Academic Studies
Accounting for the Indecision of Pedestrians
A post on Ars Technica digs into the complicated world of pedestrian modeling and identifies a culprit in the problems with existing models: indecisive people.
New Evidence of the Superiority of Bike Lanes Over Sharrows
A study presented last week to the Transportation Research Board shows that the quality of the bike infrastructure has a significant effect for commuting rates and safety.
Using Twitter to Better Understand Public Sentiment
By using the data provided by millions of Twitter users, two researchers discovered surprising insights into public sentiment in shrinking cities.
Study Finds Strong Evidence that Parking Causes Driving
A new study presented at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting builds a strong case that parking causes driving.
Study: Motivations for Active Transportation Vary by Income Levels
The motivations to walk or bike vary greatly by income levels, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Washington. The wealthy, as it turns out, are the outliers.
Pave Paradise and Put Up a 16-Mile Parking Lot—An Inventory of L.A. County Parking
A new study quantifies the amount of space devoted to parking in Los Angeles County—a figure that just begs to be visualized.
Study: Climate Change Turning World's Lakes Into Hot Tubs
The message of a new study funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation: don't forget freshwater when considering the impacts of climate change. Lakes and other bodies of water are threatened by potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities.
Land Use Policies and the Future of Cities
Land is perhaps the most fundamental consideration in every variety of planning process—the cost of land, the availability of land, the condition of land, etc. A new e-book studies the importance of land to the global urban future.
Study Reveals How People Link Bike Share and Transit
Bike share changes the way people use transit, depending on the time and the place.
Analyzing the Impacts of Choice Neighborhoods Grants
A new study examines the question of how to achieve neighborhood transformation through the Choice Neighborhoods federal grant program.
Estimated Cost Savings of 10 Percent of People Riding Bikes: $24 Trillion
The mode share for bikes in urban environments around the world currently sits around 6 percent. A new report out of a university located in one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country quantifies the benefits of 10 percent mode share.
Where People Choose to Live—Simple and Also Not-So-Simple
A new study confirms much of what we already suspect about the choices people make about where to live, but with a far-reaching, scientific approach.
Researchers Finding Evidence of the Negative Impacts of Trees in Urban Settings
More and more evidence has emerged in recent years about the many benefits of trees in urban environments. Every now and then, however, a study finds evidence that tress might not always be as benevolent as they seem.
Why Biking and Walking Can't Be Lumped Together
Biking and walking are often assumed as two peas in a pod, when in fact it might be more helpful to think of them as apples and oranges.
How Sea Level Rise Will Change the Country's Geography
In a worst case scenario, generated by a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, land home to 25 million Americans will be lost to rising seas as a result of climate change.
Study Quantifies Land Use Benefits of Transit Investments
A study by the Transportation Research Board calculates "land use effect" and "ridership effect" to show how much land is saved when cities include public transit.
Surveying the Academic Findings about Gentrification and Displacement
Gentrification is neither a quick nor an easy study—as many Planetizen readers know. But what has been discovered thus far, and what obstacles to more understanding need to be overcome?
On the 'Tree Wealth' of the World's Countries
A closer look at the data of a study revealing the number of trees on the planet shows several ways to compare and contrast the relative resources, in the form of trees, of countries around the world.
Technology Enables a New Understanding of the World's 3.04 Trillion Trees
A news study, combining satellite imagery and field study, dramatically increases the estimated trees in the world. What has not changed: how quickly humans are killing those trees off.
The Influence of Public Works on Gentrification
New research examines the role of public investments in gentrification.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
