Walkability

Buenos Aires bus stop

North America Needs a New Model for Pedestrian-Friendly Planning

Where pedestrian-only streets have failed to draw business, the problem may be a failure to think big enough.

September 15, 2015 - The Globe and Mail

Walking

Walkability: It's About Experience

The Surgeon General's call to action, Step It Up, asks us all to get moving. And that to do that, to clear the hurdles to walkable, bikeable, rollable places. We knew that sitting is the new smoking, and now we have the full admonition to go with it.

September 15, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Chapultepec Fountain

Reinventing a Storied Thoroughfare in Mexico City

A team of designers will convert one Mexico City's most dangerous highways into an urban oasis.

September 10, 2015 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

Selfie in action

What Makes a Streetscape Appeal to Pedestrians?

Researchers who studied the appeal of New York City streetscapes find an additionally significant factor on the streets of Salt Lake City: the photo op.

August 12, 2015 - CityLab

Turnstiles

Strategies for Maximizing Transit Ridership

Jarrett Walker outlines the conditions under which transit serves the greatest number of travelers. Maximizing ridership, he argues, requires thinking like a business and catering to demand.

August 7, 2015 - Human Transit

Busy Crossing Street

A Decade of Walkable Strides in Transit Innovation

A new Transit Center report shows what it takes to enact change.

August 3, 2015 - Next City

Shanghai Shopping

Pedestrianization Models from China

For urbanization in China's cities to be truly human-centered, pedestrianization plans must be thoroughly considered.

July 27, 2015 - The City Fix

Pittsburgh Bridge

New App Plots the Most Beautiful, Walkable Route

Interested in finding the road less traveled by? Walkonomics has launched in seven cities around the globe.

July 25, 2015 - ASLA The Dirt

Improving Mental Health May Be As Easy As a Walk in the Park

A new study offers evidence that walking in a natural setting is more beneficial to mental health than walking in an urban setting.

July 24, 2015 - New York Times

Imagining Livability Design Tools

The "Imagining Livability Design Collection" by the AARP Livable Communities and the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute provides a visual portfolio of placemaking solutions that can be implemented quickly, for not too much money.

July 20, 2015 - AARP

Parking Sign

Maryland Parking Lots Go Underground

For a long time, surface parking lots blanketed Maryland's Montgomery County. Developers and county officials now prioritize mixed-use infill with parking concealed underground.

July 7, 2015 - WAMU

Fort Worth Walkability

Fort Worth Wants Residents to Live Longer

The Texas city is the largest municipality so far to sign onto the Blue Zones Project, an initiative for improving longevity. In a nutshell, Blue Zones wants to make healthy choices the easy ones.

June 30, 2015 - Next City

Small Town Pedestrian

The Walkable, Healthy Rural Community: A Case Study

Albert Lea, Minnesota proves that small towns can reinvent themselves—often faster than big cities—and that walkable communities aren't only possible in urban neighborhoods.

June 13, 2015 - MinnPost

Kids Crossing the Street

Op-Ed: Los Angeles Walkability Needs More Crosswalks

Although Los Angeles isn't famous for its walking culture, many neighborhoods are actually quite suited for it. That is, if streets could be made friendlier to the pedestrians they currently repel.

June 5, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Durham

Bold Plans Unveiled for Converting Durham's Historic Downtown Loop

The city of Durham hosted a public workshop this week to discuss urban design plans for converting a circuitous couplet to a two-way street grid.

May 23, 2015 - Indy Week

Pedestrian Overpass

Walkability 'Growing Pains' in Los Angeles

By many estimates, a city known for its pedestrian unfriendliness is developing pockets of local walkability. Minor disputes over pedestrian rights may add up to something bigger.

May 15, 2015 - CityLab

Oakland Crosswalk Engineering Mistimes Walkability Goals

A well-informed, social media savvy observer is shedding light on a seemingly small change with big impacts on the quality of life available to pedestrians along Oakland's streets.

May 13, 2015 - Gejl Accident Attorneys

Cleveland 4th Street St. Patrick's

The Case for a Walkable Cleveland

In this long-form article, G.M. Donley reminds us why walkable and diverse communities have become such a planning staple. In Cleveland, New Urbanism contends with a history of sprawl and decreasing population.

April 27, 2015 - Belt Magazine

Complete Streets

Report: Complete Streets Deliver More Than Just Good Vibes

Better safety and multimodal ease are not the only benefits offered by complete streets. According to this report, on the average they pay for themselves and then some.

April 24, 2015 - ASLA The Dirt

Cracked Sidewalk

Philly Pleads with Landlords to Fix Sidewalks

In some cities, maintenance of sidewalks is not the responsibility of the city but of adjacent landowners. Philadelphia is finding what a hassle this arrangement can be. With countless blocks in disrepair, everyone is passing the buck.

April 22, 2015 - Philadelphia Magazine

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.