North America

New Hampshire

To Reduce Carbon Emissions, Focus on Existing Buildings

Architects are uniquely positioned to reduce global warming, argues the CEO of Urban Green Council—but first they need to rethink their role.

November 18, 2019 - The Architectural League of New York

Los Angeles Department of Transportation

L.A.'s Strategy for 'Universal Basic Mobility'

Los Angeles Department of Transportation General Manager Seleta Reynolds emphasizes the importance of riders' perspective on access when redesigning the transit system.

November 18, 2019 - The Planning Report

New York City

Learning from Manhattan's Urban Imperfections

New York is a great city that breaks many rules of urban planning. Here's what its imperfections can teach us about city building.

November 4, 2019 - Congress for the New Urbanism

Miami Flooding

Kayaking, Canvassing, and Cooking Classes: Cities Experiment With Climate Outreach

As cities across the U.S. commit to ambitious climate actions, they're seeking effective ways to engage with local communities.

October 24, 2019 - Yale Climate Connections

Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line

'Destination Crenshaw' Showcases South L.A.'s Strategic Advantage—Black Culture

Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson outlines Destination Crenshaw and highlights the economic development and community investment opportunities it brings to South L.A.

October 9, 2019 - The Planning Report

Pedestrian Safety

'Cars Are Death Machines'

Not one, not two, but three articles in the past week paint dire portraits of the world that cars have created.

October 6, 2019 - The New York Times

Los Angeles Street

L.A.'s Strategy for 'Safe, Mobile, and Sustainable' Streets

Streets LA General Manager Adel Hagekhalil lays out his priorities and plans for transforming Los Angeles into a system of world-class streets.

October 1, 2019 - The Planning Report

New York City

Three Studies That Show Density Doesn't Determine Car Travel

Thirty years after a seminal study attempted to connect increased density with decreased automobile use, several new studies are raising doubts about that central assumption of contemporary planning.

September 30, 2019 - Fanis Grammenos

Farmers' Market

Your County May Not be Very Good at Accessing Community Development Funding

New research shows that some U.S. communities are much better than others at attracting grants and financing for community development—even after adjusting for relative need. The numbers are clear, but the reasons for the disparity may not be.

September 15, 2019 - Shelterforce

Los Angeles, California

Dodger Stadium as Civic Space with a New Front Door

Janet Marie Smith, famous for helping plan Camden Yards in Baltimore, discusses how Dodger Stadium's 'new front door' will optimize transit and pedestrian access while preserving the field's historic character and sweeping 'postcard views.'

September 4, 2019 - The Planning Report

BVG

The Free Public Transit Debate

The pros and cons of fare-free transit involve a range of issues, from operations logistics and outcomes to costs and fiscal priorities.

July 25, 2019 - Pedestrian Observations

Ottawa Missing Middle Video

Zoning for the Missing Middle in Cartoon Form, With Wizards

The city of Ottawa, Canada has produced another goofy animated video. This one explains its efforts to encourage more Missing Middle multi-unit urban housing.

July 24, 2019 - City of Ottawa via Youtube

Amtrak Acela

Report Makes Business Case for Vancouver-to-Portland High Speed Rail

Washington State released a report detailing the business case for connecting Seattle to Portland and Vancouver by high-speed rail.

July 19, 2019 - Business in Vancouver

Car-Centric Planning

Congestion Pricing: An Expat View

Writing from London in an Op-Ed for Seattle’s Crosscut, Chuck Wolfe argues for a contextual approach to a much-touted search for transportation equity.

June 23, 2019 - Crosscut

Uber Car

When Rideshare Serves as Transit, Success Brings Risks

Innisfil, Ontario, decided to use Uber instead of starting bus service. The program took off but so have the costs, and now cutbacks need to be made.

May 6, 2019 - CityLab

Street Design

Street Design Principles by Sidewalk Labs

Sidewalk Labs, a smart cities shop within the Alphabet corporate structure, is working to revolutionize technology's role in city planning. Sidewalk Labs recently released the street design principles it's using to guide that effort.

May 1, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

Edmonton, Canada

2019 Smart Cities Readiness Challenge Winners Announced

The awards from the Smart Cities Council will support communities as they pursue smart technologies initiatives.

April 24, 2019 - Smart Cities Dive

California Water Pipeline

Cities Win the Water Reallocation Game, Study Shows

A new study says that huge amounts of water are moved from rural areas to cities to support rapidly growing urban populations.

April 23, 2019 - The Straits Times

Donald Trump

Trump Signs Two Executive Orders Limiting States' Authority Over Energy Pipelines

The Trump administration's "energy dominance" agenda depends, in part, on growing the energy distribution network, namely pipelines, rail facilities, and ports. However, states can use the Clean Water Act to block pipelines and coal terminals.

April 15, 2019 - InsideClimate News

U.S.-Mexico

What President Trump's Border Wall Can't Stop

William H. Frey, a demographer with Brookings, argues that racial diversity is a good thing for the country by many measures. Trump's wall would make it harder to benefit from demographic changes, but changes is still coming.

February 19, 2019 - Brookings: The Avenue

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.