United States

Tensions Between House & Administration Stymie Transportation Progress

Tensions have arisen between the Obama administration and Oberstar, who is anxious to get working on the transportation reauthorization bill. DOT Secretary LaHood is calling for an extension of the 2005 highway bill instead.

May 21, 2010 - Politico

New Urbanism at 30 and its Impact on America

The Atlantic talks with architect and planner Andres Duany about 30 years of the New Urbanism, and how the urban landscape of America has changed over that time.

May 20, 2010 - The Atlantic

Building Neighborhoods Through Grocery Stores

To survive, neighborhoods need to be commercially viable. A group called the Food Trust believes grocery stores are a good starting point for creating that economic climate.

May 20, 2010 - The Atlantic

Livable Cities and Political Choices

People need to stop thinking about cities as bundles of technical problems that the planners must solve for them and to start thinking about the different ways that they would live in different types of cities, says Charles Siegel.

May 20, 2010 - Charles Siegel

The Complexity of Rural America

Gary Toth and Hannah Twaddell untangle the complexity of planning for rural communities.

May 19, 2010 - Blueprint America

Recession Caused VMT To Drop But Back On the Rise

Kenneth Small of UC Irvine shows that higher prices do reduce driving, as do recessions when workers lose their jobs, which is one of the main factors in the recent drop in VMT.

May 18, 2010 - The New York Times - Business Day

Privatized Transit: Who Profits?

Yonah Freemark argues that encouraging developers to build their own transit (as Christopher Leinberger recently argued) could be highly problematic.

May 18, 2010 - Next American City

Best Cities to Get Laid... Off

These 10 American cities top the nation as being home to the most layoffs. California is a hotbed.

May 18, 2010 - ABC

Working From Home: An Urban Planning Revolution

A piece in The Atlantic argues that telecommuting trends could have significant impacts on the built environment.

May 17, 2010 - The Atlantic

Senate Climate Bill Called A Gas Tax

The American Power Act climate legislation by Senators Kerry and Lieberman, unveiled May 12, does have fees that oil refineries must pay, but is it a stretch to call the bill a disguised gas tax? Edmunds.com analyses American Solutions charge.

May 17, 2010 - Edmunds.com

Evolving Beyond the Long Commute

Car commutes used to be long by necessity. But that's no longer the case, according to Richard Florida in this video from The Atlantic.

May 17, 2010 - The Atlantic

Trying to Fit In With the Cool Kids

This post from The Urbanophile explores the world of city branding, and argues that some cities are making the mistake of ignoring their own assets and focusing on trying to embrace the successful assets of others.

May 17, 2010 - The Urbanophile

Cities Seek to Quantify Rise in Bicycle Ridership

Planners in cities across the country are installing electronic sensors to track how many people are making use of bike lanes and trails.

May 17, 2010 - USA Today

A Possible Dead End for High Speed Rail

Despite what seemed to be a gung-ho Federal government, high speed rail could flop in the U.S., according to this piece from The Infrastructurist.

May 16, 2010 - The Infrastructurist

Targeting Private Buildings For Energy Reduction

If cities want to curb energy use, they should focus on private buildings, according to this article.

May 15, 2010 - Sustainable Life

How Sprawl Created the Gulf Oil Spill

This commentary from Urban Omnibus looks at how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a problem with roots in unsustainable land use.

May 15, 2010 - Urban Omnibus

Friday Funny: 'Rude and Inconsiderate' Environment

This article from The Onion looks at the Environmental Protection Agency's increasing frustration with a global environment that is not playing its part in environmental protection.

May 14, 2010 - The Onion

Want Rail? Let Private Business Build It

Christopher B. Leinberger proposes that privatized rail could stimulate the economy and help increase property values.

May 14, 2010 - The Atlantic Monthly

Enforcing Fair Housing - For Real

After a lawsuit in New York State, HUD has taken up the stick and is threatening to terminate funding to housing programs if civil rights fair housing regulations are not met.

May 14, 2010 - Planning Commissioners Journal

Senate Climate Bill To Fund Transportation And Affect Fuel Markets

The American Power Act sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions, creates a cap, trade, and dividend program that rebates funds to energy bill payers, directs $6 billion yearly to targeted transportation programs, and curtails EPA's climate authority.

May 14, 2010 - Kansas City Star

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.