Parking’s drawbacks: How does parking destroy cities?
Imagine that: A study indicates that cities better serving women bicyclists have more bicycling overall.
Slowed down: Plans to speed up buses in New York City have been slowed down.
Dueling or complimentary?: It’s not exactly clear what might happen with two Washington public broadband bills being signed into law.
California’s transportation investments: California’s governor is proposing a $500 million increase for active transportation and to fully fund the high-speed rail project in the Central Valley.
Reforming MUTCD: Advocates are pushing for a modern MUTCD, but will it happen?
Integrated transit: The push for an integrated transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area continues.
Vision Zero: Despite the national trends, Boston has made progress on Vision Zero. Arlington County, Virginia is moving forward with a Vision Zero plan.
Affordable condos: Affordable housing developers are eyeing vertical condominiums ($) in Seattle.
Crosswinds: With home sales booming, that could wind up keeping some people renting.
DOT (Department of Trails): Should Virginia establish a department dedicated to trails?
Housing Ireland: Ireland is headed toward housing policy reforms, a but a prominent Green Party member is not pleased. The national legislature also adopted a strict affordable housing objective for Dublin.
Guaranteed income: What do Seattle mayoral candidates stand on a guaranteed income?
To house or not?: The federal government is willing to foot the bill for housing people experiencing homelessness but local governments are weary.
Off the tracks: Honolulu’s rapid transit project runs into track size and wheel base problems.
Los Angeles’ housing crisis: Vox highlights Skid Row and housing crisis in Los Angeles.
Renting in Japan: What’s happening with Japan’s rental housing market?
Container chic: Shipping containers are all the rage for small food halls ($).
Cleveland transit redesign: Transit guru Jarrett Walker is helping Cleveland revamp their transit network.
Expediting affordable housing: Victoria is looking to expedite affordable housing development approval.
Navy as developer: In San Diego, the Navy wants to build 10,000 homes on a 70-acre site.
Electric car mandates: A New York bill has been passed by the state legislature requiring all new car sales to be zero-emissions by 2035. Washington Governor Jay Inslee vetoed a 2030 target for requiring sales of electric vehicles ($).
Construction damage: Philadelphia could adopt new regulations to crack down on construction damage of neighboring property.
Eliminating parking minimums: Minneapolis has eliminated minimums for car parking as part of development ($). Neighboring St. Paul is looking to do the same.
Road pricing benefit: How could road pricing get people out of their SUVs?
Adaptation strategy: Tucson is planning to plant a million trees through 2030.
Carbon pricing: Oregon Democrats are looking to British Columbia for a carbon tax.
HQ2 renders: New renderings are out for Amazon’s HQ2.
Freeing the city: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has set a target for 2022 to free the city center mostly of cars.
Free bikes: Berlin has a free cargo bikeshare program.
Rising service costs: Water, sewer, recycling, and waste service costs are going up 20% by 2026 in Seattle.
Historic district pitfalls: How do historic districts cost neighborhoods housing? Greater Greater Washington looks at a Washington, D.C. case.
Future of CBDs: How might the pandemic change central business districts going forward as office workers return?
Not just coastal cities: Orlando is now even less affordable than San Francisco.
Divesting from oil: Amsterdam is banning fossil fuel advertisements from its metro system.
Bike biz: Over 100 businesses are asking for a protected bike lane in Portland.
No more highways: A California transportation head wants to stop highway building on the 710 freeway. And in Maryland, a big highway expansion plan is dead.
Vineyard Wind: The Biden Administration has approved the nation’s first mega offshore wind farm ($).
Central District development: What are the plans for a “truly anti-racist” private development in the Central District?
Supply helps: New developments lower rents in nearby areas, a study finds.
Lumber woes: Lumber prices have been skyrocketing and they’re hitting Seattle area developments ($).
Reopening: Washington is poised to fully reopen by June 30th.
Al fresco is popular: Yelp data has shown that restaurants on cafe streets have had very high interest during the pandemic.
Green policy: The Biden Administration is seeking new Energy Star standards as well as reduced building emissions targets for federal assets ($).
Recovery plans: California is flush with cash and has big recovery spending plans.
Subway funding: Toronto’s subway expansion plans are being given a big federal government funding injection.
Chicago likes bikes: Chicago plans to install more bike lanes with greater protection and separation.
New comp plan: Washington, D.C. has adopted an updated comprehensive plan with significant changes.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.