The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Coronavirus Skies

FEATURE

Coupling Housing and Mobility: A Radical Rethink for Freeways

An ambitious vision for freeways: intersections with dense, tall buildings and rights of way repurposed for high-speed, high-capacity public transit.

October 28 - Richard Dion

British Columbia residential Neighborhoods

Opinion: Renters Shouldn't Be a 'Buffer' for Single-Family Homes

Despite the well-documented impacts of traffic noise and pollution, Vancouver's housing policy effectively relegates multi-family apartment buildings to busy arterial roads.

October 28 - Sightline Institute

Pandemic Bike Lanes

Paris Plans to Become a '100 Percent Cyclable' City

Mayor Anne Hidalgo continues her commitment to making Paris more bikeable with a new plan that will improve bike parking and facilities in the French capital.

October 28 - Forbes

Image of electric cargo bike with UPS logo

Cargo Bike Pilot Reduces Emissions by 30%

The program deployed electric cargo bikes in a small Seattle neighborhood to test the effectiveness of replacing delivery trucks with lighter vehicles in the last mile of delivery.

October 27 - Fast Company

Chicago Street

Chicago Grants Support Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

The eTOD program centers equity as a consideration for new projects.

October 27 - WBEZ


17th Street, Denver, Colorado

Improving Housing Through Trauma-Informed Design

A growing awareness of the link between the built environment and mental health has led some designers to examine the ways we can make housing feel more safe and welcoming for vulnerable populations.

October 27 - NextCity

Houston Freeway

The Central Myths of U.S. Car Culture

Five myths about highways that ensure a culture of car dependence.

October 27 - The Washington Post


Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas

Austin Leaders Denounce 20-Lane Freeway Project

TxDOT is pushing ahead with plans for a massive freeway expansion project through downtown Austin despite opposition from virtually all local leaders.

October 27 - Slate

Coronavirus

Monitoring the Effects of the Pandemic on Metros and Cities

Eugénie Birch discusses cities' and metros' recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 27 - Penn IUR Urban Link

MARTA Bus

Downtown Atlanta Association Calls for Changes to Proposed BRT Line

The group expressed concerns with changes made to a key segment, which leaves riders with fewer connections to existing transit and does not position the line for future growth.

October 27 - Urbanize Atlanta

Abandoned buildings on Hart Island

New York Plans to Improve Access to Hart Island, the Nation's Largest Public Cemetery

Managed for decades by the Department of Corrections, the island could soon become a public park with regular ferry service and expanded visiting hours.

October 27 - Bloomberg CityLab

Bus Priority Zones

Bus Lane Plans Continue Retreat in New York City—This Time it's Fifth Avenue

The de Blasio administration caved to the interests of a Manhattan real estate developer and shelved a plan to prioritize bus transit over private automobiles on one of the most famous corridors in the world.

October 26 - The New York Times

Mass Vaccination

COVID Vaccination Strategy: What the U.K. and U.S. Could Learn from Israel

Cases are surging in the U.K. despite 68% of its population being fully vaccinated. Experts say that U.K. officials should observe how Israel, with 63% of its population fully vaccinated, managed to reduce transmission after a similar surge.

October 26 - Bloomberg Prognosis

San Francisco Bay Area

Plan Bay Area 2050, Approved Last Week, Makes the Opinion Page

A traditionally controversial planning exercise, the regular update of the 30-year plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, has crossed the finish line again. Opponents aren't letting the issues rest, however.

October 26 - The Mercury News

A Tesla Model 3 with a European license plate is connected to a Tesla Supercharger.

Tesla 3 Now the Best-Selling Car in Europe

For the first time ever, an electric vehicle was the most sold car in Europe—with Tesla's Model 3 outselling all other cars on the continent in the month of September.

October 26 - Reuters via U.S. News & World Report

New York Bus

What COVID Taught About Mobility Justice

Transit agencies are waking up to the inequities in transportation systems—highlighted by the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic.

October 26 - Grist

Empty living room/dining room in an apartment in a 1920s apartment house, Los Angeles, California.

Spiking Rents Putting More People at Risk of Eviction

Housing costs across the country are becoming more and more unaffordable for low- and moderate-income households, a trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

October 26 - The New York Times

Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Promises 'Net Zero' Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2060

Cue a grain of salt.

October 26 - The Washington Post

The exterior of the Civic Opera Building in Chicago, an art deco building built in the 1920s.

Signs of Financial Distress Among Office Properties

The foreclosure risk facing a pair of high-profile office buildings highlight the debt difficulties facing the office sector as it deals with the fallout of the pandemic. The trend could be on the verge of picking up steam.

October 26 - Cincinnati Business Courier

The exterior of a large Amazon distribution center located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Amazon Shifting From Land Lessee to Land Owner

Amazon has been tending to buy when previously it would have leased, and the trend has massive implications for the industrial real estate market.

October 25 - Bisnow

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.