United States

Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles

Mike Davis on Life, Politics, and Mortality

The celebrated City of Quartz author speaks with the Los Angeles Times about activism, climate change, and his decision to stop cancer treatment.

July 28, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

Group of children dressed warmly and wearing COVID-19 masks

Families With Young Children Left Cities At Higher Rates During Pandemic

New Census data reveal that families with children under five led the migration out of major U.S. cities between 2019 and 2021.

July 28, 2022 - Economic Innovation Group

Pedestrian Safety

4 Proven Steps for Improved Pedestrian Safety

Experts from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) present four steps for reducing the number of pedestrians killed by drivers.

July 28, 2022 - Smart Growth America

Gas Pumps

Is $7 a Gallon for Gas on the Horizon?

Global oil prices may skyrocket when the European Union, which receives about one third of its oil from Russia, enacts a partial ban on importing Russian oil at the end of the year to stop financing Russia's war in Ukraine.

July 28, 2022 - The New York Times

Sprawl

Connecting Land Use and Transportation Planning to Save the Climate

The United States will have to make major changes to long-standing land use and transportation paradigms to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change. How to make those changes was the subject of a recent podcast.

July 27, 2022 - The Sustainable City Podcast

California Houses

No End in Sight to U.S. Housing Shortage

Despite recent cooling in the overheated U.S. housing market, high costs and labor and supply shortages are causing continuing hardship for potential homebuyers and renters.

July 26, 2022 - The Hill

New York City Zoning Map

Watch: Why and How to Abolish Zoning

Author M. Nolan Gray and Planetizen Editorial Director James Brasuell recently discussed zoning abolition and other concepts discussed in Gray's book, "Arbitrary Lines," published recently by Island Press.

July 26, 2022 - Island Press via YouTube

Road with one green electric vehicle charging lane

The Marriage of Technology and Road Infrastructure

The future of road infrastructure likely includes wireless electric charging, innovative construction materials, and more data collection. Will cities remember to prioritize pedestrian safety, too?

July 26, 2022 - Governing

Red Albuquerque bus with man boarding

The State of America’s Free Transit Programs

Dozens of cities made public transit free during the pandemic. Can transit agencies sustain these programs?

July 25, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

A row of USPS delivery trucks

Postal Service Commits to Electrifying Half its New Fleet

In the wake of condemnation from environmental groups, the USPS revised its plan to replace its gas-powered fleet of trucks.

July 24, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

NIMBY spelled out in Scrabble tiles on a wood table

Friday Funny: Are You NIMBY Material?

A humorous “application form” skewers the so-called NIMBY movement.

July 22, 2022 - McSweeney's

School Buses

EPA Launches School Bus Electrification Program

The agency will distribute $5 billion over the next five years to help school districts purchase electric and low-emissions buses.

July 21, 2022 - U.S. PIRG, the Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups

Bus driver wearing a COVID-19 protective mask

Why Are Transit Agencies So Understaffed?

More than nine in 10 U.S. transit agencies face operator shortages. A new report sheds light on the reasons why they’re having such a hard time attracting new hires.

July 21, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

A police officer in a Baltimore, Maryland subway station

Transit Systems Begin To Shift Away From Police Enforcement

Some transit agencies are launching ‘ambassador’ programs that use unarmed personnel to respond to safety concerns and reduce interactions with armed law enforcement.

July 20, 2022 - Next City

Rental Construction

Report: Nation Short 3.8 Million Housing Units

Housing underproduction in the United States is growing more severe and more widespread.

July 20, 2022 - Up for Growth

Line of vacant small storefronts with For Sale signs in Merrill, Oregon

The Racial Gap in Commercial Real Estate Ownership

Just three percent of Black households own commercial real estate, making it more difficult for Black entrepreneurs to establish businesses and build wealth.

July 20, 2022 - Bloomberg CityLab

Pedestrian Signal

The Push To Decriminalize Jaywalking

Supporters of decriminalization argue that jaywalking laws don’t keep pedestrians safe and disproportionately burden Black and brown communities with fines.

July 19, 2022 - Stateline

Two black and blue RIDE vans

Can On-Demand Transit Replace Traditional Buses?

For small towns and hard-to-reach areas, on-demand microtransit could offer an effective alternative to fixed-route buses.

July 19, 2022 - NPR

Capsule hotel in Japan

Capsule Housing: Affordable Solution or Dystopia?

Like Japan’s capsule hotels, the ‘podsharing’ housing model offers minimal, shared living space—but can it work as a long-term housing solution?

July 18, 2022 - Smart Cities Dive

Power Plant

Ways the EPA Can Still Fight Climate Change

Despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the EPA’s ability to regulate emissions from power plants, the agency still has a range of tools at its disposal for enforcing pollution controls and reducing harmful emissions.

July 18, 2022 - High Country News

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.