The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Traditional Retail is Hanging by a Thread. What Now for Cities?
After Kaid Benfield paints a rather grim retail outlook — where even retail bastions like San Diego are going dark — he suggests a series of actions for city leaders and planners.
BLOG POST
Planning Communities for Thriving Children
When it comes to children's health and economic success, current trends are dismal. New research identifies how to plan communities where children can thrive. The secret? Compact, mixed-income, multimodal neighborhoods.
Urban Forestry as a Pathway to Equity and Opportunity
Urban forestry job training programs are creating economic opportunities for underrepresented individuals while addressing workforce shortages and advancing tree equity in communities most impacted by environmental disparities.
Sustainability Expert Becomes Dean of USC’s School of Public Policy
Chris Boone, a sustainability leader, becomes dean of the USC Price School of Public Policy, where he aims to advance interdisciplinary solutions and sustainability initiatives while building on the school’s legacy of public policy leadership.
BLOG POST
Rethinking Suburban Development: New Trends in Creating Livable Communities
Discover new trends in suburban development focused on creating more livable, sustainable communities for future growth.
Commentary: We Need a Return to the Adaptability of Traditional Urban Form
How the rigidity of modern suburban development fails to prepare cities for the future.
Neurodivergence and the City
Researchers are starting to understand how people with conditions like autism experience cities differently — and how to design for the neurodiverse brain.
Housing Measure Wins in Seattle Special Election
Voters approved a new tax that could bring in $50 million per year for social housing.
Resilient Communities, Healthy Ecosystems: A Balanced Approach to Wildfires
Effective wildfire mitigation in California requires a holistic approach that goes beyond large-scale vegetation removal, emphasizing home hardening, defensible space, strategic planning, and reducing human-caused ignitions.
St. Petersburg’s Bike Infrastructure Efforts Pay Off
New bike infrastructure is encouraging more people to take to the streets on two wheels, but advocates say safety challenges remain.
Why Accuracy in Homelessness Data Matters
Cities have access to tools that can more effectively capture information about unhoused residents and pinpoint what types of resources are needed and where.
Community Colleges: A Pathway for Native Hawaiian Achievement and Growth
The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges provide Native Hawaiian students with transformative educational experiences, integrating academic success, cultural identity, and strong community support to help them find purpose and thrive.
Building Resilient Communities: Insights from the LA County Cities Summit
The Los Angeles County Cities Summit convened local leaders to share strategies for advancing sustainability, addressing climate resilience, extreme heat, and other pressing environmental challenges through policy and community-driven solutions.
Intercity Bus Ridership Grows Despite Service Cuts
Passengers continue to rely on intercity bus lines, even as cities shutter bus terminals and bus companies restructure to avoid financial failure.
NYC Approves Only 40 of Over 1,300 of Outdoor Dining Applications
Restaurant owners say they’ve been in limbo for months as city departments point fingers at each other for delays in permit approvals.
BLM Approves Controversial Oil and Gas Leases on Navajo Land
The parcels are located near a sensitive archaeological site, but some Indigenous leaders approve of the move, which will bring in millions in revenue.
Hong Kong Cab Hailing App Folds — and Uber Takes Over
HKTaxi launched a year before Uber came to town. Now, it’s shutting down. Lawmakers worry a monopoly looms.
Rural Homelessness Could Be Vastly Underestimated, Study Finds
The annual ‘point in time’ count fails to capture the diverse types of situations experienced by unhoused people in rural communities.
What’s in a Name? Investors vs. Speculators
We don’t often make a clear distinction between investors and speculators, which makes it harder to identify harmful behavior — and to find solutions for it.
FEATURE
Public and Private Collaboration Advances Park Development in Houston
Houston may be known to some as a concrete jungle, but its greenspaces continue to expand thanks to combined support from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.
