Government / Politics

Electric Car Charging Stencil

Chuck Schumer Proposes Big Investment in Electric Vehicles

The Senate Majority Leader's plan would pump more than $50 billion into direct incentives for consumers, manufacturers, and property owners.

March 24, 2021 - The Verge

Mass Shooting Protest

'Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste' and Planning in the Pandemic

The latest in a series of compendia collecting news and commentary focusing on the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on communities.

March 23, 2021 - James Brasuell

Florida

Case Study: Florida Road Diet Reduces Crashes, Adds Minimal Congestion

A controversial road diet has faced disapproval from local business owners, but data shows a significant reduction in crashes and a minimal increase in congestion.

March 23, 2021 - WFLA

Exclusionary covenant

New Mexico Communities Reflect on Racial Restrictive Covenants

Explicitly racist and exclusionary language remains embedded in many communities' restrictive covenants. State legislators and local leaders want to change that.

March 23, 2021 - High Country News

Airbnb

Atlanta Passes New Short-Term Rental Rules

Under the new regulations, homeowners must register for a license and collect city hotel taxes for short-term rental properties.

March 23, 2021 - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Antioch, California

California's 'Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure'

The newly released Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure shifts the state's transportation priorities to focus on clean energy and livability.

March 22, 2021 - Streetsblog California

Biden administration

Racial Equity and Regulatory Review

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden took several steps to advance racial equity.

March 22, 2021 - Urban Institute

Anti homeless bench

Philadelphia Park Designed for, not Against, People Experiencing Homelessness

In an effort to make public spaces more inclusive, a new pocket park in the Callowhill neighborhood will seek input from people experiencing homelessness on how to make the space more welcoming and functional.

March 22, 2021 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Small Lot Townhouses

Opinion: Western Towns Need More Density, Not More Sprawl

To fix the housing crisis, cities should focus on "missing middle housing" and multi-family development.

March 22, 2021 - In These Times

Bangkok, Thailand

The World's Highest Rates of Coronavirus Infections and Deaths

Brazil and the U.S. lead the world in daily COVID-19 cases and deaths. Western Europe is undergoing a third wave of infections, resulting in a new round of lockdowns, yet most of these nations are not among the 12 hotspots shown on a global tracker.

March 22, 2021 - Bloomberg News

Bakersfield and Fresno Sign

California Assembly Continues to Debate High-Speed Rail

With a train-friendly administration in Washington, supporters of the project hope that state leaders will make a stronger commitment to funding the full project.

March 21, 2021 - Streetsblog California

Duplex

Tacoma Plan Would Eliminate Single-Family Zoning in Favor of 'Missing Middle' Housing

If implemented, Home in Tacoma would create new housing categories to encourage more multi-family buildings.

March 21, 2021 - MyNorthwest

Ohio Creek Watershed Project

Norfolk Plans for Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

The Ohio Creek Watershed Project aims to protect the city's coastline and prepare for future sea level rise.

March 21, 2021 - Bloomberg Green

Peninsula

Opinion: California Should Pass Aggressive Housing Reform

While some lawmakers oppose recent efforts to reform housing policies, others argue the state's affordability crisis calls for bold action.

March 19, 2021 - OC Register

Public Transit

Pandemic Watch: What's Going on in Europe?

A coronavirus resurgence is spreading across much of Europe, forcing Italy into a new lockdown a year after it became the first Western country to resort to the drastic measure. The coronavirus has returned in the form of more transmissible variants.

March 18, 2021 - The New York Times

Multi-Modalism

Feds to the Rescue, but the Peril Remains: Preventing the Next Fiscal Apocalypse

Former Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole talks about the implications of the fiscal reset on city budget, policy, and service priorities going forward.

March 18, 2021 - The Planning Report

Trump Sign

Partisan Clustering at the Neighborhood Level

Forget red state versus blue state: a new data analysis and mapping project by The New York Times shows that the political divides in the country can be mapped to the neighborhood level within metropolitan areas.

March 18, 2021 - The New York Times

Downtown Dallas parking lot

Fixing Decades-Old Parking Regulations in Dallas

Dallas has launched an effort to reform its "burdensome" parking policies, which have been left largely in the hands of local development districts.

March 18, 2021 - D Magazine

15 MPH speed limit sign

Virginia Set to Pass Bill Lowering Minimum Speed Limit

The Virginia General Assembly has passed a bill that would allow localities to set speed limits as low as 15 miles per hour.

March 17, 2021 - The Virginia Mercury

Gas Pump

Opinion: Gas Taxes Are 'Redlining on Wheels'

With dwindling revenue and a narrow scope for funding projects, it may be time for Washington State to re-evaluate its gas tax in favor of more sustainable revenue sources.

March 17, 2021 - Publicola

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.