Infrastructure

Dearborn Street Bike Lane

The Place for Bike Lanes

Initial attempts at making city streets more encouraging to cyclists have often been marred by poor design.

March 28, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

Texas Mayors Support High Speed Rail

The mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston recently announced their support of a high-speed rail connection between the two metropolitan areas. The line would be privately funded.

March 28, 2014 - Dallas News

Kansas City Streetcar Expansion Moves Forward; Wealthy Enclave Opts Out

A pair of articles by the Kansas City Star details a surprising development in the preparation for an expansion of the city’s streetcar: the affluent neighborhood of Brookside along the southwest corridor of the proposed extension opted out.

March 27, 2014 - Kansas City Star

A Female Champion for Salt Lake City’s 'Transportation Revolution'

Robin Hutcheson has led the transportation planning division of Salt Lake City since 2011—a period of expansion for multi-modal transportation improvements all over the city.

March 26, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Room for Improvement for Citi Bike—But Not Dead Yet

Nancy Scola responds to a recent Wall Street Journal article detailing the ongoing financial troubles of Citi Bike—New York City’s bikeshare program, which is reportedly scrambling for money and operating deeply in the red.

March 26, 2014 - Next City

Graphic Reveals Cardinal Orientation of Street Grids

Seth Kadish says he was born with an innate sense of direction. As such, he appreciates street grids oriented to cardinal directions. The phenomena interested him enough to create a graphic that visualizes the orientation of 12 urban areas.

March 26, 2014 - Visual Statistix

Tappan Zee Bridge Bike and Pedestrian Path Sparks Controversy

A recent article calls it likes it sees it: most would consider a three-mile bike and pedestrian path over the Hudson River a gift. Not so in South Nyack, at the western end of a new Tappan Zee Bridge, where such a plan sparked vehement opposition.

March 26, 2014 - New York Times

Wheels Up for Chicago’s Navy Pier Flyover

Chicago recently began construction on the $60 million Navy Pier Flyover—an elevated bike and pedestrian path built along Lake Michigan near the Navy Pier.

March 24, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Boston’s Government Center T Station Closed for Access Improvements

Boston recently shut down one of its busiest transit hubs, the Government Center T Station for over-due renovations above and below the ground. The station was originally built in 1898, and without a major renovation since the 1960s.

March 23, 2014 - The Boston Globe

Offshore Wind Proposal Doesn’t Pencil Out for New Jersey State Regulators

Hopes for New Jersey to be a national leader in offshore wind energy were dealt a setback when the state Board of Public Utilities rejected the financial plan of a 25-megawatt project proposed for a site three miles off the coast near Atlantic City.

March 22, 2014 - The North Jersey Record

Urban Garden

Self Sufficiency Through Urban Farming

Lessons from a successful urban farming effort can be applied to achieve resource independence aside from just food.

March 22, 2014 - Architectural Review

Milwaukee Sinking While Historic Foundations Rot

Many people know Milwaukee as the Algonquin translation for “The Good Land.” But unfortunate changes in the water table underneath the city now make Milwaukee the sinking city. Experts disagree why.

March 20, 2014 - Urban Milwaukee

Purple Line Gets Federal Blessing in Maryland

The Federal Transit Authority has granted one of the final approvals needed for the Purple Line—a 16-mile light rail line between Bethesda and New Carrollton in Maryland.

March 20, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Troy Transit Center Complete—But Off Limits

Transit users in Troy, located to the north of Detroit, spent the weather standing outside waiting for trains and buses while a $6.3 million (indoor) transit facility sat unused due to a legal dispute.

March 20, 2014 - The Detroit News

Walkable Street

The Underlying Patterns of Urban Street Design

Based on empirical study, J. Alexander Maxwell and fellow University of Strathclyde researchers, in collaboration with Chuck Wolfe, argue for recalling historic patterns of pedestrian city settings in contemporary urban design and policies.

March 20, 2014 - London School of Economics and Political Science - American Politics and Policy Blog

Streetcar Expansion Plans on Hold; Atlanta BeltLine vs. Peachtree Streetcar

Atlanta has placed the Atlanta BeltLine Streetcar System Plan on hold, but the fate of one component of the plan—now occupying low-priority position among the plan’s four phases—reveals a lot about Atlanta’s proposed streetcar network.

March 19, 2014 - SaportaReport

LaGuardia Renovation Plan Reaches Cruising Altitude

The Port Authority is reviewing development proposals for a $2.4 billion project to renovate New York City’s notoriously derelict La Guardia Airport. Renderings from one proposal have also hit the wire.

March 19, 2014 - New York Post

Discrimination Limits Sandy Recovery Efforts

Many New Jersey residents are waiting for state aid to help them rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. But not everyone is receiving a fair share of recovery funds. How will Governor Chris Christie respond?

March 19, 2014 - Rooflines

Philadelphia Sending More Money to Street Repair

Following a long winter, the Philadelphia Streets Department is on pace to break records for pothole repair, but that won’t be the only improvement paid for by a proposed 33 percent increase in funding to the Streets Department.

March 18, 2014 - PlanPhilly

A Bold Addition to 'Transit-First' San Francisco Streets

In an effort to improve on-time performance of Muni, San Francisco has begun painting transit-only lanes a shade of Golden Gate Bridge red.

March 18, 2014 - San Francisco Examiner

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.