Public Health
New Analysis Tools Measures Transportation Health Impacts
The Integrated Transport and Health Impact Model estimates how planning decisions affect public health, including physical activity, collisions and vehicle exhaust. This can help create healthier communities.
More Parks and Trees Can Increase Life Expectancy
New research shows that increasing park acreage in areas that face park deficits and low levels of tree canopy could lead to significant population-level increases in life expectancy.
Reimagined Public Spaces and Programming During the Pandemic
Public spaces have become more important than ever. Here are five case studies of innovative and safely designed programming that engages people of all ages and backgrounds.
New Car Owners, Fewer Parking Spaces—Chickens Come to Roost in New York City
Many cities like New York have reallocated space formerly reserved for moving and storing cars to help restaurants and stores weather the pandemic, but as more residents rely on cars for the same reason, the dynamic threatens to boil over.
Parametric Modeling for Planning in Uncertain Times
A new technology- and data-drive approach to planning could provide direction as society faces challenges of unprecedented scale.
Forming Partnerships With Public Health Departments: How to Make the Connection
Tips for community organizations looking to build relationships with local public health departments.
Seattle Extends Outdoor Dining for a Year, Eases Rules on Heaters for the Winter
Outdoor dining is going to hang out for a bit.
The Battle for Playgrounds
New York City parents are unhappy that fitness enthusiasts are turning to playgrounds for their workouts.
North Dakota Physicians Plead for State and Local Leaders to Mandate Masks
The medical community is sounding the alarm in North Dakota, where hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID patients. With the governor opposed to issuing a statewide mask mandate, physicians are asking local governments and the public for help.
Herd Immunity Finds Receptive Audience in White House and Florida
A trio of epidemiologists from Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Oxford have joined the president's new coronavirus medical advisor, Scott Atlas, in promoting an alternative approach to dealing with coronavirus infections.
Strange Days: Outrage Absent as Businesses Reclaim Parking Spots
It took a pandemic, but the worldwide effort to move restaurant and retail businesses outside, at the expense of parking, is proving far less controversial than it would have before the coronavirus swept the globe.
New Google Map Layer Shows COVID-19 Infection Rates
A new layer showing the seven-day average of confirmed COVID-19 cases started rolling out to Android and iPhones last week.
New York Outdoor Dining, Open Streets Programs Now Permanent
New York City will now be measurably less car-centric for the indefinite future.
Pandemic Reveals the Importance of Open Space to Health and Well-Being
Hong Kong provides a lesson in the importance of open space for the health and well-being of residents, especially during the isolation and distancing of a pandemic.
Hot Asphalt May Increase Air Pollution in Urban Areas
Research shows that road asphalt exposed to heat and sunlight may eventually become a significant emissions source.
What Will Disneyland Be Like When it Reopens?
According to a study, Disneyland could comfortably accommodate 50% of the 110-acre theme park’s pre-COVID-19 attendance capacity.
Pandemic Persists With Tragic Consequences for Transit Workers
Labor unions are raising alarms about the difficulties of keeping transit workers—the essential workers upon which so many essential workers rely—safe during the pandemic.
How Electric Bikes Help in Battling COVID-19
For the last six months, the world has been on a stand-still. As government-imposed lockdowns spread across the country in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been looking left and right for alternatives to cope with the “new normal.”
Has the Lack of Access to Parks Driven Up COVID-19 Infection Rates in Black and Latino Communities?
Experts indicate that it is too soon to conclude that the lack of access to parks has contributed to higher coronavirus infection rates in Black and Latino communities, but say there is likely a relationship between the two.
The Media Can't Stop Talking About the End of Cities
The latest installment of Planetizen's ongoing effort to track the stories about the future of planning in a world forever changed by COVID-19 notices a recurring theme.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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.
