The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Street-level view of Broadway Street, San Antonio, Texas

TxDOT Blocks San Antonio Bike Lanes

The agency argues that the city cannot introduce lane reductions on a state road, putting a long-planned bike lane project in jeopardy and superseding local decisionmaking.

September 13 - Governing

Pedestrians walking in downtown Denver, Colorado surrounded by tall office towers

Jaywalking Up for Decriminalization in Denver

Like other city and state leaders, Denver’s city council will weigh a proposal to decriminalize jaywalking in an effort to reduce interactions with law enforcement and improve transportation equity.

September 13 - Westword

Green Monopoly houses on game board

Richard Florida Explains the Housing Crisis

The urbanist puts the blame for rising housing costs largely on landlords and property owners, arguing that much of the wealth created by modern capitalism is ‘plowed back into dirt.’

September 13 - Bloomberg CityLab

View of Jackson Square, New Orleans with cathedral and street dancers in foreground

Bringing Back America’s Town Squares

Digital connection is no substitute for the vitality and community created by open, pleasant public squares and plazas.

September 13 - Governing

Bikes on Marcy Ave, new York

Centering Bikes in the Future of Mobility

Those in search of high-tech solutions for urban congestion and pollution often overlook the bicycle as a powerful, if simple, tool for reducing both and improving urban transportation.

September 12 - Next City


Harvey Floods Houston

Access to Flood Risk Data Shifts Homebuyer Behavior

With climate risks threatening more communities, providing clear, accessible risk information to potential homebuyers can help households make informed decisions and inform local resiliency efforts.

September 12 - Redfin

A map highlighting Danville, California, a city located along Interstate 680 in the East Bay Area.

New Downtown Master Plan for Danville, California

The city of Danville, located along the Easy Bay Area’s I-680 corridor, last week approved a new master plan for its downtown, with funding for implementation made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act.

September 12 - Danville San Ramon


Encampment of unhoused people with tents and draped fabrics in Austin, Texas

Unhoused Austin Population Spikes Under Reinstated Camping Ban

The Texas capital is struggling to house its unsheltered residents even as the city commits more resources to building and acquiring more affordable housing units.

September 12 - Next City

Bike Infrastructure

Is ‘Protected Bike Lane’ an Oxymoron?

Some research suggests that separated and even ‘protected’ bike lanes actually increase the likelihood of car-bike collisions.

September 12 - Forbes

A police officer in a Baltimore, Maryland subway station

Baltimore Judge Tosses Regional Transit Voter Question

The Baltimore City Board of Elections and a local circuit court judge have blocked the efforts of transit advocates to seek support from voters for a regional transportation authority.

September 12 - The Baltimore Sun

Homeless encampment on overpass in downtown Los Angeles with police car in foreground

The ‘Meanest Cities’ in America

A list dubbed the ‘Dirty Dozen’ shames the cities where unhoused people face the most harassment and least support from authorities.

September 12 - National Coalition for the Homeless

A view of the Cross Bronx Expressway, an elevated highway that allows cars to drive past apartment buildings.

The Case for Urban Highway Removal

Instead of removing urban freeways, which have proven to be destructive to communities and economies—in some cases deliberately so—many cities are expanding freeways in and around cities.

September 12 - The New York Times

Power lines and towers at a substation against a red sunset backdrop

Disaster Averted!

The California power grid withstood its biggest test ever on Tuesday and passed—barely. The only rolling blackouts that occurred during the Stage Three Energy Emergency alert were results of miscommunication.

September 11 - Los Angeles Times

Wyoming

Measuring the Urban Exodus

New data reveals truths about one of the biggest questions to emerge from the pandemic: Did the public health risks and economic disruptions of 2020 and 2021 spur an urban exodus away from the urban cores of large metropolitan areas?

September 11 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Self-Driving Cars

Skepticism for an Auto-Dependent Future

A new book makes the case that the promises of the transportation technology industry will fall short of the needs of cities and the planet.

September 11 - Vox

Dense, run-down apartment buildings in New York City

Can We Prevent Slumlords From Buying More Buildings?

Why should owners of buildings in illegally poor repair be able to buy more rentals? As Washington, D.C. found, it can be a difficult thing to prevent.

September 11 - Shelterforce Magazine

Foggy rural road with power lines and haystacks along the side

Nearly Half of U.S. Traffic Deaths Occur on Rural Roads

A lack of access to public transit, scarcer law enforcement, and reduced access to nearby medical care contribute to more risky behavior and more deadly crashes on rural roads.

September 9 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gray houses under construction

How to Retrofit the Housing Economy

Are policy changes enough to address the housing problems we face?

September 9 - Shelterforce Magazine

Aerial view of elevated Buffalo Skyway freeway in Buffalo, New York

‘Freeways Without Futures’ Spotlights Freeway Removal Efforts

Around the country, cities and states are starting to listen to decades-old demands to remove freeways that have displaced and fractured communities.

September 9 - CNU Public Square

Row Houses at 48th between Walton and Cedar, West Philadelphia

Hands Off the Houses: Can We Stop Speculative Land Grabs?

From the macro scale to the micro scale, there are many ways in which the housing market playing field is tilted toward financial firms—and many proposals for how to start tilting it back.

September 9 - Shelterforce Magazine

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