Public Transit
What's Good about Being an Urban Planner?
For urban planners, it’s easy to focus on the negatives of the job. Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau reminds us of some of the positive trends in planning, especially in Los Angeles.
The Biggest Transportation Winner on the Nov. 4 Ballot
The ballot measure generating the most new transportation funds approved by voters this month was in Alameda County, Calif. Voters chose to double an existing sales tax to one percent and extend it to 2045, raising $7.8 billion over 30 years.
To Keep the Weight Off—Oklahoma City Prioritizes Active Urban Spaces
In 2012, Oklahoma City lost one million pounds by going on a citywide diet. Now it plans to keep the weight off by funding and building a more active, less car-centric city.
Perfect Logic—Why Drivers and Transit Users Support Public Transportation
The American Public Transportation Association's Director of Policy Development and Research responds to Eric Jaffe's question: "If So Many People Support Transit, Why Do So Few Ride?"
Study: Reducing Car Dependence Would Save $100 Trillion by 2050
A study examines the impact of a worldwide shift away from automobile infrastructure and finds a staggering amount of potential benefits by the year 2050.
Survey: Most Americans Support Increased Spending on Public Transportation
A new survey finds growing public support for increased federal spending on public transportation, even if that means increased taxes.
Baltimore Bus Stop Design Leaves No Doubt
Part street furniture, part advertisement for public transit, part public art—the designers of a new bus stop installation in Baltimore call it "an obvious bus stop."
Seattle Voters To Be Put To Transit Test in November
Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.
Should Transit Systems Break from the Low Fare Orthodoxy?
A proposal for a radical reinvention of the fare structure for the country's transit systems—one that balances the cost of transit with that of driving, generates more revenue from fares, and enables more capital investments.
'Go Forward' Plan Would Expand Bus Service in Cincinnati
With 41 percent of the Cincinnati region’s 1 million jobs located in neighborhoods without public transportation, the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority is developing the "Go Forward" plan to lean on bus service to fill the gap.
Liberals More Likely to Use Public Transit
Digging further into a recent report from the Pew Research Center that finds growing political polarization among Americans, Emily Badger finds use of public transit runs along ideological lines.
Dallas the Setting for a Discussion of 'New Cities'
After the New Cities Summit last week, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors this week, Dallas has been the location of a lot of recent discussion about the future of cities.
Evaluating Public Transport Funding Options
Many jurisdictions need additional funding to improve, or just maintain, their public transport services. A timely new study evaluates eighteen potential funding options according to eight criteria.
Dueling Proposals to Save Bus Service in Seattle
After a resounding defeat to Proposition 1, a countywide measure that would have raised fees and taxes to address an ongoing budget deficit at King County Metro Transit, Seattle is scrambling to find the money to preserve local bus routes.
Why BRT Needs to Go Downtown
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is controversial all over the country. Controversy can often lead to compromises, such as mixing the buses into traffic. A recent article makes the case for overcoming controversy and committing to BRT in downtowns.
New Seattle Bus Funding Initiative Addresses City-Suburb Split
It's a pattern seen as recently as two years ago in metro Atlanta: a crucial transit measure wins in the central city but dies in the more populous suburbs. The fix is to craft a city-only transit initiative—just what advocates in Seattle will do.
Seattle Area Voters Resoundingly Reject Transit Initiative
With 55 per cent of the vote, King County voters on April 22 opposed increasing their sales tax by one-tenth of one per cent and increasing an annual auto registration fee by $60. 72 Metro Transit bus routes will be eliminated.
St. Louis at a Transit Crossroads
A recent article tackles the counter-intuitive state of transit investment in the St. Louis region: “While the abundance of transit possibilities create a veneer of progress, the region is quietly in a public transit state of crisis.”
What Cars Took: the Middle Class
Following on the recent, promising news of increased transit ridership around the country, one writer calls for an end to the institutional bias toward cars. The key point of the appeal: public transit infrastructure benefits the middle class.
Report: Low Income, Rural Drivers are Disproportionate Polluters
A new report points to the 10-15% of vehicles in California that cause half the smog caused by light duty vehicles. Rather than urban strategies such as transit or TOD, the authors support improving the vehicle retirement and replacement program.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
