The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Chicago Commuter Rail

What's Hindering Regional Transportation in the U.S.?

Public transportation that serves regional areas makes sense, but the United States has been slow to pursue strategies and policies that foster these types of systems.

September 29 - the transport politic

Puget Sound

Op-Ed: Seattle Resilience Roadmap Feels 'Retrospective'

Natalie Bicknell notes several deficiencies in the roadmap that resulted from Seattle's participation in the Rockefeller Foundation's now-defunct 100 Resilient Cities program.

September 29 - The Urbanist

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Op-Ed: Feds 'Obsessed' with Undermining National Monument

Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is under severe assault from the Trump administration, Stephen Trimble writes. Long the focus of preservation efforts, the protected land is being opened up for extractive uses.

September 29 - The Hill

Green Electricity for Lime Scooters

A new program that will incentivize scooter "juicers," the people who collect and charge electric scooters for a fee, to switch to green energy.

September 29 - CityLab

2004 Rezoning Didn't Predict the Wave of Residential Development in Downtown Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn is New York City's third-largest central business district, and a 2004 rezoning was meant to increase the commercial footprint in the area. Instead there's been more residential development than planners anticipated.

September 29 - Crain's New York Business


Homeless Living in RVs

Denver Suburb Bans RVs From Parking on Streets Citywide

Lakewood is taking an aggressive approach to homeless people sleeping in cars on public streets.

September 28 - The Denver Post

Seattle Homeless

Seattle Tiny-Home Villages Facing Host of Challenges

The villages offer much-needed housing for homeless people, but controversy is brewing over their operations.

September 28 - The Seattle Times


Colorado River

Changes for Big Pipeline Project to Connect Utah to the Colorado River

A hugely significant water and power infrastructure project in the works in Utah is now only a water project.

September 28 - The Salt Lake Tribune

Brooklyn Redevelopment

Brooklyn Navy Yard's Transformation in High Gear

A Curbed feature details the ongoing transformation of a formerly inaccessible and inhospitable corner of New York City.

September 28 - Curbed New York

High Line Crowds

How to Prevent 'Green Gentrification'

A new report examines a range of strategies that limit the displacement effects of park projects.

September 28 - CityLab

Single Family Residential Construction

Not Enough Housing, Or Too Much of the Wrong Kind

Permits for new housing continue to lag despite a long economic boom. For coastal metros, it's a familiar story of job growth outpacing new construction. In some Sun Belt cities, sprawl is the bigger concern.

September 27 - CityLab

Mobile Phones

Report: Dangers of Pedestrian Texting Overblown

Distracted walking is never a great idea. But in New York City at least, texting while walking only led to 2 out of 534 pedestrian deaths from 2014 through 2017.

September 27 - New York Daily News

Another McMansion

Behind America's Fixation on Big Houses

McMansion or not, the American home is a good 600 to 800 square feet larger than the average in most other countries. Possible reasons run the gamut from policy to culture to personal economics.

September 27 - The Atlantic

Pedestrians

U.S. Lagging in Making Streets Safer for Pedestrians

Pedestrian deaths are on the rise in the United States, but cities have been slow to implement effective policies and road design measures to change the trend.

September 27 - Los Angeles Times

Electric Cars

California Needs More EV Chargers to Keep Up with Demand

Electric vehicle sales continue to rise, but the need for more charging infrastructure is increasing as well.

September 27 - San Francisco Chronicle

Fresno Sprawl

A New City of 100,000-Plus People Rises in California's Central Valley

Numerous master planned communities are popping at a quick rate in the Central Valley outside the city of Fresno, but just across the line in Madera County. A new city is envisioned.

September 27 - Fresno Bee

English Architecture

Friday Funny: If BART Went Tudor Style

Trigger warning: this is going to get ugly.

September 27 - Twitter

Bike Lane Debate Continues in San Antonio

As a project to re-engineer Broadway in San Antonio continues, questions about where to put bike lanes persist.

September 27 - Rivard Report

Cedar River

Pedestrian Bridge Aims for Iconic Status in Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids took a crucial step forward on plans to build the Smokestock Bridge—a pedestrian bridge across the Cedar River.

September 27 - The Gazette

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Initial Site Plan for Amazon's HQ2 Finds Critics

A lack of architectural ambition and a focus on car transportation are two of the criticisms that have followed Amazon's initial plans for its second headquarters in Northern Virginia.

September 27 - ARLnow

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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.