United States
The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”
HomeVestors of America, the self-proclaimed “largest homebuyer in the U.S.,” trains its nearly 1,150 franchisees to zero in on homeowners’ desperation.
New Yorkers Need Land. NYPD is Sitting on Nearly 150 Lots.
A new map reveals how much land in New York City is being wasted by city police—often sitting vacant, rather than serving the public good.
New Federal Program To Support Services for Unhoused Residents
The ‘ALL INside’ initiative selected five cities and one state—California—for its inaugural efforts to offer assistance to homelessness services and help local agencies access federal funding and resources.
Lower Basin States Closer to Agreement on Colorado River
After a year of contentious negotiations, Western states dependent on the river’s water supply are nearing a deal that would reduce water use significantly over the next three years.
The Softer Side Of Shoupism
Journalist Harry Grabar takes Prof. Don Shoup's economic theories about parking (and over-parking) and illustrates them with compelling—and terrifying—stories about the role parking plays in America's cities.
FHWA Issues New Pedestrian, Bike, Micromobility Guidance
The updated federal guidelines incorporate new policies created in the 2021 infrastructure law.
Essay: How Poor Pedestrian Planning Harms Families
A lack of safe bike and pedestrian infrastructure can drive young families away from places that don’t accommodate car-free residents.
Public Transit Gets the Swiftie Bump
Taylor Swift fans are flocking to public transit to attend her concerts, breaking ridership records in cities around the country. Will they keep using transit after the show?
Census: Texas Home to Fastest-Growing Cities
Census Bureau data reveals strong growth in large and small Texas cities, while major metros continue to draw residents.
Bipartisan Congressional Group Introduces Affordable Housing Bill
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are supporting a bill that would increase the number of federal affordable housing credits available and streamline the development process for affordable housing projects.
Plan for U.S.-Canada EV Corridor Announced
U.S. and Canadian officials revealed plans for an electric vehicle charging network that will connect Kalamazoo and Quebec City with EV chargers every 50 miles.
Flaws in Federal Clean Transit Programs
Two programs designed to help transit agencies shift to electric and zero-emission fleets contain rules that could slow the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.
Is Twitter Still an Effective Planning Tool?
Twitter has been a daily dose of drama and upheaval ever since Elon Musk offered to pay over $40 billion to buy the social media platform. Media outlets and public transit agencies had been abandoning the social media platform—should planners?
In Defense of Rent Control
Rent control policies, widely panned by economists, have been shown to slow displacement and keep housing affordable.
Federal and State Dollars Could Be Used to Force Change in Exclusionary Towns
Strict zoning policies keep housing unaffordable. But there are strategies governments can implement to change exclusionary housing policies and promote the construction of more affordable housing.
Healing a Neighborhood: Amy Stelly’s Efforts to Tear Down the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans
Amy Stelly’s childhood dream was to remove the highway that devastated her neighborhood. Now that those efforts have gained traction, institutional biases remain as much of a barrier to neighborhood healing as the highway itself.
More People Are Leaving Coastal Cities
Rising housing costs and the growth of more urbanized, amenity-rich small metros are driving college-educated workers away from “superstar cities.”
HUD Announces Grants for Efficiency Retrofits in Multifamily Housing
A new program will fund solar panels, heat pumps, and other measures aimed at reducing emissions, improving air quality and resident health, and reducing heating and cooling costs.
U.S. Rent Growth Slows, but Keeps Rising
The pace of rent growth is slowing, but U.S. renters still face growing housing costs in most metro areas.
Recent Retail Closures in U.S. Cities Follow Trends Established Before the Pandemic
While some cling to debatable claims about higher crime rates as the cause for recent high-profile store closures in U.S. downtowns, the real reasons are more realistically extensions of the causes of the “retail apocalypse” from the before times.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
