Subway

Busy New York City subway platform with blurred people walking in and out of trains and close-up on red brick wall on right.

New York Subway Reaches One Billion Ride Milestone

The system’s 2024 performance is on track for its fastest growth since the pandemic.

November 6, 2024 - Bronx Times

Empty hallway lined with white tile in subway station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

How Does Air Quality in a Philly Subway Station Compare to the Outdoors?

A team of researchers found much higher levels of particulate matter inside the City Hall subway station than on the street-level sidewalks directly above the station.

October 9, 2024 - The Conversation

Abandoned concrete subway station and tunnel in downtown Cincinnati..

Cincinnati Seeks to Repurpose Its Unused Subway Tunnel

City officials are looking for proposals to use Cincinnati's long-abandoned subway tunnels, but not for transit; they already tried that.

October 7, 2024 - Cincinnati Enquirer

A long pedestrian bridge over a river in the High Falls District with skyline of Rochester, New York, in the backround.

Book Excerpt: Rochester, New York’s Forgotten Subway

Did you know Rochester, New York, once had a subway? This book excerpt tells the story, complete with a custom map, of the only city in the world to build a subway and then close it.

August 27, 2024 - Jake Berman

New York City Subway

Top 10 Public Transit Cities in the US

From New York to Providence, these are the best places to get around without a car.

April 30, 2024 - Good Good Good

Sepia-toned photo of New York City subway turnstiles.

NYC Tests New Subway Gates to Limit Fare Evasion

The mayor has taken a strong interest in enforcing fare collection at the city’s transit stations.

December 10, 2023 - Curbed

White Dallas light rail car with Dallas skyline in background

Dallas Nixes Subway Plan

A proposed subway line was removed from DART’s 20-year plan, with the agency citing low ridership projections and local opposition.

August 18, 2023 - NBC DFW

Close-up on open door to empty subway subway

MTA Boosts Suicide Prevention Efforts on Subway System

One pilot program involves installing blue lights that could have a ‘calming effect’ at three subway stations.

June 20, 2023 - Next City

Silver commuter train with purple stripe in Boston, Massachusetts

Boston Transit Ridership Grows Steadily

Ridership on the region’s commuter rail reached 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels in March.

June 13, 2023 - CommonWealth Magazine

Rendering of subterranean subway station

A Look at Austin’s Proposed Subway Stations

The Texas capital is planning an ambitious light rail system that will include subterranean stations.

July 8, 2022 - KUT

SEPTA Station

Riders Getting Stuck in SEPTA Tunnels Due to Increased Security Measures

As ridership dropped during the pandemic, Philadelphia's transit agency started locking station doors to keep unhoused people from using the tunnels as shelter. Now, riders are becoming trapped inside.

March 21, 2022 - Billy Penn

New York City Subway Platform

New York Subway Will Pilot Platform Barriers To Improve Rider Safety

After a shocking death and an overall rise in violent crime at its stations, New York City's transit authority will install platform barriers to prevent intentional or accidental falls onto tracks.

February 24, 2022 - The New York Times

Crowded Subway Platform

The NYC Subway's Uneven Recovery

As subway riders return in fits and starts, some stations are experiencing a much faster recovery than others.

January 26, 2022 - The New York Times

Washington DC Metro

What Transit Systems Can Learn From D.C. Metro

The nation's second-largest transit system—and one of its newest—persists in the face of a host of challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.

January 12, 2022 - Governing

Superstorm Sandy

How New York City Can Prepare for the Next Catastrophic Floods–Now

The city must take urgent action to mitigate the effects of increasingly damaging rainstorms.

September 6, 2021 - Slate

The Eje Central station of the Mexico City Metro

Report: Collapsed Mexico City Train Line Had Major Structural Flaws

A New York Times investigation uncovered years of government documents showing that officials ignored warnings about major structural flaws and poorly performed work on the train line before its fatal collapse in May.

June 23, 2021 - The New York Times

New York MTA subway station

MTA Misses Deadline for State-Mandated Cost Comparison to World Cities

With some of the highest per-mile costs in the world, the state wants more accountability for New York City's transit spending.

February 18, 2021 - New York Daily News

New York Subway

MTA Spending Millions on Cleaning, but Disagreement Over the Need

Deep cleaning of the New York City subway and bus system is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s coronavirus response. But it is costly and time consuming, and the public health benefits are not entirely clear.

August 26, 2020 - Politico

New York Subway

New York MTA Seeks Federal Funding Relief as Ridership Plummets

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has seen significant ridership drops due to the coronavirus. The agency is asking Congress for $4 billion to help it through the crisis.

March 23, 2020 - The New York Times

New York Subway Stairs

$5.5 Billion Plan for More Elevators in the N.Y.C. Subway

The city’s subway system is lagging in station accessibility, but the MTA has a plan to add elevators to 70 stations.

October 10, 2019 - The New York Times

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.