The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Welcome to Brooklyn

Spike Lee Takes on Gentrification in Netflix Series

In an update to his 1986 movie "She's Gotta Have It," Spike Lee confronts the ways Brooklyn has changed since then, gentrification and racial tension included.

December 13 - CityLab

London Underground

How London's Leading on Transit Data

Transport for London is forging ahead on several projects to collect and use more rider data. One initiative draws on WiFi connections to map users' paths through the London Underground.

December 13 - DW.com

Delray, Detroit

A Detroit Neighborhood 'Sentenced to Die'

A handful of Delray residents refuse to be displaced by industry, but the plan for a new bridge may mean they don't have a choice.

December 13 - Detroit Free Press

Splash Park

'Splash Pad Urbanism,' Threats to Open Space, and More Landscape Architecture Trends

There was plenty of good to go with the bad from a year of professional and academic practice in the field of landscape architecture.

December 13 - Huffington Post

Metropolitan Detention Center

What Jail Can't Do

Frank Greene and Kenneth Ricci discuss the changing paradigms of half a century of justice architecture and what we should ask — and expect — from courts and jails.

December 12 - Urban Omnibus


Dublin, California Freeway

Bay Area Express Lanes Turn a Profit

Not all of them, just the I-580 lanes. One of the reasons is that most users are actually paying, unlike the other two express lanes where a majority of users are clean-air vehicles or carpools, neither of which pay.

December 12 - San Francisco Chronicle

Washington, D.C.

Shared Street Mixes Pedestrians and Cars—Truly Radical

A new development in Washington, D.C. features the largest "shared space" in the United States.

December 12 - Public Square: A CNU Journal


Fox River

Economic Evolution of the Rust Belt

Can Rust Belt cities evolve from low-skill factory jobs and paternal company town employers in to more diverse and dynamic entrepreneurial economies?

December 12 - Brookings Institution

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Dies Suddenly at 65

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee passed away of a heart attack early this morning. He was 65.

December 12 - SFGate

Self-Driving Bus

FTA Launches Five-Year Study of Benefits of Vehicle Automation to Public Transit

Much of the scientific inquiry into the potential effects of automated vehicles has focused on ride hailing and transportation networking companies. What about good old-fashioned buses?

December 12 - Eno Center for Transportation

More Projects Adopt Pedestrian-Friendly Sidewalk Shed

Last year more than 9,000 sidewalk sheds dotted New York streets, protecting public safety and inspiring universal frustration.

December 12 - Yahoo Finance

An App That Pairs Young Renters With Older Homeowners

A new platform called Nesterly provides housing solutions for people on either side of the age demographic spectrum.

December 12 - Fast Company Co.Design

Texas Townhomes

'Missing Middle' Housing and the Expected Millennial Exodus

The Washington Post examines "missing middle" housing as a solution for retaining millennials in cities and interior suburbs. There is still some question, however, about whether millennials are actually leaving urban areas.

December 12 - The Washington Post

Ontario, Canada

Follow Up Questions for Toronto's Big 'Smart City' Plan

When it comes to "smart city" plans, there might not be a bigger blockbuster than the partnership between Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk Labs, a unit of Google's parent company, Alphabet.

December 12 - Smithsonian

Full House Painted Ladies

Real Estate Industry Wants to Expand Prop. 13 Property Tax Breaks

A proposed ballot initiative in California would extend the property tax limits offered by Proposition 13 as a lifetime benefit to homeowners over age 55 or severely disabled—even if they move to a new home in another part of the state.

December 11 - The Mercury News

Illinois DOT Expands its I-55 Express Lane Ambitions

A proposal to add express lanes on a notoriously congested stretch of I-55 that passes through the western Chicago suburbs could expand from $25 million to $700 million with the addition of an extra toll lane.

December 11 - Chicago Tribune

BART Train

BART Goes Renewable

The Board of Directors approved a path to 90 percent renewable energy.

December 11 - San Francisco Examiner

Prospect Hill Park, Waltham, MA

Massachusetts Governor Sets a Housing Development Agenda

The state of Massachusetts has set a goal to add 135,000 new housing units over the next eight years. To achieve that goal, the state will provide incentives for cities that streamline development approval.

December 11 - The Boston Globe

HUD's New York Leader Suggests Privatizing Public Housing

In The Real Deal, HUD administrator Lynne Patton hints at a 10-point plan for New York and New Jersey.

December 11 - The Real Deal

California from Space

Can We Know Which Homes in California Will Burn?

As the state's worst wildfire season ever refuses to end, an analyst from UCLA considers how land use and building codes determine the location and extent of the damage.

December 11 - The Conversation

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.