North America
More Bad Polling News for Cordon Area Congestion Pricing in the U.S.
Only a handful of cities in North America are considering applying tolls to congested urban streets, as opposed to highways. Efforts in one of those cities, San Francisco, just received negative polling results on a potential $3 auto access fee.
Road Pricing Equity Report and Toolkit
A new report and toolkit helps policymakers and equity advocates apply comprehensive analysis to road pricing, considering affordability, accessibility and community health, and identifies way to achieve equity goals through pricing reforms.
What to Expect From Transit Construction in 2019
Mixed results and high costs are to be expected among the 89 public transit construction projects underway in 2019.
Ontario May Strip Protections from Toronto Greenbelt
A proposed bill would open nearly 2 million acres of protected land to commercial and industrial development.
Too Many Conferences Miss the Bus
Nonprofits often advocate for local transit spending, but when we gather, we seem to forget these values. How would we know what the transit of a given city is like if we never ride their buses?
Cities Need to Create Level Playing Fields For New Mobility (That Tilt Towards Community Goals)
The new mobility landscape requires a few key roles from government.
Austin, Texas Shows the Way to Plan and Design Transit Oriented Development
Capital Metro in Austin, Texas recently published a set of outstanding resources for planning and designing Transit Oriented Development: a Transit Design Guide, a TOD Priority Tool and a TOD Guide. Way to go, Austin!
Amazon’s Growth and Influence Continue
The e-commerce behemoth has its hand in everything from warehouse development to renewable energy.
Federal Judge in Montana Halts Construction of Keystone XL Pipeline
The Trump administration's denial of climate change may serve a political purpose, but in the courtroom, it can prove a liability. A federal judge in Montana took into account the administration's "discarding" of climate science in its ruling.
The Problems With Tax Increment Financing and How to Fix Them
Tax increment financing (TIF) districts are common in municipalities across the country. However, the economic development tool is also poorly understood and often the target of criticism.
The Mysteries Of 'Social Infrastructure'
In his new book Palaces for the People, sociologist Eric Klinenberg explores the places—from libraries and schools to cafes and churches—where cities' social lives take place. It's a compelling idea but one that Klinenberg discusses clumsily.
TEDx: How Will Autonomous Vehicles Transform Cities?
Nico Larco presents a TEDx Talk on the impacts AVs will have on cities, including impacts on land use, land valuation, and the environment. AVs are more than just a transportation issue, and planners need to prepare for the coming changes.
Electric Vehicles See Progress at Local Level but Setbacks in Washington
The new IPCC report calls for decarbonization of transportation. While many cities are attempting to do their part, two recent federal developments in trade policy and tax legislation threaten to will make progress more difficult.
Volvo to Sell All-Electric Heavy Trucks in North America in 2020
Volvo gained attention last year by announcing it would stop making new internal combustion engine models. Now it plans to electrify its 2020 truck models as well. A demonstration program will be launched in Southern California next year.
'The Users' Guide to Zoning Reform' Published by the Congress for New Urbanism
The Congress for New Urbanism's Users' "Guide to Code Reform" leads planners through the code reform process, providing tools for governments lacking the capacity to develop a full form-based code.
Public Transit in the U.S. Could Be Better. So Why Isn’t It?
Transit ridership has surged in other countries but lags here in the United States. The possible reasons for this are varied as are proposed solutions for improving American transit systems.
Vision Zero’s Ambitious Safety Plans Face Implementation Realities
The program’s outcomes in different cities show varying levels of success and some failures.
Ensuring the Benefits of Multiple Mobility as a Service Options
Vertically integrated mobility as a service options can offer great benefit to users, but unless cities create the right framework, it could stifle innovation and competition, as well as making the playing field too difficult for small companies.
Will Innovative Financing Solve California's Housing Shortage?
Are housing and housing finance two separate problems? California Assemblymember David Chiu and others in housing discuss how available finance tools could be employed to expand the capital pool for affordable housing projects.
Tar Sands Oil Just Lost Another Outlet, For Now
It was viewed as a "David vs. Goliath" pipeline fight: the city of South Portland, Maine against a pipeline company backed by Big Oil. The city had passed a zoning ordinance preventing the export of oil which would have impacted public health.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
