The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Coal Ash Waste

Governor, Regulators Standing Up to Dirty Energy Interests in North Carolina

Can a Democratic governor in a state controlled by a Republic legislature achieve meaningful emissions reductions from the state's energy utilities? North Carolina Governor Gary Cooper is trying.

September 3 - Inside Climate News

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Editorial: The Best New Chesapeake Bay Bridge Is No New Chesapeake Bay Bridge

The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board finds numerous faults with the state of Maryland's preliminary investigation of an idea to add another bridge across the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis.

September 2 - The Baltimore Sun

Transportation Network Companies

Uber's Complicated Story

Since its founding a decade ago, Uber has reshaped the world through a trajectory of highs and lows.

September 2 - The New York Times

Bike and Bus Lane

Lack of Traffic Safety Enforcement Blamed for Vision Zero Failures

Education, engineering, and enforcement are the three "e's" of Vision Zero in San Francisco. A lack of on of those "e's"—enforcement—might explain why more people are dying on the city's streets this year that any year since the city adopted Vision Z

September 2 - The San Francisco Chronicle

cpaulfell

New York City's First Outlet Mall Still a 'Ghost Town'

Perched on the northeastern tip of Staten Island next to the ferry terminal, Empire Outlets has only filled 26 of its 75 storefronts since a grand opening in May.

September 2 - The City


London Underground

London Underground 'Waste Heat' to Warm City Homes

Part of a plan to move United Kingdom to renewable energy involves using heat from the London Underground to heat homes.

September 2 - The Guardian

Tree Grate

The Problem with Pilot Programs

Pilot programs are a way to test out a policy or program to ensure it is the right solution before investing significant amounts of money. But they also pose a variety of challenges.

September 1 - Governing


Solar Power

Union Opposition Puts Brakes on 'Record-Cheap' Solar Installation

Under a proposed 25-year solar contact, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would pay record-cheap prices for 400 megawatts of power. But the utility declined to approve the deal after a utility workers' union raised concerns.

September 1 - The Los Angeles Times

Ghost Bike

Op-Ed: Street Safety Is a Matter of Race

What do traffic safety and gun violence have in common? A lot, as it turns out. In both cases, hard-hit neighborhoods tend to have suffered from historical disinvestment along racial lines.

September 1 - Brookings

Green Buildings

Green Building Improvements Have a Friend in PACE

An under-reported loan model called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, financed $660 million of sustainable building improvements from 2016 through 2018.

September 1 - The New York Times

Memphis Riverfront

Ensuring Equity in Memphis Riverfront Development

One of the city’s biggest assets is its riverfront, but equity and inclusion need to be an important part of what development brings to residents and communities.

September 1 - The Avenue (Brookings)

Los Angeles Downtown Historic Core

L.A. Times Editorial Supports Redevelopment 2.0

California's redevelopment program was killed during the budget fallout of the Great Recession. Now more state politicians see how tax increment devoted to development investments could be one tool int he state's affordable housing crisis.

August 31 - Los Angeles Times

Detroit Vacant Properties

Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties

Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.

August 31 - Urban Institute

Wheels, Scooters, and the Centuries-Old Fight for City Streets

Through the lens of Phoenix, a look back at bicycles in 1893, scooters in 2019, and how the similarities of both betray a bigger issue: The dangerous design of city streets, which favor cars, create conflict, and have long put people at risk.

August 31 - Urbn Developments

Potted Plants

Tiny Homes and Big Opportunities in Detroit

A new tiny homes community offers vulnerable residents a chance to homeownership.

August 31 - The Detroit Free Press

Library

New Ideas in Urban Research 2019

Research questions and findings from Penn IUR's emerging scholars.

August 31 - Penn IUR Urban Link

COTA Bus

Columbus Makes Big Strides in Air Quality

Columbus achieved something no other U.S. city has managed: moving out of non-compliance with federal air quality standards for ground-level ozone.

August 30 - Smart Cities Dive

Surplus State-Owned Land

Where State-Owned Properties Could Make Way for Affordable Housing in California

A recently published mapping project is the first step toward California leveraging some of it surplus land for the purposes of developing affordable housing.

August 30 - California Department of General Services

Chariot Shuttle

When Microtransit Works as Public Transit, Explained

How to make Microtransit work. Hint: it's about coverage, not ridership.

August 30 - Human Transit

Aurelian Wall

How Transportation Technology Determines the Footprint of Cities

The Marchetti Constant, the willingness of people to travel for about a half an hour to get to and from work, explains the size of cities in history, and the metropolitan areas of today.

August 30 - CityLab

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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.