Each Friday, the Wagner Planner editorial board will publish a news roundup of recent planning news. Topics range the gamut of urban planning concentrations, but will mostly be at the discretion of the editors.
Brendan’s Picks
America’s Hottest Cities for Urban Planners
“You might think planners—and urbanists in general—congregate in big coastal metros. But planning jobs are growing fastest elsewhere.” (CityLab)
A Micromobility Experiment in Pittsburgh Aims to Get People Out of Their Cars
“Their winning plan, which was one of five submissions, envisions “mobility hubs” clustered near transit stops throughout Pittsburgh. There, travelers would find some combination of bike-share stations, Zipcar vehicles, Waze carpool pickup spots, and parked and charged e-bikes and scooters from Spin to rent. The Transit app would handle route planning and ticketing services to customers, and Ford Mobility would feed data analytics back to the city.” (CityLab)
Why the Bus Got So Bad, and How to Save It
“One of the central ideas in the book is that transportation change happens when you have an alliance between transit advocates, champions within the bureaucracy, and elected officials. If you’re missing one of those, think about what you can do to help create it.” (CityLab)
Mayelly’s Picks
“MTA was granted permission to proceed with its 14th Street Busway plan late last week and a rare good-news-MTA-story is born.” (Signal Problems)
Rockaway Rails ReBoot Study Finally Lands
“A long-overdue study of reviving Queens railroad tracks that haven’t been used since the 1960s finally pulled into the station Tuesday — and the ticket price is eye-popping.” (The City)
Exposing Los Angeles’ Shaky Geologic Underbelly
“Current calculations might underestimate the susceptibility of Los Angeles to earthquake shaking, so researchers and volunteers are deploying seismic networks near the city to remedy a data shortage.” (Eos)