United States

Harley-Davidson Goes Electric

The green, quieter model runs on lithium batteries and gets 100 miles per charge. The Milwaukee company hopes it will appeal to a younger, urban, environmentally-conscious demographic as it's main market has been "aging white male baby boomers."

June 26, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

World Bank Study Finds Large-Scale Benefits for 'Climate-Smart Development'

A new study by the World Bank examines the benefits for policies addressing clean transportation, energy efficiency in industry, and energy efficiency in buildings in five countries and the European Union.

June 26, 2014 - The World Bank

Your IRA Account May 'Patch' the Highway Trust Fund

A $9 billion patch bill was drafted by Sen. Finance Comm. Chair Ron Wyden to continue transportation spending to Dec. 31. Most of the funds come from a change in how Individual Retirement Accounts are administered and a heavy truck use tax increase.

June 26, 2014 - Roll Call

trax light rail train in foreground, snow-covered mountains in background

Salt Lake Light Rail System Reduces Vehicle Traffic On Parallel Roadways

A new study finds that Salt Lake City's TRAX light-rail system significantly reduces traffic on parallel roadways. It estimates that a LRT line reduces daily from 44,000 (if it did not exist) to 22,300 (what actually occurs) on one arterial.

June 26, 2014 - Effect of Light-Rail Transit on Traffic in a Travel Corridor

Examining Commercial and Mixed Use Development Trends in the Rocky Mountain West

Market trends have changed in recent years, but how exactly are they changing? A newly published report examines the commercial and mixed use market landscape in the rocky mountain west, and suggests how to properly capitalize on evolving trends.

June 26, 2014 - Community Builders

FHWA Releases Findings for 'Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program'

If you build integrated walking and bicycling networks into a community’s transportation system, will people use it? That’s what Congress wanted to know nearly a decade ago when it established the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program.

June 25, 2014 - Federal Highway Administration

President Obama OKs Initial Crude Oil Export

An energy policy developed during the 1983 Arab oil embargo is loosening thanks to an order by the Commerce Department, though not as much as oil companies would like. Will gas prices rise? No, they will fall, argues energy expert Daniel Yergin.

June 25, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Cincinnati Union Terminal

National Trust Releases its 27th Annual List of America's Most Endangered Historic Places

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has revealed its annual list of the most endangered places in the country. See anything you might miss when it's gone and can never come back?

June 25, 2014 - National Trust For Historic Preservation

Science of Cities

What Can a 'Science of Cities' Offer Planners?

Research across a range of fields is beginning to offer useful new guidance for planning policy and practice—and pointing the way to more effective "bottom-up" strategies.

June 25, 2014 - Michael Mehaffy

Traffic Lights

'Consider the Traffic Light'

Dan Saffer asks us to consider the traffic light—and there's plenty to think about.

June 24, 2014 - Wired

Four-Lane Freeway

The Case Against Clogging the Left Lane

June is "Lane Courtesy Month," and Vox used the occasion to describe the sometimes counter-intuitive reasons why drivers should refrain from driving in the left lane except when passing.

June 24, 2014 - Vox

Why Would Anyone Want a Smart Home?

A tech columnist reviews the current state of smart home technology and finds that improvements will be necessary before widespread adoption can be expected.

June 24, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

On the Endangered Value of Taxi Medallions

Emily Badger focuses on the signifier at the middle of the ongoing battle between taxi companies and transportation network companies like Uber, Lfyt, and Sidecar—the taxi medallion.

June 24, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Re-Evaluating the Dynamic Duo: Olmsted and Moses

Anthony Flint examines the commonalities—and disparities—in the historic legacies of Frederick Law Olmsted and Robert Moses.

June 24, 2014 - CityLab

Breaking News: Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Obama Climate Initiative

In a 5-4 decision on June 23, the Supreme Court ruled that EPA erred in the permitting processes for new carbon-cutting rules. However, most of the Clean Power Plant rule that reduces emissions 30 percent will not be affected.

June 23, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Old Man Cyclist

Our Elders are Leading the Bike Boom

While biking might be seen as a young person's cause, new data from the National Household Travel Survey show that American's aged 60-79 are responsible for a huge chunk of new riders.

June 23, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Survey: Americans Want Government Action on Affordable Housing

The findings of the Housing Works survey, released earlier this month, suggest that the cost of housing is a pervasive concern among Americans, even if Americans aren't sure they support the kinds of measures necessary to improve the problem.

June 23, 2014 - Governing

Early Showdown for Gas Tax Hike Proposal

The 12-cent indexed gas tax hike isn't even a formal bill, yet it's making waves in a Republican Congressional primary in Sen. Bob Corker's home state of Tennessee. One candidate challenged another to take a position on it.

June 22, 2014 - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Post Office Spared from House Republican's Highway Plan

The House Republican plan to gut Saturday postal delivery to pay for six months of highway spending was dropped on June 18. It appears it was a casualty of Majority Leader Eric Cantor's primary loss in his Virginia congressional district.

June 20, 2014 - Bloomberg Political Capital

Lombard Street San Francisco

Ranking the 'Worst Cities for Car Drivers'

A finance website called nerdwallet took it upon itself to rank the "worst" cities to drive a car.

June 20, 2014 - nerdwallet

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.