Exclusives

Green wall with floor or apartment numbers missing number 13, goes from 12 to 12 1/3 to 14 instead.

FEATURE

The Mystique of the 13th Floor: Superstitions, Sustainability, and the Future of Electrical Building Design

How engineers adapt a common superstition to maximize the utility of a stigmatized space.

October 13 - Johnathan Meade

Family posing on stoop of white ADU.

FEATURE

Creating Affordable Housing is a Priority for ADU Owners

How accessory dwelling units can benefit homeowners and renters alike.

October 12 - Jessica Brown

The Interstate 10 freeway cuts through residential neighborhoods in the city of Alhambra. Downtown Los Angeles is visible in the background,

BLOG POST

‘Luxury Beliefs’ and Urban Planning

Conservative pundits are using the term “luxury beliefs” as a means of criticizing progressives. But can the concept be applied to urban planning? And can it be applied in a nonpartisan way?

October 11 - Michael Lewyn

Aerial gondola car in the air overlooking the city of Medellin, Colombia.

BLOG POST

Harnessing Data for Community Development

Using data and insights encourages the development of a community, offering an evidence-based strategy to directly address the needs within.

September 20 - Devin Partida

Graphic of busy city intersection with crosswalk, cars, people, and bike share station.

FEATURE

Book Excerpt: Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities

What is your transportation story?

September 18 - Veronica Davis


Close-up of people wearing white gloves and Covid-19 masks exchanging unlabeled can of food at food bank

FEATURE

Social Capital Builds Resilience—and Planners Can Build Social Capital

Connections with neighbors and local institutions can play an important role in how a community responds to disaster.

September 11 - Christopher Holtkamp

AI-generated aerial view of freeway interchange with digital lines overlaid to indicate AI traffic management

FEATURE

Leveraging Holistic Platforms For Urban Mobility Solutions

How a ‘control tower’ approach can improve mobility and reduce congestion and emissions.

September 10 - Timothy Menard


View of Dallas city skyline with moderately busy freeway in foreground at twilight.

BLOG POST

How to Reduce Excess Vehicle Travel

Some experts claim that remote work is the most effective way to reduce vehicle travel, but my research indicates that improving and encouraging walking, bicycling, and public transit can provide larger impacts and benefits.

September 8 - Todd Litman

Man painting "HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT" mural in black paint on bright yellow fence

BLOG POST

Public Opinion on Housing: A Deeper Dive

Surveys on housing show that Americans give pro-housing or anti-housing answers depending on how questions are asked. More consistently, they show that Black Americans and young people are more pro-housing than older whites.

September 5 - Michael Lewyn

A view from among the high0rises in Downtown Seattle.

BLOG POST

Capturing the Post-Pandemic City: The Power of 'Visual Prosecution'

Have you ever tried immersive photography to show how urban landscapes, with their ever-evolving stories, are changing post-pandemic? A three-time author of books about understanding the innate identities of urban places updates his perspective.

September 5 - Charles R. Wolfe

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 H. 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

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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