The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

State capital building

Statewide Rent Control Moving Through the Oregon Legislature

Democratic legislators in Oregon are pushing hard to approve a statewide rent control bill that would be the first of its kind in the United States.

February 19 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

OC Transpo Ottowa

Gender, Climate Change, and Transit Decision Makers

A member of Ottawa’s city council says transit commissioners should support women’s rights and believe that climate change is real.

February 19 - Ottawa Citizen

Protected Bike Lane

Two Cities That Reduced Driving Over a Decade

Minneapolis and Seattle bucked national trends by increasing active transportation and use of public transit in recent years.

February 19 - Streetsblog USA

Illinois Highway 90

Sale of Illinois Tollway Considered to Pay Pension Debt

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a $134 billion problem in unfunded pension liabilities. Along with several other measures, his administration is considering selling state assets, including the Illinois Tollway, to fill the hole.

February 19 - Chicago Tribune

Toronto Lyrics

Ontario's Plan for Taking Over Toronto's Subway Revealed

Ontario Progressive Conservatives want the province to take ownership of the city of Toronto's subway network and take responsibility for maintaining and construction.

February 19 - The Star


Los Angeles High Rise Construction

BLOG POST

More Evidence That New Housing Lowers Rents (Maybe)

Even if new housing reduces rents regionwide, scholars are divided as to when and whether new market-rate apartments reduce rents in nearby blocks. A new study seeks to answer this question.

February 18 - Michael Lewyn

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Manhattan Rezonings Pose Tough Challenges for Planners

The New York City Department of Planning kicked off a rezoning process for the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo earlier this month. Planning and development challenges abound.

February 18 - Crain's New York Business


Ohio River

Form at the Forefront of Zoning Code Rewrite in Covington, Kentucky

The city of Covington is conducting public hearings to gather feedback on at the outset of an 18-month process of rewriting its zoning code.

February 18 - City of Covington

Pedestrian Infrastructure

Checking in With St. Paul's First-Ever Pedestrian Plan

The public is providing feedback on the city of St. Paul's first-ever Pedestrian Plan.

February 18 - Next City

New Orleans Streetcar

Speeding Up Trips on the Canal Street Streetcar in New Orleans

Big changes are in store for one of the busiest transit lines in New Orleans.

February 18 - The New Orleans Advocate

Willamette River

Environmental Assessment for I-5 Improvement Project in Portland Promises Air, Traffic, Safety Benefits

The environmental assessment for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, released on February 15, 2019, promises to be controversial.

February 17 - The Oregonian

Kayaking in the LA River

How to Treat Nature Deficit Disorder in L.A. Without Getting on a Freeway

Los Angeles is surrounded by beautiful nature in the form of hills, mountains, beaches, and deserts, but its notorious traffic can make it hell to get there. L.A. County Park Planner Clement Lau describes his favorite nearby nature doses.

February 17 - UrbDeZine

Minneapolis Celebration

Development, Population Growth Reshaping Downtown Minneapolis

Thousands of news residents and apartment units, along with almost a billion dollars of development investments, arrived in Downtown Minneapolis in 2017.

February 17 - Star Tribune

Long Island City

Post-Mortem: Why Amazon Canceled the Queens HQ2

New York City and State offered up nearly $3 billion in incentives to lure Amazon and its 25,000 high-paying jobs to Queens only to see the tech company cancel their plans after local opposition materialized. Was their retreat too hasty?

February 17 - The New York Times

Construction Cranes

Another Approach to Affordable Housing

A new approach to affordable housing attempts to overcome the traditional approaches of supply-side economics and government-funded investments and extractions.

February 17 - City Observatory

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

14 Potential Locations for a New Bridge Across the Chesapeake Bay

A long term plan to add an additional bridge connection across the Chesapeake Bay is underway in Maryland.

February 16 - WTOP

Snowy Residential Neighborhood

Making Historic Preservation a Local Concern

The city of Portland wants more local control when it comes to determining matters of historic preservation.

February 16 - The Oregonian

High-Speed Rail

More Fallout From Downsizing California High-Speed Rail

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial warns that San Francisco must find funds, intended to come from the state's ambitious rail project, to extend the Caltrain commuter rail line to the SalesForce Transit Center.

February 16 - San Francisco Chronicle

New York Subway Stairs

Who Has Access to NYC Subways?

For many people with mobility challenges, just getting to an accessible subway station in New York is an impossibility.

February 16 - The New York Times

Transit Ridership

Survey Examines the Changing Habits of the American Transit Rider

Only from learning more about the choices and preferences of people who actually ride transit can transit agencies hope to better serve riders.

February 16 - TransitCenter

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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.