The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Richmond Bus Redesign Faces Equity Complaints
Residents charge the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) with making service worse for low income residents.

N.Y.C. Saving Money With Electric Vehicles
The price of electric cars is dropping, and this together with lower lifetime costs makes them a good alternative for vehicle fleets.

April Fool's Headlines That Didn't Make the Cut
"Who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?"

Top Google Streetcation Destinations
Sometimes the best vacations are the vacations you take right there at your desk while you really should working.

Self-Driving Cars Still Can't Recognize the Difference Between a Wedding Planner and an Urban Planner
Pundits agree that planners need to prepare for self-driving cars. Self-driving cars still need to prepare for planners.

Florida Man Thought the New Comp Plan Included Zoning Changes
A Florida man is accused of not realizing an entirely separate process would be required to implement the zoning changes recommended in a recently approved comprehensive plan.

Millennial Confesses: I Was Born in the Suburbs and My Parents Are Baby Boomers
Everything we thought we knew about Millennials was wrong.

No Demand for 'Defensive Driving' Mode in Self-Driving Cars
General Motors recently cancelled development of "Defensive Driving" software in its autonomous vehicle program. The announcement came just days after Ford announced it had cancelled the development of similar "Safe Driving" software.

Housing Crisis Derailing California's Climate Strategy
In a powerful opinion in The New York Times, state Senator Scott Wiener and UC Berkeley energy professor Daniel Kammen make the case that transportation emissions are rising in the Golden States because of the shortage of housing in coastal cities.

Smashing Transit Ridership Success in New Zealand
The city of Auckland, in New Zealand, set a goal to double its transit ridership in ten years. With a little under four years left to achieve that goal, the city is already well on its way.

Big Mixed-Use Development Coming to Downtown Phoenix Transit Center
Developers have proposed a large mixed-use project for one of the best development opportunities in Downtown Phoenix.
Alabama Is Latest State to Hike Gas Tax
Thanks to bipartisan cooperation and strong leadership from Gov. Kay Ivey, the Heart of Dixie passed it first fuel tax hike in 27 years. The 21 cents per gallon tax will increase by 10 cents in three increments by 2021 and then indexed to inflation.

Milwaukee Pedestrian Plan Addresses Walkability
The draft pedestrian plan seeks to get the community involved in making streets safer and more walkable.

California Resists Federal Efforts to Roll Back Environmental Regulations
California is pushing back against federal actions by enforcing state rules and standards that it says have precedence.

Starchitecture Comes to Saudi Arabia
Designed by Norwegian firm Snøhetta, the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, promises to spread knowledge and promote understanding against the backdrop of the kingdom's dismal record on human rights.

Programming Over Serenity Favored in 21st Century Park Design
The new urban public realm in the United States is highly programmed—some of that design approach reflects the trends of culture and some reflects a history of violence and bad for PR for parks at the end of the 20th century.

Portland, Ore. Voters Will Be Asked to Reauthorize Gas Tax in May 2020
Originally approved by 52 percent of voters in May 2016, the 4-year, 10 cents per gallon city gas tax has outperformed revenue projections. Funds are split between road maintenance and bike and pedestrian projects.

$1 Billion Industry City Redevelopment Caught Up in Post-Amazon Political Drama
Large mixed-use projects aren't getting an automatic greenlight in New York City anymore.

Report: Most U.S. Coal Plants Uncompetitive with Renewables
The report heralds increased shuttering of coal-burning powered plants due to cheaper alternatives. Almost three-quarters of coal-burning power plants today are more costly to operate than renewable facilities. In six years, it jumps to 86 percent.
Court Overrules U.S. EPA in Baltimore Runoff Case
Environmentalists challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and won.
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