Oregon

Parking Sign

Portland Shows How to Create More Downtown Parking (Without Building Any)

Dynamic pricing is not the only route to increasing parking availability. Better management of disabled placards at metered spaces may be an easier and more effective strategy. Implemented on July 1, Portland's policy is showing dramatic results.

July 14, 2014 - AP (via KATU.Com)

Portland Businesses Advocate for Road Diet

Angie Schmitt covers Bike Portland's article on store owners teaming up to bring road diet as a means to improve business.

July 12, 2014 - Bike Portland

Study: Oregon Bikers Abide Red Lights

Move aside, myth of the reckless biker who flouts the law at every possible junction.

July 3, 2014 - Bike Portland

U.S. Supreme Court Approves California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard

A key regulation in California's war on global warming emissions withstood a major court challenge by the energy industry—both oil and corn ethanol—when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their challenge to an Appeals Court ruling on June 30.

July 2, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bicycle-Friendly Intersection Proposed to Attract Riders

A Portland urban planner proposes a new street intersection design to make cycling more safe and to attract cyclists.

June 20, 2014 - Wired

A Walk in the Woods Just Got Expensive in Washington and Oregon

The largest private owner of timberland in Washington and Oregon is now charging access fees ranging from $75 to $550 depending on the permit area. The $30 fees for National Forest and state parks passes look cheap by comparison.

June 18, 2014 - KUOW

Who Should Pay for Highways: Motorists or Oil Companies?

A new transportation funding option proposed by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) would repeal the 18.4-cent gas tax, unchanged since 1993, with a "small" tax levied against oil companies on each barrel of oil used to make gasoline.

June 16, 2014 - The Oregonian

The Inside Scoop on Portland's Street Signal System

A new installment of the BikePortland podcast reveals the technical considerations in the city’s signal system that contribute to bike and pedestrian safety.

June 9, 2014 - BikePortland

Study Evaluates Protected Bike Lanes in the United States

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities released a new study this week called "Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S."

June 6, 2014 - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium

irrigation

What Urban Planners Fail to Grasp in Climate Action Plans

Climate mitigation and adaptation have become de rigeur aspects of urban planning for most cities, according to results from MIT's international Urban Climate Change Governance Survey. What's missing in most plans is the link to economic development.

June 5, 2014 - MIT News

Portland Streetcar Bike

Portland Considering 'Street Fee' for Residents and Businesses

The Portland City Council moved quickly in proposing and revising a "street fee" to finance repairs on the city's crumbling roads. Now a more realistic calendar seems to be in place for considering the fee on residents and businesses.

May 30, 2014 - The Oregonian

How Fair Were Reports of Portland's Light Rail Shortcomings?

After a recent report questioned the value Portland's light rail investments, a local journalist and a TriMet representative provide countering metrics of success.

May 10, 2014 - The Oregonian

For Sale: Data on 90 Million Bike Rides and 20 Million Runs

The same week that the New York Police Department released a boat load of data about traffic collisions comes news that exercise app Strava will sell its data on the how, where, and when bikers and runners use streets.

May 9, 2014 - Wall Street Journal - Digits

Will Portland's Updated Comprehensive Plan Allow More Multi-Family Zoning?

As Portland accepts comments for its Comprehensive Plan update, one writer asks why so much of the city's zoning prohibits multi-family housing—especially as the cost of rent has increased by double-digit percentages in the past year.

April 28, 2014 - BikePortland

Coming this Summer: Airbnb Will Collect Taxes in San Francisco, New York State

The ongoing saga of the tax and regulatory standing of Airbnb, the popular room rental app and poster child for the sharing economy, is evolving in San Francisco, Portland and the state of New York.

April 15, 2014 - SFGate

My First Ride

How Well Does Light Rail Attract New Transit Riders?

The answer to the question in the headline is “not very.” Thirty years into the initial experiment, however, light rail has not been the game changer it was hoped to be.

April 13, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Parking Lot Tax Considered Among Portland’s Downtown Plans

A proposal to tax and eventually prohibit parking lots in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown is pitting two powerful figures in Portland’s downtown land use politics against each other.

April 10, 2014 - The Oregonian

Willamette Falls

Can Access to Willamette Falls Spur Urban Renewal?

State and local officials in Oregon have launched a planning process to develop a public access esplanade to Willamette Falls in Oregon City. City planners could center urban renewal plans around what is expected to be a popular tourist destination.

April 8, 2014 - The Oregonian

Does Exhausting the Highway Trust Fund Have a Silver Lining?

Avid highway opponents are less concerned about filling the Trust Fund gap, notwithstanding the effect on transit, and more on stopping road expansion. Widening of Colorado's I-25 and U.S. 26 in Oregon may halt without an agreement for new funds.

April 6, 2014 - The Coloradoan

Airbnb’s 'Shared City' Program Will Collect, Remit Taxes

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently announced the beginning of the “Shared City” initiative, which will “cut red tape” and “collect and remit taxes.” Airbnb will test the program in Portland before tailoring and exporting the program to other cities.

March 30, 2014 - CNN Money - Fortune

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.