The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

L.A.'s Strategy for 'Safe, Mobile, and Sustainable' Streets
Streets LA General Manager Adel Hagekhalil lays out his priorities and plans for transforming Los Angeles into a system of world-class streets.

Lincoln Common, a 1.1-Million-Square-Foot Development, Takes Shape in Chicago
A massive new development in Chicago's Lincoln Park is taking shape, and the local architecture critic has offered a positive review of the final product.

What's the Right Price for Congestion Pricing in New York City?
On this episode of the price is right, a city of more than 8 million people tries to determine the most effective cost for driving in a dense part of its downtown.

The Past and Future of Pedestrian Malls
Pedestrian malls, a common urban design goal of the 1960s and 1970s have so fallen out of fashion that failed examples from history are cited as boogeyman like "bridges to nowhere" and "big digs."

Doubts Raised About the Private Equity Firm Behind High-Speed Rail to Vegas
Trouble in the Desert? The sources quoted in this article by Bloomberg aren't betting on the success of a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and San Bernardino County in California.

The Radical Remaking of a New York Street Launches This Week
The 14th Street Busway will make its debut on Thursday of this week. Cars will be prohibited from the street and buses will gain newfound freedom, in a model that duplicates other efforts in Europe and Canada.

Boston's Zoning Board Called Out for Conflicts of Interest
The Boston Globe reports on reasons to suspect more conflicts of interest than there appears on the Boston Zoning Board of Appeal.
Virginia Interstate Widening Would Convert Free Lanes to Toll Lanes
The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization is proposing a 45-mile network of high-occupancy toll lanes on I–64 that includes conversions of 16 miles of carpool and three miles of general-purpose lanes. No unpriced lanes would be added.

Portland Surpassing Its Housing Bond Targets
Three years after passing a $256 million housing bond, city officials in Portland, Oregon, report that over 1,400 units of affordable housing will result from planned and completed projects.

L.A. River Restoration Challenged by Gentrification, Environmental Concerns
A massive effort to restore the Los Angeles River to more public access and open space amentias continues to raise the specter of gentrification in neighborhoods already feeling the pressure of the housing market.

I-5 Freeway Lid Plans Take Step Forward
A plan to build a cap over Interstate 5 in Downtown Seattle has taken a small but significant step forward.

Editorial Sounds Alarms About the 'Illinois Exodus'
The Chicago Tribune sends a message to the political leadership of Illinois and Chicago about population decline, and its causes.

FEATURE
Three Studies That Show Density Doesn't Determine Car Travel
Thirty years after a seminal study attempted to connect increased density with decreased automobile use, several new studies are raising doubts about that central assumption of contemporary planning.

Three Years of New York's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program
One of the more aggressive inclusionary zoning programs in the country has been in place long enough to evaluate for lessons regarding the effectiveness of the controversial affordable housing development tool.

What's Hindering Regional Transportation in the U.S.?
Public transportation that serves regional areas makes sense, but the United States has been slow to pursue strategies and policies that foster these types of systems.

Op-Ed: Seattle Resilience Roadmap Feels 'Retrospective'
Natalie Bicknell notes several deficiencies in the roadmap that resulted from Seattle's participation in the Rockefeller Foundation's now-defunct 100 Resilient Cities program.

Op-Ed: Feds 'Obsessed' with Undermining National Monument
Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is under severe assault from the Trump administration, Stephen Trimble writes. Long the focus of preservation efforts, the protected land is being opened up for extractive uses.
Green Electricity for Lime Scooters
A new program that will incentivize scooter "juicers," the people who collect and charge electric scooters for a fee, to switch to green energy.
2004 Rezoning Didn't Predict the Wave of Residential Development in Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is New York City's third-largest central business district, and a 2004 rezoning was meant to increase the commercial footprint in the area. Instead there's been more residential development than planners anticipated.

Denver Suburb Bans RVs From Parking on Streets Citywide
Lakewood is taking an aggressive approach to homeless people sleeping in cars on public streets.
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