United States

Think Lead Was Removed from Fuel? Think Again!

Leaded gasoline is still sold in Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Myanmar, North Korea, and Yemen. Most think that the brain-damaging additive was banned in the U.S in 1995, but not for 167,000 piston-engined aircraft that use leaded aviation fuel.

May 21, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Location as Currency: Mapping Apps Will Optimize Indoor Navigation

"Location is the new cookie," says Simon Thompson of Esri, referencing the software in a browser that tracks the websites people visit. Meet the new apps making it happen.

May 21, 2014 - New York Times

Civic Engagement

5 Innovative Tech Solutions for Civic Disengagement

Communities have a growing number of technological resources available to face the challenges posed by a growing population and a resource constrained world.

May 20, 2014 - Tom Spengler

Kerfluffle Over Green Building Rating Systems

The latest dust up over green building rating systems, especially their efficacy relative to each other, highlights the danger of mixing the ideals of environmentalism with the self-interest of running an environmentalist organization.

May 20, 2014 - Ecobuilding Pulse

On the Importance of 'Legacy Architecture' to Good Places

Following a recent study finding quantifiable economic benefits for neighborhoods with a mix of older buildings, a writer describes the qualities of older buildings that makes the places they occupy feel so special.

May 20, 2014 - Huffington Post

The gentrifying street-scape of the South Park neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California

Multi-Family Driving Recovery in Housing Starts

New residential construction data released by the U.S. Census reveals that the construction of traditional, single-family detached housing will retain its diminished role in the American economy for the time being.

May 20, 2014 - New York Times - The Upshot

Millennial Crowd

Are Millennials Hiding in their Parents' Basements?

Recent studies have found that trends born of the Great Recession have left Millennials stuck in place. A recent article places the current milieu in context by comparing historic rates of mobility.

May 19, 2014 - Bloomberg View

7 Reasons Community Development Financial Institutions Lack Investors

Community development financial institutions are great places for impact investors to put their dollars, but the money isn't flowing. Rosalie Sheehy Cates discusses the barriers in connecting CDFIs and impact investors, and a way forward for both.

May 19, 2014 - Shelterforce Magazine

Why School Integration Requires Neighborhood Integration

Emily Badger examines the role of housing segregation in obstructing the promise of Brown v. Board of Education.

May 19, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Transportation Reauthorization Bill Breezes Past First Committee

Receiving a resounding vote of confidence from the Environment and Public Works Committee, the $265 billion, six-year MAP-21 reauthorization bill advanced on its path to keep federal transportation payments going to states through the summer.

May 19, 2014 - The Hill

A bride and groom riding on citi bikes in New York

The Case Against Bike Helmets

Should helmets be an optional accessory, rather than an absolute requirement? Or are helmets a sign of a culture not yet ready to embrace biking as a normal, safe activity?

May 19, 2014 - Vox

Albuquerque

New Urbanism's Impact on Mid-Sized and Smaller Cities

Birmingham, Michigan; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Providence, Rhode Island; and others that adopted a new urban approach 15 or 20 years ago have transformed themselves.

May 18, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

Park(ing) Day

Questioning the Privileges of Tactical Urbanism

Does tactical urbanism too-often benefit the point of view of a privileged population, leaving behind more pressing needs?

May 16, 2014 - The University of Chicago Urban Network

Calling for National Investments in Transportation Infrastructure

President Obama visited the Tappan Zee Bridge earlier this week to argue for a renewed commitment to transportation infrastructure.

May 16, 2014 - WhiteHouse.gov

A Tale of Two Markets

Re-examining recent thinking on student debt as major contributor to the lousy housing market.

May 16, 2014 - CityLab

Irving Street

Do Old Buildings Contribute to Economic Vitality?

Emily Badger crunches the data on the argument by Jane Jacobs regarding the importance of old buildings to the economic health and quality of life of cities—an opinion described by Badger as "received wisdom among planners and urban theorists."

May 15, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Public Comment Sought for U.S. EPA's 'RE-Powering America's Land' Action Plan

The U.S. EPA is in the process of updating its 2008 plan to promote renewable energy on formerly contaminated land, mines, or landfill sites.

May 15, 2014 - U.S. EPA

Study Examines Middle Class Home Affordability

Jed Kolko presents the findings of a study that examines the available stock of housing available to those earning the median income around the country in different cities around the country.

May 15, 2014 - Trulia Trends Blog

What's Wrong with the Senate's MAP-21 Reauthorization Bill?

Plenty, according to Tanya Snyder, Streetsblog USA editor, who finds Obama's Grow America plan far superior. Outside of not including a gas tax to fill the Trust Fund gap, she finds the proposal "underfunded and highway centric." She is not alone.

May 15, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

You Can't Just Throw Money at Community Development

Living Cities set out to lend money to community development financial institutions in five distressed cities but were met with a mountain of challenges. Here are the lessons learned from addressing the lack of "capital absorption capacity."

May 14, 2014 - Shelterforce Magazine

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.