governing

New Mobile Phone Charging Stations Powered By Kinetic Energy

Combining both solar power and kinetic energy, the first public phone charging station of its kind was recently installed at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.

September 26, 2014 - Fast Co.Exist

Federal Highway Administration to Develop Guidance for Protected Bike Lanes

In a major policy departure for federal level bureaucracy, the Federal Highway Administration is developing guidance for the design and engineering of protected bike lanes in two separate policy documents

September 24, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

10 Misconceptions about Form-Based Codes

Several common assumptions about new urban codes fail to stand up to scrutiny.

September 24, 2014 - Better Cities & Towns

Anchorage Alaska

Where to Go in the Event of Climate Change

Anchorage, Seattle, and Detroit will be pretty cozy compared to just about everywhere else in the United States if climate change models hold true.

September 23, 2014 - New York Times

Walking

Study: Positive Psychological Effects for Walking and Biking to Work

A research study finds evidence of the positive psychological effects of walking and biking to work, joining a quickly growing body of academic research supporting multi-modal lifestyle choices.

September 23, 2014 - The Washington Post

Grizzly Point Berkeley

Top Ten Car-Independent Neighborhoods

City Clock prepared two lists of neighborhoods with the most commute trips made without cars (for every city BUT New York City). One list ranks university neighborhoods, and the other non-university neighborhoods.

September 22, 2014 - City Clock

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.