New York
In Manhattan, Shopping and Driving Don't Mix
The New York City Department of Transportation's yearly statistical smorgasbord adds a new tool: neighborhood travel profiles showing how people arrived in eight neighborhoods. In many of them, the number of drivers was in the single digits.
Developer: I've Walked Away From Projects Because of Parking Minimums
Why is it so hard to build in New York City? Why are rents so expensive? It's partly because parking requirement are so onerous that developers are doing everything they can to avoid them, writes Noah Kazis.
Parking Minimums Make Housing More Expensive
A new report from NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy reveals that the parking minimums required for new developments are a significant part of why housing in New York is so expensive.
EIRs for Bike Lanes = Waste of Time and Money
Two Staten Island Republicans want to throw a wrench in the city's bike lane boom by requiring environmental review for all new lanes. Experts explain why that's a bad idea.
Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance Could Relieve Traffic Congestion
By charging drivers for each mile they travel, rather than a fixed amount, pay-as-you-drive insurance could cut driving by eight percent nationally, or more than eleven percent in New York State, says a Brookings Institution report.
Niagara Falls, New York: The Epitome of Bad Urban Planning
An extensive piece in Bloomsburg BusinessWeek uncovers the bad ideas and worse decisions that led to the downfall of Niagara Falls, New York. Step one? Replacing the historic downtown with "a bunch of modernist follies."
The Rise And Fall of Cities
Victor David Hanson uses a broad historical perspective to examine the causes of the rise and fall of former world cities. He argues that the computer driven, global age will accelerate the process of growth and decline.
Theft Apparently Not a Problem for Bike-Sharing Programs in the U.S.
Bike-sharing can't seem to shake its reputation for being a crime magnet, as in Paris. But here in the United States, theft and vandalism simply haven't emerged as problems, says Noah Kazis.
Roosevelt Island Parking Sensors Will Point the Way to Smart Parking
By providing real-time data about what actually happens in on-street spaces, the sensors can help enforce parking laws, move toward smart and flexible curbside pricing, and prevent cruising and traffic congestion.
Cities Struggle to Maintain Public Housing
Across the country, federal funding is unable to keep up with repair costs, forcing some municipalities to cut units from their programs.
Transit, Not Traffic Reduction, Helps NYC Hit Greenhouse Gas Targets
Is New York City's green transportation revolution overhyped? It turns out that emissions from private cars actually increased between 2007 and 2009, and that almost none of the city's greenhouse gas reductions came from the transportation sector.
Broadway's "Self-Reinforcing Cycle"
In the last 2 years, New York's Broadway has given up 3.5 miles of traffic lanes and parking to bike lanes and pedestrian access, and gained a significant improvement in congestion and accident rates.
New York Passes Smart Growth Bill
Governor David Paterson signed The Smart Growth Public Policy Infrastructure Policy Act on Monday, which directs the state to invest in infrastructure in dense communities rather than sprawling ones.
Park Smart Pilot Has Cut Traffic in Park Slope, DOT Finds
Higher parking meter prices have helped allow more people to park in the Brooklyn neighborhood even while easing congestion.
NYC Kids are Safer Because They Ride Public Transit More
A recent study shows that traffic fatality rates are lower for children in areas where public transit is widely used.
How Portland Sold Its Banks on Walkable Development
Finding financing is one of the biggest challenges for transit-oriented development. How did Portland convince its lenders to get on board?
Does New York's PlaNYC 2030 Need Community Participation?
In this commentary, Tom Angotti questions if New York's sustainability plan can be effective if the process remains remains top-down and Mayor-controlled.
What Can Taxi Data Tell Us About NYC Streets?
New York City has GPS data from tens of thousands of taxis and is beginning to mine that information to improve its streets. We talked to some transportation experts for their ideas on how to use it.
20mph Zones Saving Lives in London
Over the last decade, London has established more than four hundred 20 mph zones across the city. The 10mph decrease has had a significant effect on the number of fatalities.
Naming a Nonexistent Neighborhood
"Greenwich South" is a proposed re-branding of an area near the World Trade Center site, driven by The Alliance for Downtown New York and re-envisioned by ten different architectural firms.
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
