Infrastructure

Freeway Construction

Trump to Suspend Environmental Regulation for Economic Emergency

Reports from the White House indicate that the Trump administration is planning to rollback federal environmental protections to expedite highway and other projects.

June 5, 2020 - The Washington Post

Black Lives Matter

Black Urbanism at Work

Black Americans have been working hard to build a better world.

June 4, 2020 - Next City

Sea-Level Rise

Can Bay Area Communities Come Together to Plan for Sea Level Rise?

Bay Area municipalities need to work together to enable a comprehensive plan to protect against sea-level rise. Communities may be submerged as early as 2030.

June 4, 2020 - High Country News

Capitol Hill

House Democrats Would Increase Transit Spending, Still Spend More on Highways

House Democrats proposed the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act as a five-year plan for transportation spending at the federal level. The bill is unlikely to make it any further than the House.

June 4, 2020 - Yonah Freemark via Twitter

U.S. Department of the Interior

Water Supply Inadequacies Tied to Coronavirus Infection in the Navajo Nation

On May 24, the Navajo Nation had 4,658 reported cases and 165 deaths in a population of 173,000—more even than New York City—while local organizers scrambled to find the water to cover the need during the pandemic.

June 3, 2020 - Outside

Pedestrians and Walkable Street

Draft Complete Streets Design Guide Released in Montgomery County

The draft new Montgomery County Complete Streets design guide is a key tool for achieving the goals set out by the county's Vision Zero Action Plan.

June 3, 2020 - Montgomery Planning

Downtown Buffalo

A 21st Century Planning Case Study: Buffalo, New York

Frederick Law Olmsted called Buffalo the best planned city in the United States, but in the second half of the 20th century it transitioned into a prototypical "Rust Belt" city.

June 2, 2020 - Vice

Toronto Bike Lane

Toronto's Expanded its Bike Infrastructure Network to Run Parallel to Transit Lines

The Toronto City Council approved a quick expansion of bike lanes around the city to provide an alternative to public transit during and after the pandemic.

June 1, 2020 - The Star

COVID-19 Mobility

Guide to Planning for Public Health, Published by WHO and the UN

There is no planning without public health, according to a new guide released in a moment of global crisis for both professional fields.

May 31, 2020 - World Health Organization

Mississippi River

Permeable Pavements Required for Parking, Sidewalks in New Orleans

New Orleans is looking for new ways to mitigate the effects of stormwater that regularly floods the city.

May 29, 2020 - NOLA.com

Office Building

Who Pays When Corporate Campuses Leave the Suburbs?

When corporations move out of the suburbs, they leaving behind largely unprofitable corporate campuses. Loss of property value and tax revenue follow in the communities they left.

May 28, 2020 - ProPublica

Coronavirus Open Streets

The Growing Footprint of Al Fresco Streets

The al fresco streets movement, moving dining and retail space into the public realm in space historically devoted to automobiles, continues to gain momentum around the country.

May 28, 2020 - James Brasuell

Michigan

First Wave of Lawsuits to Litigate Michigan's Dam Catastrophe

After a series of failures last week sent flood waters spilling into Midland County, Michigan, property owners in the area are filing class action lawsuits to recoup their losses.

May 27, 2020 - Detroit Free Press

New York Subway Coronvairus

Profiling NYC Transit's New President—Starting the Job Just Days Before a Global Crisis

Sarah Feinberg took over as the interim president of New York City Transit on March 2, 2020. In May 2020, Feinberg rides the subway to a deserted office to begin the work of bringing public transit back from an unprecedented crisis.

May 27, 2020 - Intelligencer - New York Magazine

Coronavirus Social Distancing

New Coronavirus Hotspots Flaring Up in Rural America

The novel coronavirus is outlasting the narratives of March 2020, and the country will have to reevaluate its assumptions to understand and respond to shifting threats as the public health crisis deepens.

May 26, 2020 - The Washington Post

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Scooter Revenue, Empty Streets Allow for Quick Construction of Bike Lane in L.A.

A busy corridor, popular with bike and scooter riders, is gaining a new protected bike lane in Los Angeles.

May 26, 2020 - Urbanize Los Angeles

New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina

Louisiana Coast Will Disappear, Study Says. The Only Question Is How Soon.

Sea-level rise has passed a tipping point in the Gulf of Mexico.

May 26, 2020 - NOLA.com

Coronavirus Streets

NACTO Releases Pandemic Streets Design Guide

After three months of study and analysis, NACTO is providing authoritative guidance on new ways of thinking about rights of way now that the coronavirus has changed the way we live and work in cities.

May 25, 2020 - National Association of City Transportation Officials

London Traffic

Overcoming the Obstacles to Congestion Pricing

The technology for congestion pricing already exists. The leadership and vision required to implement congestion pricing is still a work in progress, according to a report.

May 25, 2020 - Eno Center for Transportation

Coronavirus and Transportation

New York's Open Streets Program Leaves Out Neighborhoods That Need Open Space Most

New York City has opened an increasing number of street miles for pedestrians and people on bikes, but far fewer streets have been opened in the neighborhoods that need it most—low income neighborhoods lacking walkable access to parks and open space.

May 25, 2020 - New York Daily News

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.