3 of the Worst Highway Expansion Projects Singled Out by the Highway Boondoggles Report

The latest Highway Boondoggles Report is out, showcasing just how much money is being wasted on highway expansion projects across the U.S.

It’s in the BAG: Bringing Fresh Fruits & Veggies Into the Heart of a Neighborhood

Here’s a local program that began with seeing a struggle in the community—and made a humble, but impactful, attempt to respond to it.

Emma Durand-Wood, Community Stories, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodNovember 9, 2023food deserts, local food, canada, public investment

How Halifax Built the Most Vibrant Waterfront in Canada: Decades of Small Changes

For successful placemaking, small, consistent investments over time matter more than grand gestures.

Top StoryTristan ClevelandNovember 8, 2023small bets, canada, Third Places

One Meeting and $3,000 Created More Value for This City Than a $300,000 Project

After one meeting and a little over $3,000, Medicine Hat, AB, decided to take a bottom-up approach to invest in a community-led program that has made better use of their public parks and children’s playgrounds.

Community Stories, Top StorySeairra JonesNovember 8, 2023Community Action Lab, canada, play, parks, small bets

Public Health Experts Say Narrow Lanes Should Be the Default on City Streets

A recent public health study out of Johns Hopkins has found that narrow lanes reduce crashes on streets, and recommends that lanes as narrow as 9 feet wide be the default.

Kingston, NY, Invites Residents to Design ADUs for Plus One Home Program

A launch party was held in Kingston, NY, for the Plus One Home Program, an initiative that hopes to accelerate the creation of accessory dwelling units.

What Is Our One Thing?

Our cities are often chasing too many goals and rarely succeeding at all of them. Building safe, beautiful cities requires recovering singularity of focus.

Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedNovember 7, 2023halloween, safe and productive streets, children

North Carolina Hopes Small Code Change Fills Big Housing Needs

Restrictive zoning can make it so that smaller residential developments face the same prohibitively expensive restrictions as larger commercial units. But the state of North Carolina has passed a new bill to address this issue.

News, Top StoryBen AbramsonNovember 6, 2023housing policy, zoning, Incremental Housing, North Carolina, missing middle, success stories

The Hesitancy of Western Massachusetts to Address Traffic Deaths Is a Warning to All

Cities in Massachusetts are among the most walkable in the U.S., so why is progress for safer streets there so maddeningly slow?

Marohn, Trending, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 6, 2023safe and productive streets, california, massachusetts, safety, Street Design

Could Dedicated Bus Lanes Turn Los Angeles Into a Transit Town?

Los Angeles is often held up as the case study for car-centric development run amok, but in recent years, the city has been pursuing a completely different path: public transit champion.

News, Trending, Top StoryBen AbramsonNovember 3, 2023buses, transit, public transportation, california, safe and productive streets

How Designing a Development Is Like Setting the Thanksgiving Table

The best time to influence a development proposal so that it fits well into its urban context is early, not late, in the process.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtNovember 3, 2023urban planning, design, urban design, local government

Status Quo for Me, a Speeding Ticket for Thee

One of the most frustrating things about transportation policy is the obvious double standard when it comes to cars versus everything else.

The 6 Zoning Reforms Every Municipality Should Adopt

Here are six tried and tested, “no-brainer” zoning reforms any city or town in North America should consider adopting.

Trending, Top StoryNolan GrayNovember 1, 2023zoning, Incremental Housing, housing policy

Rent Control Is an Anti-Displacement Policy, Not an Affordability Policy

Rent control gets held up as a generic answer to high housing costs, but people often aren’t clear about what problem, exactly, they believe rent control is intended to solve.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesNovember 1, 2023Incremental Housing, rent control, rent, housing policy, landlords

Jake Berman: Lost Subways of North America

We talk with author Jake Berman about the history of rail networks in America’s cities and why our transit systems are the way that they are in the current era.

Top StoryAsia MieleszkoOctober 31, 2023books, rail, public transportation, transit, history, maps

No Purchase Necessary

Cities need more transaction-free third spaces.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedOctober 31, 2023Third Places, public space

Landlords are the Localest Branch of Local Government

Landlords may no longer be “land lords” in the historical sense, but they are still charged with a great number of responsibilities at a deeply local level—so, what does it mean to be a good steward of the land?

Top StorySeth ZerenOctober 30, 2023landlords, subsidiarity, local government, National Gathering

Trick-or-Treat Is Worth Saving

The rise of trunk-or-treat is just another outcome of our streets becoming more dangerous, but it’s important we come together and save the tradition of trick-or-treating.

Ryan AllenOctober 30, 2023halloween, safe and productive streets, safety, Street Design, children

Monitoring the Monitors: Maryland Man Scrutinizes State DOT Crash Reports

Maryland legislators have called for an infrastructure review of every crash that causes the death of a pedestrian or cyclist on state highways—but one local advocate is checking the state’s work, and there’s some problems with it.