The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Connecticut Turnpike

Criticism for Connecticut's $21 Billion Transportation Spending Plan

Transit advocates don't see much to like in the state of Connecticut's big transportation spending plan—just more of the same.

November 29 - Streetsblog USA

Washington D.C. Stores

D.C. Training Resident Building Inspectors

A new program enables everyday citizens the chance to work as building inspectors in the nation's capital.

November 29 - Urban Turf

Wisconsin Capitol

Madison Common Council Narrowly Approves Unpopular $40 Wheel Tax

Despite major opposition by residents, the Madison Common Council approved a $40 motor vehicle registration fee (aka 'wheel tax') on an 11-8 vote on Oct. 29 to help fund the city's new East-West Bus Rapid Transit system.

November 29 - Wisconsin State Journal

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

What Would a 'Run Score' Look Like?

A writer in Toronto imagines how the city would be evaluated according to a "Run Score"—a fast-paced version of the Walk Score.

November 29 - Spacing Toronto

Pasture land

Happy Cows Use Virtual Reality to Pretend it's Summer

Here's one application of virtual reality we didn't see coming: happy cows and better milk.

November 28 - CNN


California

24-7 Public Bathroom Pilot to Expand in San Francisco

An experiment in round-the-clock public bathroom access has proven successful, and San Francisco is expanding the program.

November 28 - San Francisco Chronicle

Homeless Man

Calling for More Humane Treatment, and News Coverage, of the Homeless

Two articles raise questions about the state of humanity, as evidenced by the way news organizations and politicians write and talk about the homeless.

November 28 - Streetsblog LA


Rams and Chargers Stadium

New Football Stadium a Game Changer for Inglewood

The new home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Charger is almost ready for prime time. The mayor's economic development dreams are on the line as much as any championship.

November 28 - The Daily Breeze

Seattle Transit

Giving Thanks for Public Transit

When going around the Thanksgiving table today, giving thanks for our friends and family to hear, don't forget to mention the environmental, social, and economic benefits of public transit.

November 28 - CityLab

Pick-Up Truck

U.S. Land Use, SUVs Targeted in New U.N. Climate Change Report

The United Nations announces more bad news for the climate and the role of American society and culture in causing the destruction of the planet.

November 27 - The New York Times

Airport

Arizona Mayors Want to Stay in the Paris Climate Agreement

The mayors of Tucson and Phoenix want Congress to block President Donald Trump from removing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.

November 27 - Arizona Public Media

Vinod Khosla

Khosla Wins Surprise Court Ruling on Beach Access

The controversy over a tech billionaire blocking access to a Pacific Ocean beach is back from the dead.

November 27 - Bloomberg

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao

Evaluating Donald Trump's Transportation Efforts

MSNBC asks if the Trump administration has accomplished with its Department of Transportation, and whether Americans are better off because of those efforts.

November 27 - MSNBC

Arlington County, Virginia

Community Benefits Package for Amazon's HQ2 Takes Shape

Details of the community benefits package promised as part of Amazon's HQ2 development deal with Arlington County, Virginia made news this week.

November 27 - WTOP

Robert Weaver Building

Help Wanted: HUD Seeks Info About Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is crowdsourcing information about the regulatory barriers to affordable housing.

November 27 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

San Francisco, California

Caltrans to Ditch Level of Service for Vehicle Miles Traveled

Unlike for land use regulations, state law doesn't require Caltrans to switch from Level of Service to Vehicle Miles Traveled in measuring the environmental impact of projects. The state department of transportation is making the change anyway.

November 27 - Streetsblog California

QLine

Op-Ed: Detroit's QLINE Is 'At Times an Embarrassment'

Randy Essex details why it is that "rely" isn't a word that comes to mind for many Detroiters when they think about downtown's QLINE streetcar system.

November 27 - The Detroit Free Press

New York Subway

Why New York City's Flooding Its Own Subway Entrances

MTA reassured disoriented New Yorkers that it's flooding subway entrances on purpose, to test barriers that it hopes will guard the system against another Sandy.

November 27 - Quartz

Society Hill Historic Buildings

How One Wealthy, Historic Neighborhood Maintains an Exclusionary Status Quo

Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron has had enough with the exclusionary planning tactics of the neighborhood of Society Hill to start calling it the "Republic of Society Hill."

November 27 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Denver, Colorado

FEATURE

The Top Urban Planning Books of 2019

The decade wraps up with another engaging crop of highly readable and recommendable books on the subject of urban planning. There's a lot to learn, on many related subjects, among this year's top planning books.

November 26 - Josh Stephens

Post News

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.

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.