Apps

One App Combines Bikeshare Info for 110 Cities

The trip planning app Moovit this week announced a big upgrade, bringing together bikeshare info from cities around the world into one place.

January 17, 2016 - Geektime

Map and Phone Navigation

The Best Planning Apps for 2016

A list of mobile apps that support planning, as part of an annual update. Learn about exciting new ways to explore cities and enhance planning via mobile apps. Please feel free to add your own favorites.

January 4, 2016 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Civic Engagement

Rating the Effectiveness of Eight Approaches to Civic Engagement

Code for America has released an Engagement Standard that provides concepts for measuring the quality of new engagement platform technology—not a bad tool to have in the perpetual quest to increase the quality of engagement processes.

December 19, 2015 - User Experience Magazine

An App for Navigating While Walking

A new app called Walc makes navigating while walking easier to do. Even more ambitiously, Walc aims to make it easier to make the choice to walk, rather than drive.

December 18, 2015 - Fast Coexist

Bus Stop Winter

The Quest for Accuracy in Predicting Bus Arrivals Has a New Friend

With better predictions, an app may help alleviate the urban annoyance of waiting for the bus that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago.

December 14, 2015 - Medium

Like Amazon, but for Gas

Never go to a gas station again. We're not talking about transit—we're talking about an app that sends people to your car to fill it up with gas with no service charge.

November 25, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Mobility

Three Ways Mobile Transit Payments Will Change How We Move in Cities

One idea for how to make transit better is rolling out in cities across the country: mobile payment of fares on smartphones.

November 23, 2015 - Regina R. Clewlow

Vision from the Future: A 'Dating App' for Deciding Where to Live

One of the earliest researchers at Skype makes a compelling case for one of the potential applications of artificial intelligence: helping humans decide where and how to migrate.

November 23, 2015 - Medium

Ultimate Tech Guide to Boston

Whether you're a lifelong resident of Boston, just moving there, or simply passing through, this guide has 18 apps and services for navigating and enjoying the city life to its fullest.

November 9, 2015 - Netted

Venice Canals

Can Los Angeles Regulate Airbnb?

Several Los Angeles neighborhoods, Venice in particular, have become hotbeds of short-term rental activity. Upset by a stream of raucous visitors, residents wonder whether the city can—or will—enforce regulations on platforms like Airbnb.

October 16, 2015 - The Los Angeles Times

Mercedes Benz Suburbs

Mercedes-Benz Bets on a Suburban Future

From a new Silicon Valley facility, Mercedes' R&D department is developing car-share services based on a vision of 21st-century suburbs. The company is also testing self-driving prototypes and electric models.

October 12, 2015 - GreenBiz

Lincoln Limos

New York Car Service Companies Go Digital

Facing tough competition from Uber, New York City's neighborhood car service providers are using apps to retain clientele. The jury's still out on whether adaptation will help them stay in business.

August 31, 2015 - The New York Times

Marina City Chicago

'Grow Chicago' Shows the How and Why of Transit Oriented Development

Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council has released a new toolbox full of interactive features intended to assist transit oriented development.

July 26, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

Pittsburgh Bridge

New App Plots the Most Beautiful, Walkable Route

Interested in finding the road less traveled by? Walkonomics has launched in seven cities around the globe.

July 25, 2015 - ASLA The Dirt

Seattle Releases App to Track Development

Into an active development environment, and the resulting heightened pitch of development controversies, comes a new app from the city of Seattle that allows the public to track development projects.

July 23, 2015 - Puget Sound Business Journal

New App from the U.S. EPA Maps Environmental Justice

A publicly available web tool allows access to maps that overlay environmental impacts and the populations they impact (or the populations that manage to avoid such impacts, for that matter).

July 23, 2015 - Smithsonian Magazine

Placemeter Provides New Ways to Measure Traffic

In the ongoing quest to better measure the use of streets by all modes—a new tool could be a game changer for transportation engineers, planners, and advocates alike.

July 11, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Rainbow

Make Your City a Treasure Hunt

Do you remember going on a treasure hunt as a child? Treasure hunts are becoming increasingly popular with adults, as well as children. Technology has enabled mobile treasure hunts with cities across the world hosting hunts.

July 10, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Compass

What Information Do Citizens Need In Tech-Enhanced Cities?

Search engines and mobile apps are becoming increasingly localized and personalized, providing recommendations based on who and where we are. These changes have the potential to impact our cities by encouraging people to broaden their experiences.

July 9, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

New App Would Enable On-Demand Public Transit

As transportation network companies like Uber and Bridj make it easier for some to opt out of the public transit system, a new app would help transit agencies offer more user-centric services.

May 27, 2015 - Fast Co.Exist

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.

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.