The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

In Final Days in Office, Virginia Governor Extends Express Lanes at No Cost to Taxpayers
The Australian toll road company, Transurban, will build two, 10-mile reversible express lanes for Virginia Department of Transportation and provide $277 million for a new bridge in the corridor. Free for carpools, others will pay a variable toll.

Middle Schoolers Plan the 'Future City'
The deliverables in the Future City competition—open to children in grades six through eight—include a virtual city design (using SimCity), a scale model, a project plan, and more.
'An Adult Day Care on Every Corner:' Aging in the Rio Grande Valley
In a region where most people “age in place,” facilities offering services and socialization give primary caregivers a much-needed break.

Trial Over San Francisco Waterfront Development Height Limits Begins
The State Lands Commission filed suit shortly after San Francisco voters approved Prop. B in June 2014, requiring waterfront developments exceeding height limits to obtain voter approval rather than go through the Planning Commission process.

The Real Benefits of Congestion Pricing
Like so many other transportation policies, congestion pricing risks being sold for the wrong reasons.

Reexamining Notions of Placemaking
Surveying the public discussion for answers about how to make sense of placemaking.

Well Planned Bus Routes Can Help Improve Poverty
A new study by Rahul Pathaka, Christopher K. Wyczalkowskib, Xi Huangb produces new evidence for the most effective method for improving conditions of poverty.

A Pro-Housing Policy List of Your Wildest YIMBY Dreams
This list is a wishlist of the most ambitious possible YIMBY political platform.

Oregon Proposed 'Cap and Invest' Bill, Explained
Oregon legislators are hard at work on two new "cap and invest" bills that would establish a "market-based, carrot-and-stick approach to reducing greenhouse gas pollution."

Ballot Measure to Hike Bay Area Bridge Tolls Headed for June Ballot
A modest toll increase, $3 over six years, took a major step forward with the approval of a key Bay Area Toll Authority committee. With the exception of the Bay Bridge, the round-trip toll on each of the region's seven state-owned bridges is $5.

10 U.S. Megaprojects to Watch
Curbed has produced a list of ten megaprojects that will reshape U.S. cities this year.

Ridership Surges After Streetcars Gain Priority in Toronto
Commuters are voting with their feet in Toronto as ridership surges on the King Street streetcar after changes that restricted cars along the route.

San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower Opens, Underwhelms
Of the city’s newest, tallest building John King writes, “[it’s] as if the creators were so busy being tasteful they forgot that big buildings can be fun."

Almost a Billion Dollars of Redevelopment Investment Headed to Pittsburgh's South Shore
A stretch of land along the Monongahela River is attracting multiple deep-pocketed investors.

A Tale of Two Colorados
As a case study for the rest of the country, Colorado offers striking examples of the rural-urban divide.

Wisconsin Ad Campaign Ridicules Illinois to Attract Millennials
A critique of the "Wisconsin: It's more you" ad campaign serves as a lesson for anyone who throws the word Millennial around like a magic talisman.

Ford Developing a 'Transportation Mobility Cloud'
The future of every kind of vehicle—not just autonomous vehicles—will be built on technologies. Time will tell if Ford manages to corner the market on this particular form of transportation.

Density and Activity Near Transit, Explained for the Twin Cities Regional Transportation Plan
The Metropolitan Planning Council offers guidance on how regional planning efforts around the Twin Cities should address the connections between land use and transit.
A Change in Land Use Leadership in New York City
A new speaker of the New York City Council is expected to change the way development negotiations play out for local councilmembers.

50-Cent Gas Tax Increase Ruled-Out by GOP Congressional Leaders
News of the GOP's rejection of a gas tax increase comes from reports on two recent private meetings between Republican leaders and the Trump Administration.
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Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.