Infrastructure

Port of Oakland

Federal Judge Strikes Down Oakland's Ban on Coal Exports

Shipping coal from Utah to export to Asia through a new cargo facility in Oakland, California took a significant step forward on May 15 with a strongly worded ruling condemning the adequacy of the city of Oakland's environmental analysis.

May 18, 2018 - KQED: California Report

Downtown Dallas

Dallas Considers a Major Revision to its Tree Ordinance

Neither environmentalists nor developers like the city’s current regulations around tree removal, but there is praise on both sides for the “smart and nimble” new version.

May 18, 2018 - D Magazine

Multi-Modal Intersection

The Case for Ending Legal Right Turns on Red Lights

Right turns on red became legal at a large scale across the country in the 1970s, despite the threats the practice represents to pedestrians and people on bikes.

May 17, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Washington, Oregon Border

Priced Lane or Priced Roadway?

The Pacific Northwest's Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area is studying options to add congestion pricing to one or two interstates.

May 17, 2018 - The Oregonian

On-Street Parking

Philadelphia Law Would Raise Parking Minimums

Swaths of the city of Philadelphia could see increased parking minimums if a new version of a bill that failed in 2016 makes its way through City Council.

May 17, 2018 - PlanPhilly

Miami

Senate Bill Would Fund Climate Change Resilience in Coastal Communities

Grant and loan funding, new research, and a competition are some of the ideas included in the Coastal Communities Adaptation Act.

May 17, 2018 - U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation

Road Diet

Major Street Reconfiguration Underway in Detroit

A $1 million project to reduce vehicle lanes on Detroit's Jefferson Boulevard is designed to increase safety along the busy corridor.

May 17, 2018 - Crain's Detroit Business

San Antonio, Texas

San Pedro Creek Culture Park Adds to San Antonio's Waterfront Amenities

The new San Pedro Creek Culture Park is being touted as a celebration of Latinx culture.

May 16, 2018 - The Architects Newspaper

recycled greywater

The Real Cost of Clean Water in One Kansas Town

Pretty Prairie has water with very high levels of nitrates, and lots of farmers that need to use nitrates if they want to keep the local economy going.

May 14, 2018 - Harper's

Houston

Post-Harvey Homeowners Face an 'Army of Speculators'

In Houston, investors are snapping up damaged homes that will be dependent on flood insurance.

May 14, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

Elon Musk Gigafactory

Behold: Elon Musk's First Tunnel

Take a first look at the fruits of the Boring Company's labor. According to Elon Musk, the tunnel will be open to the public for free rides later this year.

May 14, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Brightline

Brightline Ready to Run the Fast Trains in Florida

The privately funded Brightline "fast-travel" rail system announced an opening day of May 19 for service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

May 14, 2018 - Miami Herald

Chicago Lake Michigan Trees

Trees Are Worth the Investment

Trees improve cities by controlling temperature, absorbing water and carbon dioxide, and adding beauty.

May 12, 2018 - The Conversation

New Guidelines to Streamline New Energy Storage Projects Adopted in New York City

The city of New York wants more capacity to store energy, so it's making the process of permitting energy storage projects easier to understand and follows.

May 12, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

Scramble Tokyo

'Barnes Dance' Coming to Montgomery County, Maryland

While popular and common in other countries, the "Barnes Dance" crosswalk is sill catching on in the United States. Montgomery County, Maryland is the latest to test out the "All Direction" crosswalk.

May 11, 2018 - Montgomery County Government

American Dream Miami

The Largest Mall in America Looks Bound for Approval

The developers of the Mall of America are back, this time with plans for the American Dream Miami project.

May 10, 2018 - Miami Herald

D.C. Metro

SafeTrack Over, Metro D.C.'s Ridership Continues to Decline

Greater Greater Washington's "Metro Reasons" column analyses the latest ridership data from the D.C. Metro system. Riders have not returned to the system after the SafeTrack repair program concluded in 2017.

May 10, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

San Francisco Tunnel Boring Machine

Contractor Allegedly Lays 3 Miles of the Wrong Steel; Delays for S.F.'s Central Subway Ensue

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ordered high-strength steel to ensure the long-term quality of the under-construction Central Subway. The contractor laid 17,000 linear feet of standard-strength steel anyway.

May 10, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

Compost Pile

Home Composting Goes to Washington

Washington, D.C. approved a set of incentives for home composting at the end of March.

May 10, 2018 - Waste Dive

Boston, Massachusetts

Feasibility Study Launched for Automated People Mover to Boston's Airport

It's still early in the planning process, but an Automated People Mover could eventually replace buses and shuttles as the airport connection of choice for Logan International Airport.

May 10, 2018 - The Boston Globe

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.