Exclusives

BLOG POST
Do Highways Frustrate Mobility?
One common argument for highways is that even if they fail to reduce congestion, they allow people to go more places. This claim overlooks the effects of highways on development patterns.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is Traffic Calming?
Traffic calming is a set of design interventions aimed at slowing or diverting car traffic to reduce the chance of crashes and improve safety for all road users.

BLOG POST
How Locals Are Planning to Spend $2.2 Billion in RAISE Transportation Grants, Part Two
Part two of a series of post providing specific information for 164 of the 166 projects recently awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Transportation's RAISE grant funding program.

FEATURE
Electric Driving Is the Future; Now Is the Time to Price It
EVs are great, but they’re not perfect. Let’s end their free ride.

BLOG POST
How Locals Are Planning to Spend $2.2 Billion in RAISE Transportation Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this month announced $2.2 billion in RAISE grants. The Biden administration has promised that the RAISE grant program will improve equity and sustainability in the nation's transportation systems.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is the Urban Heat Island Effect?
Man-made surfaces and urban density contribute to higher temperatures, intensifying heat waves and posing a growing danger to public health.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is the Transect?
In urbanism and planning, the term transect provides a conceptual framework for understanding how the scale of built environments can vary from place to place.

BLOG POST
Why Urban Areas Need Increased Access to Recycling
In most residential areas across the United States, recycling is encouraged and offered as a way for residents to sustainably dispose of certain materials. But how many residents actually participate in their local recycling efforts?

FEATURE
Keep Calm. Carry On. AVs Are Just the End of Parking.
Opinion: As autonomous vehicles continue to appear on roads around the world, planners and engineers must be proactive in devising new and creative uses for soon-to-be-obsolete urban parking.

BLOG POST
Short-Term Renters Matter Too
Government hostility towards short-term renters rests on the assumption that if you aren't a long-term renter, you must a tourist. But permanent residents of a city might need short-term housing as well.

FEATURE
'Inflation Reduction Act' a Mixed Bag for Climate Action, Planning Innovation
A roundup of all the emerging news and commentary regarding the Inflation Reduction Act, which last week broke through a Congressional roadblock to resuscitate some, but not nearly all, of the Build Back Better legislation that failed in 2021.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is GIS?
GIS software, which combines location information with data about a range of other attributes, has become an indispensable tool for mapping and spatial analysis in urban planning and dozens of other fields.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is Redevelopment?
Redevelopment includes all development projects that build new structures and land uses on a previously developed site. Understanding the nuances of redevelopment is critical for understanding the ways cities and communities change.

FEATURE
Updated: The Perils of Central Planning for Parking
The California State Legislature is once again considering statewide parking reforms. Planetizen dusted off a Donald Shoup op-ed published last year to once again explain the stakes. While the name of the bill has changed, the terms still apply.

FEATURE
The State of America’s Free Transit Programs
Dozens of cities made public transit free during the pandemic. Can transit agencies sustain these programs?

FEATURE
La Placita Cinco: A Strip Mall Redevelopment for Housing Affordability and Neighborhood Revitalization
U.S. cities lack land for new development but have many derelict or defunct parcels in need of revitalization. There are an estimated 70,000 strip mall centers in the country, all with tremendous potential for affordable and workforce housing.

BLOG POST
Opinion: Stop Trusting Elon Musk—on Tunnels, on Teslas, on Everything
Musk has leveraged social media intrigue and a hot streak on the market to become the standard bearer for autonomous vehicle technology. Trust Tesla at public peril, argues James Brasuell in this opinion piece.

BLOG POST
Book Review: Arbitrary Lines
In addition to attacking zoning laws' limitations on housing, Gray argues that zoning fails to limit nuisances.

FEATURE
Toward Community
An opinion piece by Angie Schmitt reclaims higher ideals for the planning profession.

PLANOPEDIA
What Is a Non-Conforming Use?
A non-conforming use is an existing building that would not be built under current land use regulations. While esoteric, the term is nonetheless critical to understanding the changes in development regulations over time.
Pagination
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.
