New York

The set of the television show Sesame Street

Measuring Urban Design's Impact on Our Brains

Columbia University's Cloud Lab aims to measure participants' brainwaves and figure out their state of mind of as they experience their surroundings.

May 17, 2014 - CityLab

Calling for National Investments in Transportation Infrastructure

President Obama visited the Tappan Zee Bridge earlier this week to argue for a renewed commitment to transportation infrastructure.

May 16, 2014 - WhiteHouse.gov

Even Celebrities Get Ticketed for Riding the Wrong Way in the Big Apple

As all law-abiding cyclists know, one must ride with, not against the traffic, even if you are Alec Baldwin. The actor was arrested for the violation, plus a few additional things, like not having ID, that made matters worse.

May 16, 2014 - The New York Times

Report: 9.8 Miles of New Train Track on Long Island Could Generate More Than 14,000 Jobs

A report from the Long Island Index explores the economic impact of a new Third Track on the Long Island Rail Road.

May 13, 2014 - Long Island Press

Key Questions Remain for New York City's Affordable Housing Plan

Although Mayor Bill de Blasio's recent announcements provided some important details about his administration's affordable housing agenda, there are a few questions still left to be answered that will determine the success of the plan.

May 12, 2014 - Crain's Business New York

How the Gentrification Narrative Gets it Wrong

A writer points to surprising statistics about Brooklyn—mainly that much of the borough is growing poorer as real estate prices fall—to make a point about how the common gentrification narrative fails cities.

May 9, 2014 - City Notes

DOT's Emergency Actions on Shipping Bakken Crude by Rail Fall Short

In what is being billed as the first emergency order of more to come, the Department of Transportation (DOT), the federal regulator of transporting crude oil by rail, hopes to quell the growing national furor over what some call 'ticking time bombs'.

May 9, 2014 - The Tribune

Boston innovation district banner with lofts

Urban America's 'Reconnaissance Mission for Progressive Politics'

Recent commenters have described cities as the locus for a new type of liberalism that benefits a broader swath of demographics. Dissenters wonder whether certain progressive cities, enabled by privilege, are merely drivers of inequality.

May 9, 2014 - New York Times

Comprehensive Crash Data for New York City Released Online

In a big victory for safe streets, New York City has released to the public an online database of crash data for the city. Previously, poor and incomplete data made creating safe streets "next to impossible."

May 8, 2014 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

New York Housing

'Housing New York' Would Invest $41 Billion in Affordable Housing

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the details of the "Housing New York" plan this week. The plan will guide the de Blasio Administration toward its goal of creating 200,000 affordable housing units in the city.

May 7, 2014 - New York Times

Study Finds Deteriorating Service on New York City Subway System

A new study analyzes thousands of MTA 'electronic alerts' to identify trends. One finding in particular jumps out: the number of alerts has increased 35 percent in two years.

May 6, 2014 - Capital

Buffalo Releases Draft Green Code to Ease Permit Process

Buffalo recently released the draft of its new Green Code, which includes a Land Use Plan, Unified Development Ordinance, Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, Brownfield Opportunity Areas, and Urban Renewal Plans. Mark Sommer reports.

May 6, 2014 - Buffalo News

Can the MTA Speed Implementation of Communications-Based Train Control?

New York City is lagging behind cities like London, Paris, and Tokyo in implementing Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC). A recent report provides recommendations on how to speed up the process.

May 4, 2014 - Next City

Oil Tanker Cars Derail; Fireball Erupts in Downtown Lynchburg, Va.

Fortunately, there were no injuries in the restored, downtown waterfront district in this city of 71,000. Fifteen cars derailed; three exploded into a six-story-high fireball. Oil spilled into the James River, threatening downstream water supplies.

May 2, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Southampton Street

Lessons in Planning from the Future Long Island

Andy Freleng recently answered a series of questions about life on Long Island, and its future, from his perspective as chief planner of Suffolk County.

May 1, 2014 - The Foggiest Idea

Older Residents Left Out of NYC's Housing Mix

New York City's population of older adults is growing quickly—by 2030, 300,000 more residents over the age of 65 will live in NYC than its current population of one million. But providing adequate housing for older residents is not yet a priority.

April 30, 2014 - New York Times

The Hudson Yards 'Quantified Community' Experiment

Undergirding the massive mix of uses and investments called Hudson Yards is an ambitious plan to gather and analyze data provided by the 65,000 people a day who make use of the facility.

April 28, 2014 - FastCompany Exist

The Shard London

How Tall is Too Tall?

What is the best height to promote good urban living? It needs to be high to attain necessary density but not so high that it detracts from the quality of life, particularly for existing residents. In short, what is the Goldilocks height level?

April 26, 2014 - The Guardian

Friday Funny: The Subway Oyster Shucker

To some people (or maybe just this one person), the N Train in the New York City subway system in a perfectly acceptable place to shuck some oysters.

April 25, 2014 - The Awl

Renewables Account for 92 Percent of New Power in the United States

Although the United States built less new energy capacity than in the same time period last year, renewable energy dominated the capacity to come online so far in 2014.

April 24, 2014 - Next City

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.