The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Los Angeles Street

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.

October 1 - The Planning Report

Chicago, Illinois

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.

October 1 - Chicago Tribune

Manhattan Bus

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.

October 1 - Fast Company

Pedestrian Mall

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."

October 1 - Curbed

Virgin Trains USA

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.

September 30 - Bloomberg


New York City Bus

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.

September 30 - Bloomberg

Boston, Massachusetts

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.

September 30 - The Boston Globe


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.

September 30 - The Virginian-Pilot

View of Portland, Oregon from Pittock Mansion

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.

September 30 - The Oregonian

Los Angeles River Bike Path

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.

September 30 - Los Angeles Times

Seattle C.A.P.

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.

September 30 - The Urbanist

Chicago Rain

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.

September 30 - Chicago Tribune

New York City

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.

September 30 - Fanis Grammenos

New York Construction

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.

September 30 - Commercial Observer

Chicago Commuter Rail

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.

September 29 - the transport politic

Puget Sound

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.

September 29 - The Urbanist

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

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.

September 29 - The Hill

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.

September 29 - CityLab

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.

September 29 - Crain's New York Business

Homeless Living in RVs

Denver Suburb Bans RVs From Parking on Streets Citywide

Lakewood is taking an aggressive approach to homeless people sleeping in cars on public streets.

September 28 - The Denver Post

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.