Atlanta's BeltLine is a great example of a big "catalyst project," writes Ryan Gravel, which repurposes a 22-mile railroad into a linear park. Other cities can follow suit.
"The highways that were designed to empty central Detroit at the end of each business day should be largely abandoned. They did their job and are no longer needed. Greenways could be built in their place, along with repaired connections to the urban grid (imagine something like Boston's Emerald Necklace linking the Detroit River directly to Wayne State University)."
"By implementing transit service and bikeways along these routes, supported by zoning, business incentives, and an appropriately open-minded political atmosphere, these revived avenues, just like the Atlanta BeltLine or the Los Angeles River, could become an infrastructure framework on which multiple futures for the city are built, none of which we can possibly right now imagine."
FULL STORY: What The Atlanta BeltLine Can Teach Us About Urban Revitalization
Racism Has Shaped Public Transit, and It’s Riddled with Inequities
Former Houston METRO Board Member Christof Spieler highlights the racism embedded even in the way transit agencies were created.
Debunking the Arguments Against Detroit's New Bike Lanes
Protected bike lanes, this writer argues, are just one part of a broader rebuild of Detroit that prioritizes engagement.
Report Details Racial Inequality in Four Cities
Five decades after the Fair Housing Act, racial inequality is still rampant in American cities. Trulia and the National Fair Housing Alliance collaborated on this report on four of them.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research