Complete Streets

10 Principles for Smart Growth in Existing Communities

Frustrated by what's passing as "smart growth" and "transit oriented development," Bill Adams postulates ten refinements (or less subtly stated clarifications) of the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.

April 21, 2013 - UrbDeZine.com

Indianapolis Street

For a Model Complete Streets Policy, Look to Indianapolis

Smart Growth America has recognized the best of the 130 complete streets policies approved last year across the United States; and the one passed by Indianapolis has received the highest ranking.

April 12, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Cycle Tracks and Bus Only Lanes Coming to Downtown L.A.

The updated designs for an ambitious project to remake car-clogged Figueroa Street as a transit-, pedestrian-, and bicycle-friendly complete street have been made public in advance of a community meeting next month.

March 26, 2013 - LA.Streetsblog

6 Easy Ways to Make a City More Livable

Baltimore has a lot of bold ideas for changing the face of the city. While we wait for them to happen, why not implement some simple solutions for making the city more livable, proposes Mark R. Brown, AICP.

February 2, 2013 - Car Free Baltimore

Placemaking Wishes for 2013

Like a lot of people, Placeshakers is kicking off the new year with a list: placemaking wishes for 2013. Read on for seven trending ideas they hope break large.

January 4, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Raleigh Paves the Way for Walkability

Raleigh, North Carolina didn't take getting placed sixth most dangerous metro area in the country lightly back in 2009, and recently drafted a Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan in response.

December 12, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Transit Wins at Job Creation Game

Blogging on HuffPo, Greg LeRoy, director of Good Jobs First, makes the case that transit, transit oriented development and smart growth are key factors in job growth.

September 7, 2012 - Huffington Post

Complete Streets Gaining Speed

A new report details the growing adoption of Complete Streets policies in locales across the United States, despite the removal of a Complete Streets provision from the recent federal transportation bill.

August 27, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

What's the Difference Between a Strip Mall and Paris?

Geoff Dyer points out why the difference between the typical strip mall and the multi-way boulevard may be more subtle than you think.

June 8, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Pop-up Infrastructure Makes a Street Green and Complete

Imagine converting a downtown street into a bicycle, people, and eco-friendly one - for just one week, by a crack team of urban design graduate students. Such an undertaking was done by Kent State U.'s urban design collaborative. Watch and learn!

June 8, 2012 - Streetsblog Network

What's to Come of America's Pedestrian Malls?

In a pictorial essay, Mark Byrnes chronicles the uneven legacy of 50 years of pedestrian malls, and the uncertain future for a redevelopment tool that has been derided in some cities and celebrated in others.

May 7, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Ambitious Complete Street Project for LA Back On Track

James Brasuell celebrates the perseverance of one of LA's "most important urban projects," the remaking of Figueroa Boulevard, one of the city's major spines, linking downtown to the campus of the University of Southern California.

April 25, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Planning to Walk

In the final installment of his series on "Walking in America" on Slate, Tom Vanderbilt looks at why so much of the built environment is hostile to pedestrians, and how planning can change that.

April 15, 2012 - Slate.com

Using the Wrong Metrics for Creating Great Streets

Gary Toth considers the damage to the quality of our streets and urban environments caused by the use of travel projection models and Levels of Service (LOS) as performance metrics.

February 8, 2012 - Project For Public Spaces

Retrofitting Long Island Suburbs For The Pedestrian

Complete streets, road diets, streetscape improvements - geared to promote suburban downtowns for new residents who seek access to amenities without having to drive is a hit for some towns who have successfully obtained government grants to fund them

December 9, 2011 - The New York Times- Real Estate

Is a Vibrant City Best Measured at Night?

Chuck Wolfe asks if a city's vitality is best indicated at night, and how it should be measured.

September 28, 2011 - myurbanist

Popular Complete Streets Policy Killed by City Council

According to Kari Petrie, a highly popular Complete Streets measure in St. Cloud, Minnesota couldn't get a majority of votes from the City Council.

September 13, 2011 - SC Times

Complete Streets Arrives In Bay Area

Gary Richards, the Roadshow columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, provides many examples of redesigning streets for bikes, peds, and transit throughout the Bay Area, a direct result of the 2008 California Complete Streets legislation.

August 21, 2011 - The Mercury News

Cities Embracing Complete Streets Policies

States and local governments across the U.S. are adopting strong complete streets policies, reports the National Complete Streets Coalition. The new report rates written policies on the strength of their inclusion of a list of policies.

April 27, 2011 - Switchboard Blog

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.