Exclusives

Busy traffic on a road

BLOG POST

Leveraging the Choice Not to Travel

The pandemic accelerated the growth of remote services and telecommuting. Now is the time for urban planners to leverage these new opportunities to reduce vehicle miles traveled.

August 28 - Steven Polzin

Conceptual rendering of Rikers Island redevelopment as renewable energy facility

FEATURE

Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?

New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?

August 24 - Mark McNulty

View of concrete schoolyard in New York City through fence

FEATURE

An Urbanist Agenda for Education

An opinion article by Angie Schmitt addresses the neglect of education policy in the urbanist political platform, and proposes two specific education policy goals for urbanists to get behind.

August 23 - Angie Schmitt

Aerial view of Le Corbusier-designed Cité Radieuse in Marseilles, France.

PLANOPEDIA

What Is the City of Tomorrow?

The City of Tomorrow is the English name given to an early work of urban design by Le Corbusier, who, throughout his career, evolved a concept of city planning firmly based in rationality and order.

August 21 - Diana Ionescu

Red brick historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, Liberty State Park, New Jersey with glass high-rise building in background.

BLOG POST

How Transit Villages Are Reshaping New Jersey’s Urban Landscape

Will the Garden State become Manhattan 2.0 in the next 50 years? Probably not. Will it look different from today? Probably yes.

August 16 - Marcelo Remond

California state capitol building dome with U.S., California, and POW/MIA flags on flagpole

BLOG POST

California Adopts CEQA Reforms for Infrastructure, Leaves Out Residential

The state of California adopted reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pertaining to climate-friendly infrastructure projects, but residential development interests hoping for relief from CEQA will have to wait.

August 15 - James Brasuell


View from back of mother and hcild holding hands and walking down asphalt walkway painted with game grid.

BLOG POST

Do Americans Really Prefer Sprawl?

Not if they live in a large metro area.

August 14 - Michael Lewyn

Photo of Bruce Stiftel as a young man standing in front of a green chalkboard

BLOG POST

Youth, Inexperience, and a Sense of Mission

Forty years ago this week, I arrived in Tallahassee to take my first full-time university job. It was a nervous moment. After nearly eight years of graduate school, I was about to learn if I was any good at the career I'd prepared so long to begin.

August 10 - Bruce Stiftel


Workers pouring concrete in wooden mold for new sidewalk

BLOG POST

Completing Sidewalk Networks: Benefits and Costs

Many communities have incomplete or inadequate sidewalk networks that fail to accommodate all users. A new study indicates that completing sidewalk networks is one of the most basic and cost effective transportation improvements.

August 6 - Todd Litman

People on bikes ride on protected bike path along the Seine River in Paris, France

FEATURE

The Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists

The 100 people making an impact on planning and cities today.

August 2 - Planetizen

Person stands next to pile of burning debris in street holding French flag during Yellow Vest protests

BLOG POST

Watch Out for Green Class Backlash

Low emission zones, like that implemented in London, face backlash from critics on all sides of the political spectrum for impacting the poorest drivers and putting a burden on small businesses.

August 1 - Joan Fitzgerald

Side-by-side photos of hand holding thermometer above pavement; left photo shows 119 degrees, right photo shows 110 degrees, illustrating the effect of a cool pavement treatment.

BLOG POST

‘Cool Community’ Project Yields Promising Results

A ten-block area in one of L.A.’s most heat-prone neighborhoods saw significant reductions in surface and air temperature thanks to an innovative street treatment that could help communities around the country mitigate the impacts of extreme heat.

July 30 - Diana Ionescu

Green Stormwater Infrastructure

PLANOPEDIA

What Is Green Infrastructure?

Green infrastructure harnesses nature to the benefit of the built environments as well as human and animal life.

July 25 - James Brasuell

Four-story white L-shaoped apartment building with small parking lot in front in Edina, Minnesota

FEATURE

Nonprofit Affordable Housing Developers Navigate Troubled Waters

As housing and building costs rise, nonprofit developers find themselves with strained resources as pandemic relief dries up and tenants need housing assistance more than ever.

July 20 - Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson

Bike Parking

PLANOPEDIA

What Is Transportation Demand Management?

When a government creates incentives or disincentives to influence how and when you travel—that's transportation demand management.

July 19 - James Brasuell

Intersection on Manhattan street with yellow cabs and black cars waiting for stoplight.

BLOG POST

The Urbanist Case Against Congestion Pricing

And why it is wrong.

July 18 - Michael Lewyn

Blackfoot memorial statue in Glacier National Park of Native American sitting on horse

BLOG POST

Public Lands in the United States, Part Two: The Conservation Turn and ‘America’s Best Idea’

As Western expansion reached its geographic terminus, the U.S. government began tightening rules around land use and designating protected areas such as national parks and wilderness areas, often displacing local Native Americans in favor of a Wester

July 17 - Diana Ionescu

Jane Jacobs

FEATURE

The 100 Most Influential Urbanists, Past and Present

Planetizen readers have decided the who's who of urbanism (and its discontents) in 2023.

July 11 - Planetizen

Gray-haired Asian man wearing glasses sitting at wooden table reading documents

BLOG POST

How to Make Documents More Accessible With Color Contrast

There are many ways planners can be more accessible in their work. This article will briefly touch on color contrast as one of the ways to improve accessibility in planning documents.

July 11 - Ronnique Bishop

Protected bike path with raised curb in Indianapolis, Indiana

BLOG POST

What's Incomplete About Complete Streets?

Although hundreds of states and local governments have adopted Complete Streets policies, American streets keep getting more dangerous for walkers and cyclists. What's missing from Complete Streets policies?

July 10 - Michael Lewyn

Two adults stand behind a table, gesturing toward a model of a city while talking to a young child about buildings and parks and streets.

FEATURE

An Urban Planner Dedicated to Winning the Funding Necessary to Do the Work

An interview with Katy Shackelford, AICP, PTP, an urban planner and a funding specialist, to discuss the unique paths a planning career can take, and how unexpected career choices can deliver big benefits.

July 10 - James Brasuell

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.

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