Streets will have to evolve, again.
Justin Davidson waxes poetic about the importance of streets to the city of New York:
The most essential designed component of New York is not a skyscraper or a station, but the street. That basic workhorse of public space carries people, freight, and vehicles on its surface; water, sewage, power, gas, steam, and data below. It is a complex but archaic machine — improvised, mistreated, and endlessly patched up. It needs an overhaul, and it needs one now.
This long-read article riffs on numerous themes to make one simple case: the street needs a new set of decisions and designs. "The street of the future should look nothing like today’s." Davidson's rhetorical flourishes are set in the context of New York, but the ideas apply to cities everywhere.
FULL STORY: What Is a City Street? And What Will It Become?
Anatomy of an Unsafe Crosswalk
Streetsblog NYC analyses one of the street design standards in place in New York City that will make it impossible to achieve zero pedestrian fatalities under Vision Zero.
NYC Congestion Pricing Under Threat — Again
President Trump is attempting to make good on a campaign promise to kill New York City’s congestion pricing program, but the mechanism for ending it remains unclear.
US Street Design Manual Inches Toward Safer Roads
The guiding document for U.S. road design is starting to recognize the needs of people walking and biking, but safe streets advocates say more significant changes are needed to reduce the high number of pedestrian deaths and improve connectivity for all road users.
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How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research