The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Montgomery County Council has approved a new law that sets limits on how much landlords can raise rents from year to year.

August 1 - DCist

Citi Bike’s e-bikes are becoming too popular for their own good as Lyft struggles to keep up with maintenance and charging.

August 1 - Curbed

The first day of public service on the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) light rail route was marred by a closure and delays.

August 1 - Montreal Gazette

Data from smartphone apps and fitness trackers are helping planners to better understand park usage patterns and plan for new and improved parks.

July 31 - Planning Magazine

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in March a two-part ballot initiative to tackle homelessness, focusing on mental illness and substance abuse, which would provide 10,000 beds in new, voluntary treatment facilities—but one funding source is controversial.

July 31 - CALmatters

July is Parks and Recreation Month and CBOs should be recognized for the important role they play in supporting parks and recreation in communities across the U.S.

July 31 - National Recreation and Park Association Open Space Blog

As extreme heat waves become more common and widespread, the administration is directing federal resources to heat mitigation efforts.

July 31 - NBC 4

A regulatory change at the federal level will shorten the time it takes clean energy projects to gain approval and start providing energy to the grid.

July 31 - The Verge

Using a measurement that takes into account more factors in addition to housing costs, a new report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research sheds light on the true crisis facing Houston-area renters.

July 31 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Some bus lines will start letting riders board through both front and back doors this fall as part of Metro’s efforts to improve service speed and reliability.

July 31 - The Washington Post

As commuter patterns shift, so too do the transit funding preferences of the federal government.

July 31 - The News & Observer

Environmentalists gear up for battle to reject a referendum funded by Big Oil on a law passed last year that would ban oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.

July 30 - San Francisco Chronicle

Cities have been designed for user experience (UX) for millennia, and contemporary UX designers have plenty to learn from planners, according to a recent article in Fast Company.

July 30 - Fast Company

BLOG POST

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

The region’s long-range transportation plan fails to boost investment in transit, opting to fund road expansions instead.

July 30 - The Baltimore Sun

The tax would apply to electric vehicles, which avoid the state’s gas tax and are a growing percentage of cars on the road.

July 28 - KHON

For many children who grow up without access to pools or lakes, access to swimming lessons and facilities can provide lifesaving skills.

July 28 - The New York Times

Residents of a historic Black South Carolina town are being displaced by a road widening project.

July 28 - The Guardian

The legislation recognizes community gardens as vital urban spaces and an effective weapon against the impacts of climate change on cities.

July 28 - The New York Times

Form-based zoning codes can encourage mixed-use development and walkable neighborhoods, but focusing too much on aesthetic elements can drive up the cost of housing.

July 27 - The Urbanist