Our staff comes across numerous articles each month that reflect current and trending planning practices, development patterns, and more. With each newsletter, we try to highlight a few that have made our wheels turn, with the hopes you might find them interesting or inspiring as well. Here’s the roundup:
Year in Review: Planning’s 10 Most-Read Stories of 2025
“From a casket factory reborn as affordable housing to corner stores revamped as cafes, Planning readers gravitated in 2025 to stories centered on adaptive reuse and economic development. This year’s most popular pieces also examined the pros and pitfalls of artificial intelligence (AI), revisited the consequences of Kelo v. New London, and what planning trends were on the horizon. Check out Planning’s Top 10 most-read stories to see what you might have missed.”
See the complete article here from American Planning Association.
US transportation department unveils first female-modeled crash test dummy
“Officials say the move is ‘long overdue’ and meant to close decades of safety gaps in vehicle crash testing. The transportation department has unveiled a first crash test dummy in the US modeled specifically on female anatomy, a move officials say is meant to close decades of safety gaps in vehicle testing.”
See the complete article here from The Guardian.
Utah’s 3,100-Mile Bike “Interstate” Could Revolutionize Riding Across the State
To reduce traffic, DOTs need both “carrots” and “sticks”
“Nearly every state DOT is grappling with how to reduce traffic and carbon emissions—many states developed official carbon reduction strategies in 2023, and congestion relief is often at the top of a DOT’s priority list. But a new studyfrom Swedish researchers says that some of the most common ways to address these challenges—using only “carrots” rather than “sticks,” in the researchers’ words—may leave states struggling to achieve their goals.”
Read the complete article here from State Smart Transportation Initiative.
Richmond wants you to know where people are speeding most
“Richmond has ramped up its safer street efforts in recent years in response to surging pedestrian deaths by adding school zone speed cameras and traffic calming measures, like back-in angle parking.”
Read the complete article here from AXIOS Richmond.
California will let agencies pay for housing to offset increased driving
“A new California law gives transportation agencies the option to pay into an affordable housing fund to offset the increased travel demand associated with major road projects. The approach could achieve several goals at once: mitigating emissions from highway expansions, creating a new funding stream for affordable housing, and helping more people live in accessible neighborhoods, reducing their transportation costs.”
Read the complete article here from State Smart Transportation Initiative.
U.S. Pedestrian Deaths Fall for Second Straight Year
“Drivers struck and killed 7,148 people in the United States last year, enough to fill 31 Boeing 737s, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Pedestrian deaths were down 4.3% in 2024, the second consecutive annual decline after surging throughout the prior decade. Pedestrian fatalities remain nearly 20% above the 2016 level and reached a 40-year high in 2022.”
Read the complete article here from the Governors Highway Safety Association
Self-Reported Reasons Preventing US Adults From Walking to Places Within 10 Minutes of Home
“Increasing walking for transportation is a strategy to integrate physical activity into daily life. We examined reported environmental, access, and individual reasons for not walking to places near home among US adults, by sociodemographic characteristics and geographic location.”
Read the complete article here from the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Vehicles with Big Blind Zones Spell Danger to Pedestrians during Left Turns
“A large driver-side blind zone raises the risk of a left-turn pedestrian crash 70% compared with a small blind zone, the study found. Thick and slanted A-pillars, bulky side mirrors, and tall, long hoods all obstruct driver views. The field of view offered by the windshield, which alters the location of the blind zones, also affects the driver’s ability to see.”