The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Climate Change Conference

Implementing the Paris Climate Agreement in Katowice, Poland

Representatives from nearly 200 nations have been attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice since Dec. 2 to work on implementing the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Scheduled to end Friday, it will be extended two days due to discord.

December 17 - The Independent

Cupertino, California

Google, Apple Expanding Around the Country, Spending Billions Along the Way

Both Apple and Google have announced expansions in recent days that required a ten-figure total to describe.

December 17 - The Washington Post

San Diego Gaslamp District

A Transit-Oriented Parking Reform Proposal in San Diego

Under a new plan proposed by the mayor of San Diego, new developments in transit-rich parts of the city would no longer require parking.

December 17 - Voice of San Diego

Miami Bus

24 Hours on Miami Buses

Advocates from Transit Alliance Miami attempt to spend 24 hours on Miami-Dade County buses.

December 17 - Miami Herald

New York City Restaurant

The U.S. Cities With the Most Restaurants Per Capita

Metropolitan areas with many options for places to eat offers many quality of life benefits to residents.

December 17 - City Observatory


Gas Station 7-Eleven

Who's Advocating Rolling Back Fuel Economy Standards?

Conventional thinking is that the auto industry, wanting to sell more fuel-gulping SUVs, are pushing for weaker fuel economy standards, but Hiroko Tabuchi, climate reporter for The New York Times, exposes Big Oil's stealth campaign.

December 17 - The New York Times

Longfellow Bridge Boston

Boston Bridge Separated Bike Lane Might Get the Ax This Winter

MassDOT and cycling advocates don’t agree on what should happen to the Longfellow Bridge’s bike lane in the coming months.

December 17 - The Boston Globe


U.S. Department of the Interior

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Resigns Amid Scandals

With a tweet from the president on Saturday morning, the public learns that yet another embattled cabinet member will lose his job. Zinke, a former congressman from Montana, is the subject of numerous investigations and controversies.

December 17 - The New York Times

London 1854

What’s the Life Expectancy in Your Neighborhood?

To create a tool for people better understand their cities and communities, Quartz mapped life expectancy in cities down to the census tract levels.

December 16 - Quartz

Portland Oregon Bike

Revenue From Oregon Bike Tax Falling Short of Expectations

A tax on bikes in the state of Oregon, implemented in 2017, generated less tan half of the revenue as was expected.

December 16 - OPB

New York City

Report: Walking to Work Pays Off for the Economy

A new report by Victoria Walks, an advocacy organization in Australia, quantifies the benefits of choosing to walk. The report also benefits the multiplier of the choice to invest in pedestrian infrastructure.

December 16 - The Age

Suburban Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's New Housing Opportunity Fund in Action

The city of Pittsburgh has a new resource for funding affordable housing projects.

December 16 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I-66 Virginia

After East Boston Toll Booths Were Automated, Some Miss the Old Way

Construction and increased traffic have Bostonian drivers complaining about slow highways on the city’s East Side.

December 16 - The Boston Globe

San Jose Arterial Street

Proposed Law Would Empower Section 8 Voucher Users

A law under consideration in San Jose would prohibit landlords from disallowing Section 8 voucher users, though landlords could still turn away renters based on other criteria.

December 15 - The Mercury News

Water Treatment

San Diego Water Recycling Project Receives Critical EPA Loan

One of the nation's most ambitious attempts to recycle wastewater into potable water received a huge lift last month from the EPA with the receipt of a $164 million loan under the now-permanent Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

December 15 - City of San Diego News Release

Beach Homes

Oregon to Consider Statewide Ban of Single-Family Zoning

Legislation in Oregon would follow the lead of Minneapolis in overturning single-family zoning—for all cities in the state with more than 10,000 residents.

December 15 - Willamette Week

METRO Gold Line BRT System Map

Downtown St. Paul Loop Back in the Gold Line BRT Plan

A two-mile loop to be included in the planned Gold Line bus rapid transit route had been at risk due to political opposition. Now it's included in the preferred alternative presented for federal funding.

December 15 - Pioneer Press

General Court

EU Commission 'License to Pollute' overturned by top European court

The General Court of the European Union upholds action brought by cities: annuls in part the European Commission’s regulation setting excessively high NOx emission limits tests introduced following Dieselgate scandal

December 15 - Cities of the Future

Bus Stop Winter

Friday Eye Candy: A Cartoon Explains the State of U.S. Public Transit

The Nib unlocks the illustrative and narrative power of cartoons to explain the neglected state of public transit in the Unite States, and to make the case for effective and empowered transit planning.

December 14 - The Nib

Subway Station

Athens Fights Rising Temperatures

At the recent Smart Cities Conference in Barcelona, Mayor Kaminis of Athens highlighted how the city is helping residents survive the increasingly hot summers in the Greek capital.

December 14 - Cities of the Future

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.