The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

LA Times: City Council Should Take Responsibility for Lack of Transit Oriented Development
The Los Angeles Times editorial board has strong words for the Los Angeles City Council about planning for transit oriented development.
Policing is an Information Business
The NYPD vaunts crime mapping technologies from CompStat maps to a vast networked surveillance infrastructure. Who benefits?

Seattle Ready to Give Free Transit Passes to All High School Students
About 16,000 Seattle students would get free transit passes when school starts again in the fall under a plan approved by the Seattle City Council yesterday.

To Make the Most of Transit Oriented Development, Include Affordable Housing
Low-income residents are more likely to use transit, and transit needs riders. The relationship seems ripe for mutual benefit.

Oil and Gas Industry Lobbyists Promote Carbon Tax
A political action committee representing the energy industry, including fossil fuels, has been formed by two former U.S. senators, a Republican and Democrat, to advance a carbon fee-and-dividend plan on Capitol Hill.

Learning from Suburban Housing
"Looking at the suburbs, therefore, provides a way of understanding a vast segment of the public without the need to endorse or slander their homes."

The Long-Term Thinking Cities Need
A roundtable of discussion of prominent urbanists examines the questions of urbanism with a long-term mindset.

Three Ways to Make GIS as Powerful as Possible
These days, cities are expected to make the most of open data and spatial visualization technologies.
First Protected Bike Lanes Coming Soon to Bellevue
Bellevue, Washington is adding its first protected bike lanes, and is planning a lot more bike infrastructure to come.

Massive Waterfront Investment 'Reinvents' Tampa
After decades of planning, the city hopes several huge developments will draw millenials and empty-nesters.

When Pennsylvania's 'Right to Farm' Means Living With the Pigs Next Door
New residents to formerly agricultural area are trying to shut down a hog-feeding operation, but so far without much success.

Even in the Pacific Northwest, Developments Conflict With Water
The Seattle region would seem to have plenty of water to go around. That doesn't mean there aren't environmental consequences for more development.

Rent Control Falls Short of the Ballot in Multiple California Cities
Support for rent control is building at the state level in California. Support hasn't been as easy tt rally at the local level, however.

Scooter War Now a Scooter Competition
Three scooter companies, Lime, Bird and Spin, removed their scooters from the sidewalks of San Francisco earlier this month and applied, with nine other companies, for five permits to operate up to 2,500 scooters in a tightly regulated pilot program.

Plans for Immigrant 'Detention Centers' Revealed at Military Sites Around the U.S.
Plans for temporary facilities designed to house between 25,000 to 45,000 people have been revealed by Time Magazine. Sites in Alabama, Arizona, California,

When Gentrification Follows Transit Oriented Development
From an environmental perspective, transit oriented development is hard to argue. From a socio-economic perspective, transit oriented development must make room for all income levels, according to this opinion piece posted on the NRDC website.

Tampa to Orlando High Speed Rail Back on the Table
Brightline thinks it can build a high speed rail connection between Tampa and Orlando without public money, and Governor Rick Scott looks ready to let them.

Studies: Drivers Far More Distracted Than Walkers
Two articles in national publications share findings from recent studies that make it harder to accept the "distracted walking" excuse for increased traffic fatalities.

Did the Supreme Court End the 'Retail Apocalypse'?
The decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair certainly didn't hurt traditional retailers, but they're still going to have to help themselves in the face of competition from online retail.
Maryland Highway Plan Would Destroy Affordable Housing, Displace Low-Income Residents
A local writer compares the plan to expand I-270 and the Capital Beltway to an earlier era of transportation planning.
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