Government / Politics

Times Square

Beacon / Bunker

Kris Graves photographs all 77 NYPD precincts from Tottenville to Edenwald, looking to these buildings—sometimes humble, sometimes imposing—for the face and footprint of law and order in the neighborhood.

March 10, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

Erskine Fire

In California, Policies Spur Rebuilding in the Wildland-Urban Interface

After the worst wildfire season ever, changes to local land use and state insurance rules essentially ensure that the same thing will happen again.

March 9, 2018 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Metro Gold LIne

L.A.'s Mayor Garcetti Sides With Single-Family Housing Near Transit

Politicians are taking positions on a controversial California housing bill to densify by transit. Even after amendments were accepted on March 1 in response to concerns about displacement and demolitions, the mayor of Los Angeles remains opposed.

March 9, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Demonstration

Facing Contention: 21 Tips to Detox Public Engagement

Forces are aligning to increase polarization and tension in public dialog, and planners are increasingly caught in the middle. A recent workshop with 100 engagement experts resulted in a free eBook to help planners detox their public involvement.

March 8, 2018 - Dave Biggs

El Paso

City as Border Zone

Architects Ersela Kripa and Stephen Mueller, founders of El Paso firm AGENCY, discuss the reality and rhetoric of the US–Mexico border.

March 7, 2018 - The Architectural League

Concrete Stormwater

Analysis: Trump's Infrastructure Plan Would Cost Municipalities Money

Adam Krantz, who leads the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, breaks down how the Trump Administration infrastructure plan would impact local water infrastructure.

March 7, 2018 - The Planning Report

Oil Pump in Los Angeles

Study: L.A. County's Urban Oil Wells Are Too Close to Homes and Schools

The Department of Public Health recommends taking action to better protect residents from oil operations that are sometimes only a few feet from where people live, work, eat, play and study.

March 7, 2018 - KPCC

Rosa Parks

Former President Barack Obama Addresses Gentrification

Former President Barack Obama is facing a new kind of politics while working to support the development plan for the Barack Obama Presidential Center.

March 7, 2018 - City Observatory

Ballot Initiative Launched After Gov. Jay Inslee Withdraws Carbon Tax Bill

Environmental, labor, and community groups in Washington State filed an initiative for placement of a carbon fee on the November ballot. Unlike a similar measure in 2016, revenues would be used to mitigate emissions.

March 6, 2018 - knkx

Highway Speed

California Bill Sets Its Sights on Lower Speed Limits

A proposed bill in the California State Assembly would make it easier for local jurisdictions to set lower speed limits, sidestepping the controversial 85th percentile rule.

March 6, 2018 - Streetsblog California

HUD

More Reports of Trouble at the Top of HUD

Another in a string of detailed exposés on the working conditions and policy agenda of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Ben Carson.

March 6, 2018 - The New York Times

Homeless Person

Austin Proposes Using Blockchain Technology to Help Its Homeless

The city wants to give its 7,000 citizens without permanent homes "[u]nique digital identifiers" to help them get reliable access to services.

March 5, 2018 - Quartz

New York New Jersey Transit

Trump Attempts to Deny Funding for Hudson River Rail Tunnel Project

President Trump is going out of his way to ensure that the Hudson River Tunnel and other projects in the Amtrak Gateway Program don't receive federal funding in the next omnibus spending bill Congress must approve by March 23 to avoid a shutdown.

March 5, 2018 - The Washington Post

Jerry Brown

California Housing Battles Pit Older Liberals Against Younger Progressives

It's the old left, many home-owning seniors, against the younger left, many renter millennials when it comes to housing, according to an NBC report that looks at the local political dynamics underpinning the expensive California housing market.

March 4, 2018 - NBC News

Harvey Floods Houston

After Harvey, Texas Tries State-Run Disaster Relief, With Mixed Results

The scale of the housing recovery effort means some jobs normally handles by FEMA have fallen to the Texas General Land Office.

March 3, 2018 - Texas Tribune

Baltimore City Hall

Baltimore Releases a Five-Year 'Digital Transformation Strategic Plan'

Good IT is critical to good customer service, as anyone who has ever worked a counter in knows.

March 2, 2018 - Smart Cities Plan

Diesel Gas

German Cities to Breathe Easier After Court Ruling on Diesel Car Bans

Unlike banning sales of new internal combustion vehicles at a future date, the German court ruling applies to the operation of older, diesel-powered cars in the country's most polluted cities. It's up to the cities, though, to enact the bans.

March 2, 2018 - The New York Times

Capitol Hill

How the Federal Government Wants to Use 'Social Impact Partnerships'

Taking cues from the Trump Administration's recently-released infrastructure plan, the government intends to use a public-private partnership model to take on social challenges.

March 1, 2018 - CityLab

Housing Development

Survey: Anti-Developer Sentiment Drives Anti-Development Sentiment

All planners encounter passionate obstructionist activity at some point. While the reasoning for anti-development is often discussed, it's still not a widely understood force in the planning process and the evolution of cities.

March 1, 2018 - UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate

CPAC 2018

Trump's Infrastructure Plan Looks Dead on Arrival

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) seems to think there's no way the Trump Infrastructure plan gets taken up by Congress before the November election.

February 28, 2018 - Bloomberg

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.