New York

Upheaval at New York State Thruway Authority

The New York State authority with responsibility for the Thruway system, including the Tappan Zee Bridge as the most famous of its 809 bridges, is weathering leadership changes and a dismal budget shortfall.

January 5, 2015 - WNYC

Sunshine State Overtakes Empire State as Third Most Populous State

William H. Frey, Brookings Institution demographer, writes on the latest Census Bureau demographic data. California and Texas remain number one and two respectively. New York had 19.7 million residents on July 1, 2014, Florida 19.9 million people.

January 4, 2015 - Brookings

New York MTA Buses to Alert Pedestrians When Turning

Following the lead of programs in Los Angeles, Portland, and Baltimore, a pilot program by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority will install warning systems to alert pedestrians to turning buses.

January 2, 2015 - New York Daily News

The Story of New York's First Commuter

Sam Roberts tells the story of commuting in New York City, starting from the very beginning, the maiden voyage of the first ferry from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

January 1, 2015 - New York Times

Port Authority Recommends Cutting PATH Service

The Port Authority released a controversial report over the weekend that recommends cutting overnight and weekend service for Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) service. So far, the governors of New York and New Jersey support the plan.

December 30, 2014 - NJ.com

'Self-Sufficiency Standard' Reveals Distressing Levels of Poverty

Most policies regarding poverty are driven by obsolete metrics. Another model, which measures the very basic needs for survival, reveals deep poverty in New York City.

December 27, 2014 - Quartz

Polls: New York Fracking Ban Has Wide Support

According to a Quinnipiac University Poll, New Yorkers upstate, downstate, Democrat, and Republican, all supported Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to ban fracking—only energy companies and some businesses and property owners expressed dismay.

December 24, 2014 - Newsmax

The Never-Built Legacy of New York's Tech Firms

A big picture explanation, with case studies, of why New York's newest wave of commercial businesses won't leave their mark on the city like it might have in the past.

December 23, 2014 - New York YIMBY

Busy Crossing Street

Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority

New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.

December 22, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Central Park Aerial

A New Era of Skyscrapers in New York

New York magazine examines the latest wave of skyscraper development in New York City for the possibility that they might embody the highest outcomes of form and function.

December 21, 2014 - New York

New York Bans Fracking for Good

Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally made a decision—make it permanent in 2015. Fracking foes won an important battle as the Empire State has massive natural gas reserves in the Marcellus shale play. In the end, health issues trumped economics.

December 18, 2014 - Vox

Mind the Gap: Media, Researchers Identify Gentrification Differently

A new study by a sociologist at Louisiana State University examines the differences between qualitative and quantitative descriptions of gentrification. Even the New York Times, according to the study, reveals its bias.

December 16, 2014 - CityLab

Groundbreaking for Controversial 'Atlantic Yards' Development

The development formerly known as Atlantic Yards—now called Pacific Park—broke ground this week, finally setting in motion a massive development beset by fierce controversy in the 11 years since it was first proposed.

December 16, 2014 - Crain's New York Business

Audit Finds Room for Improvement on Management of Citi Bike

The office of New York Comptroller Scott Stringer has performed an audit of New York City Bike Share's contract with the New York City Department of Transportation. The audit finds poor oversight and maintenance of the Citi Bike system.

December 15, 2014 - Next City

Ocean Grove Sidewalk

Retrofitting Suburban Downtowns for Walkability

Ian Law of Place Alliance spoke to the 2014 ASLA Annual Meeting in Denver at the end of November about what it takes to accomplish a vision for a more dense, walkable suburban downtown.

December 15, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Controversial Speed Camera Program for School Zones Likely to Be Repealed

A speed camera program near school zones in Nassau County on Long Island provides a cautionary tale about the limits of surveillance and fines in curbing speeding.

December 13, 2014 - CBS New York

Einstein's Bike Shop

Ten Provocative Ideas for Bicycling Architecture

Arch Daily presents the ten major ideas to emerge from a "design provocation" for big ideas to push trip share of bike in New York City closer to, and even beyond, the levels of Copenhagen.

December 11, 2014 - Arch Daily

Report Reveals Broken Commitment to Green Building at the World Trade Center

An investigative report by James West finds that the developers of the World Trade Center sacrificed a commitment to green building to retain a key tenant after damages wrought by Superstorm Sandy.

December 11, 2014 - Mother Jones

The Most Expensive Cities for Short-Term Rentals

A recent study measured average prices (both peak and off-peak) of 60,000 properties in 150 cities. New York City showed a surprising distinction in hotel and Airbnb rates.

December 10, 2014 - Wall Street Journal - Digits

Explained: How Protected Bike Lanes Improve Pedestrian Safety

An article in Treehugger explains the public safety benefits of protected bike lanes by appealing to common sense.

December 9, 2014 - Treehugger

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.