China Suspends New AV Licenses After 'Major Chaos'
China has halted issuance of new autonomous vehicle (AV) licenses after dozens of Baidu self‑driving cars malfunctioned, prompting officials to label the situation "major chaos." The pause follows incidents of robotaxis colliding with objects, stealing luggage and endangering pedestrians. In contrast, the United States still lacks federal AV safety rules, relying on a patchwork of state regulations, though California will allow police to ticket autonomous vehicles starting June. The divergent regulatory approaches underscore rising safety concerns as robotaxi rides hit 36 million this year.
California's Hotel-to-Housing Program Put 13,500 People Into Homes
California’s Project Homekey, launched during the pandemic, allocated over $3.8 billion to convert vacant hotels and motels into permanent housing. An analysis of 250 projects shows roughly 13,500 residents now live in Homekey units, while about 3,000 planned units have stalled...
Colorado River Flows Will Reach Historic Lows This Summer
Colorado River inflows to Lake Powell are projected to fall to just 13% of the historical average this summer, the lowest on record. The shortfall follows an unprecedentedly weak snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, compounded by a March heatwave that...
Austin Rents Are Down — yet Evictions Spiked by 30%
Austin’s median rent fell 7% in 2024 as a building boom delivered new units, confirming YIMBY advocates’ goals. Despite cheaper rents, eviction filings surged 30% last year, the steepest rise among the 38 cities tracked by Princeton’s Eviction Lab. The...
Green Bay Set to Transform Downtown Parking Lot Into 168 Housing Units
Green Bay’s city council approved a $32.4 million mixed‑use redevelopment of a two‑and‑a‑half‑acre downtown parking lot. Developer Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions will build 168 housing units in three phases, beginning with 80 rental apartments slated for later this year. The...
Atlanta Could Add Dedicated Bike Lane to Beltline
Atlanta city councilmember Mary Norwood has introduced a resolution for a permanent, dedicated bike lane on the popular Beltline trail to separate cyclists from pedestrians and joggers. The measure, co‑signed by Councilmember Eshe Collins, will be voted on by the...
Maine County Rescinded $240k in Affordable Housing Funds After Town Proposed Using It for Data Center
Lincoln County withdrew nearly $240,000 of federal affordable‑housing money after the town of Wicasset, Maine, proposed using the funds for a feasibility study on a prospective $5 billion data center. The county had originally earmarked $1.5 million in ARPA dollars for housing...
After San Francisco Installed Traffic Cameras, Speeding Dropped by 80%
San Francisco became the first California city to deploy automated speed cameras under Assembly Bill 645, launching an 18‑month pilot that has now shown dramatic results. City data indicate an almost 80% drop in overall speeding, with only 2% of...
Almost 40% of LA Fire Survivors Face a Housing Crisis
A recent Los Angeles Times survey shows that nearly 40% of families who lost homes in the 2025 wildfires are running out of temporary‑housing insurance payments. The problem is most acute for low‑income households, with almost 80% of those earning $50,000...
Report: Expanding MTA Fair Fares Subway Program Would Benefit New Yorkers More than Free Buses
The Citizens Budget Commission released a report arguing that the $900 million cost of Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed free‑bus plan would be better spent expanding the MTA’s Fair Fares subway discount. Raising the program’s income threshold from 150 percent to 250 percent of...
New Federal Insurance Law Could Kill US Passenger Rail Within Weeks
The U.S. Department of Transportation is set to enforce a new passenger‑rail liability cap that could reach roughly $400 million. Under the rule, every passenger‑rail operator has 30 days to obtain the required insurance or suspend service. The cap, which has risen...
Thousands of New Homes Are Replacing Orange County's Dead Malls
Orange County is converting dozens of shuttered shopping malls into mixed‑use developments that combine thousands of new housing units with retail, dining and service space. In Westminster, a former mall will host 2,250 homes, while the Brea Mall site is...
SoCal's Metrolink to Continue 'Temporary' Service Cuts
Southern California’s Metrolink commuter rail will keep the service reductions that began in March, citing a $15 million operating shortfall and a persistent diesel‑locomotive parts shortage. The agency also warned of a possible $10 million loss from Los Angeles Metro and OCTA, prompting...
Arizona Emerges as National Leader in Wildlife Crossings
Arizona is rapidly becoming a national leader in wildlife crossings, integrating dedicated overpasses and underpasses into its highway system. The state’s comprehensive studies, including the Arizona Wildlife Linkages Assessment and a statewide vehicle‑conflict analysis, have pinpointed collision hotspots. Completed projects...
Green Blocks Are up to 4 Degrees Cooler than Treeless Streets
A new analysis by the Healthy Green Spaces Coalition links tree canopy coverage to cooler street temperatures across 65 U.S. cities. The study finds that the greenest census tracts are roughly 1 °F cooler than the least vegetated, translating to about...
April Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
Planetizen’s April roundup spotlights ten of the month’s most‑read urban stories, from Finland’s near‑three‑quarter‑mile car‑free Kruunuvuori Bridge to a Florida community handing new homeowners a free golf cart. U.S. headlines include Boston forfeiting over $8 million in federal road‑safety funds, Amtrak’s...
In a Twist, Baltimore Residents Ask for Less Parking
Baltimore residents attended a city hearing to challenge a developer’s request for 65 off‑street parking spaces at a new supermarket, arguing the project only needs the 36 spots permitted under the city’s recent parking‑minimum repeal. The proposal also seeks to...
Belgian 'Urban Village' Delivers Social Housing with Style
The Village of Heulebrug, a 66‑acre urban extension of Knokke‑Heist, Belgium, blends social and market‑rate housing within a tightly controlled vernacular design framework. Since its first phase in 2002, the development has delivered 851 living spaces, including 26 publicly owned...
Church-to-Housing Trend Grows in Southern California
Southern California churches are increasingly repurposing underused parcels into affordable housing, with three recent projects totaling over 240 units. In Santa Ana, a former vacant lot owned by the United Methodist Church will become a 93‑unit complex for at‑risk families....
San Diego Wants to Limit Upzoning Law to Just 16% of Transit-Adjacent Parcels
San Diego’s planning director has asked the city council to restrict the new state upzoning law, SB 79, to just 16% of parcels adjacent to transit stations. The proposal would postpone zoning changes in low‑income neighborhoods, which account for 26% of...
Study: Midblock Pedestrian Crossings Are More Common than We Think
A new study shows midblock pedestrian crossings are far more common than transportation agencies typically estimate, with one in six crossings occurring away from intersections and 75% of street segments recording at least one midblock crossing per hour. These crossings...
Amtrak May Loosen Its Rules on Bringing Guns on Board
Amtrak is evaluating a rule change that would let passengers store firearms in designated lockboxes on any of its trains, expanding the current limited allowance to all roughly 1,500 daily services. The proposal follows pressure from the Trump administration and...
96% of Federal EV Charging Funds From 2021-2022 Are Unspent
A Sierra Club analysis shows that 96% of the $7.5 billion allocated to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program for 2021‑2022 remains unspent. Only about one‑third of the money has been obligated to specific projects, while two‑thirds sits idle. The...
Study: Urban Institute Analysis Underestimates Zoning Reform Impacts
A new analysis by the American Enterprise Institute challenges the Urban Institute’s recent study on zoning reform, which claimed a modest 0.8% increase in housing supply over three to eight years. Tobias Peter argues that 178 of the 180 zoning...
MBTA 'Resilience Roadmap' Plans for Climate Change's Impacts on Transit Infrastructure
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority unveiled a "Resilience Roadmap" that outlines 30 strategies to shield its transit system from climate‑driven extreme weather. The plan zeroes in on the most vulnerable assets—tunnels and power infrastructure—and proposes flood doors, upgraded pump rooms,...
UPS Trucks Blocked NYC Bus Lanes 25,000 Times Last Year
UPS trucks were captured blocking New York City bus lanes 25,000 times in 2025, nearly double the 12,975 violations logged by Amazon. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority recorded a total of 843,000 bus‑lane violations citywide, issuing $54.9 million in fines. Other commercial...
Cows at Tennessee's 'Silicon Ranch' Graze Under Solar Panels
Silicon Ranch in Christiana, Tennessee has launched a 5‑megawatt agrivoltaic system that lets cattle graze beneath solar panels. The company engineered raised, motorized mounts and custom software so panels can be tilted or lifted to create safe pathways for the...
Texas Data Centers' Demand for Electricians Is Delaying Housing Construction by 2 Months
Texas’s rapid data‑center expansion is siphoning electricians away from residential projects, forcing home‑builders to postpone construction by up to two months. The state’s pool of roughly 71,000 licensed electricians is being stretched thin as AI‑driven firms allocate 45‑70% of their...
Study: Speeding Drivers Are Using Their Phones More, Too
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a study revealing that drivers who exceed speed limits are also more likely to use their phones while driving. Data from insurance‑company safety apps show a 12% increase in phone handling for...
New HUD Rule Would Remove Gender From Housing Protections
HUD has proposed a new rule that would replace the terms “gender” and “gender identity” with “sex” in about 50 federal housing regulations. The change follows President Trump’s 2025 executive order that defines sex based on biological characteristics and would...
Mamdani Vows to Put the “Park” Back in NYC’s Soon-to-Be Redesigned Park Ave
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a redesign that would pedestrianize 11 blocks of Manhattan’s iconic Park Avenue between 46th and 57th streets. The plan removes one vehicle lane in each direction, expands medians and adds planting, seating, and a north‑south bike...
Seattle's Pioneer Square to Become Pedestrian Zone During World Cup
Seattle’s Department of Transportation announced that Pioneer Square will become a temporary pedestrian‑only zone on FIFA World Cup match days this summer. Streets surrounding the historic district will be closed to vehicle traffic and on‑street parking will be restricted. The...
Study: Pavement Covers 40% of Phoenix
A new Arizona State University study finds that 40% of Phoenix’s land area is covered by pavement, an amount comparable to four times the size of San Francisco. Researchers highlight that asphalt emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that form ultrafine...
Huntsville Wants to Be a Key Southern Player in Intercity Rail
Huntsville, Alabama’s city council approved a $350,000 study to evaluate intercity rail connections to Birmingham, Nashville, Atlanta and Chattanooga. The feasibility analysis will prioritize corridor options and identify potential station sites, emphasizing Amtrak‑style heavy rail rather than local transit. The...
Judge Saves DC Bike Lanes
A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s effort to remove protected bike lanes on Washington, D.C.’s 15th Street ahead of the nation’s 250th‑anniversary celebrations. The lanes, installed five years ago, carry roughly 4,000 cyclists daily and have been credited with...
Waymo Says Blocking Bike Lanes Is 'Normal Practice'
Waymo has publicly acknowledged that its driverless taxis often pull into bike lanes to pick up or drop off passengers, describing the behavior as "normal practice." The admission follows a lawsuit filed by a San Francisco cyclist who was injured after...
NYC E-Bike Injury Study Highlights 'Critical Infrastructure Deficiencies'
A new study of New York City emergency‑room visits reveals a sharp rise in injuries involving e‑bikes, scooters and other micromobility devices. It finds that 94% of cycling fatalities in 2023 occurred on streets without protected bike lanes, and helmet...
Dallas Transit to Invest up to $71.5M in Upgraded Bus Shelters
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is allocating up to $71.5 million to replace its citywide bus shelters with new, climate‑resilient structures. The contract with Tolar Manufacturing will deliver solar‑powered LED lighting, real‑time arrival displays, and a remote‑monitoring platform that alerts staff...
Boston's 'Sliver Lots' Could Yield over 1,500 Affordable Homes
Boston officials and the architectural firm Payette have unveiled a plan to transform 1,200 city‑owned vacant parcels, including 158 tiny "sliver lots," into over 1,500 affordable homes. The strategy combines ground‑lease land use, modular construction, and the classic triple‑decker building...
How One Arlington YIMBY Used 'Homebrew Econometrics' To Lobby for Density
Matthew Kowalyk, an Arlington YIMBY, applied his economics background to create a simple econometric model supporting a Pentagon City upzoning proposal. His analysis projected an $8‑11 million boost in county tax revenue, confirmed that nearby transit stations have capacity for additional...
Legislating for Data Centers — an Interactive Tour
Data centers are expanding rapidly across the U.S., prompting local and state officials to craft new regulations aimed at managing their hefty electricity and water demands. In 2025, legislators introduced 238 data‑center bills, with at least 40 becoming law, covering...
Finland Opens World's Longest Multimodal, Car-Free Bridge
Finland inaugurated the Kruunuvuori Bridge, a 0.74‑mile (1.19‑km) structure that claims the title of the world’s longest car‑free bridge. The multimodal span links Helsinki’s eastern island suburbs directly to the city centre and will accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and, from early...
'Grocery-to-Housing' Developer Wants to Bring 415 Units of Senior Housing to Oakland Trader Joe's Site
Align, a San Francisco developer known for grocery‑to‑housing conversions, has filed an application to transform the Oakland Trader Joe’s site into a senior‑housing complex. The plan envisions two high‑rise towers—31 and 25 stories—delivering 415 units near the Rockridge BART station. The developer...
LA Authorizes $9.5M for Sidewalk Repairs Around Olympic Venues
Los Angeles City Council approved a $9.5 million budget to repair sidewalks surrounding venues for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Nearly $4 million will fund the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative and the Conservation Corps, while $650,000 is earmarked for staff salaries and...
Tucson Plans to Keep Free Transit Despite Budget Shortfall
Tucson’s 2027 budget earmarks funds to maintain its fare‑free public‑transit program despite a $17 million deficit. City officials say reinstating fares would require a $1 million upfront investment and roughly $6 million annually after 2028 to break even. A municipal study projects that...
Study: States Approved 90% of Renewable Energy Projects Between 2018 and 2024
A new Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy study finds that U.S. states approved roughly 90% of wind and solar project applications between 2018 and 2024. Ohio led the nation in the number of proposals, receiving 61 and rejecting the highest...
Portland Approved a Record Number of Homes Last Year — but Far Fewer Got Built
Portland, Maine’s planning board approved a record 1,420 housing units in 2025, nearly tripling the 477 permits issued in 2024. The surge was driven by a handful of large‑scale projects that represented 95% of the approvals. Yet only 187 units...
California 'Strongly Encourages' Coastal City to Fast-Track Farmworker Housing
California’s Housing Accountability Unit has sent a sharply‑toned letter to Half Moon Bay urging the city to fast‑track permits for a five‑story, 40‑unit senior farmworker housing project. The development, proposed after a 2023 mushroom‑farm shooting highlighted substandard worker conditions, has...
Oklahoma City Bans New Data Centers Until 2027
Oklahoma City’s council voted unanimously to place an emergency moratorium on all new data‑center zoning applications through the end of 2026. The ordinance, championed by City Manager Craig Freeman, gives officials time to evaluate the strain on utilities and draft...
Indiana Bans Public Homelessness
Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 285, outlawing camping, sleeping or long‑term shelter on public land. The statute requires police to first determine whether an individual needs emergency mental‑health assistance, issue a warning and provide service information, then...