Hacker News with Generative AI: Urban Planning

Rodent birth control rolls out in NYC (cbsnews.com)
New York City is preparing to roll out an unconventional strategy for tackling its rodent problem: rat birth control.
Rodent Control, Public Health, Urban Planning
8 points by walterbell 10 days ago | 1 comments
Nearly Half of the Buildings in Manhattan Could Not Be Built Today (2016) (nytimes.com)
New York City’s zoning code turns 100 this year. That may not sound like cause for celebration — except maybe for land-use lawyers and Robert Moses aficionados. Yet for almost every New Yorker, the zoning code plays an outsize role in daily life, shaping virtually every inch of the city.
Urban Planning, Zoning, History, Real Estate
8 points by loughnane 12 days ago | 1 comments
Giant Sequoias Are Taking Root in an Unexpected Place: Detroit (smithsonianmag.com)
Giant sequoias are typically found in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, where they reach heights of up to 300 feet.
Environment, Urban Planning, Trees, California, Michigan
22 points by bookofjoe 12 days ago | 1 comments
New method for creating large 3D models of urban areas is faster and cheaper (techxplore.com)
A research team led by Waterloo Engineering has developed a faster, cheaper way to create large-scale, three-dimensional (3D) computer models of urban areas, technology that could impact fields including urban planning, architectural design and filmmaking.
Urban Planning, 3D Modeling, Computer Science, Technology
57 points by PaulHoule 15 days ago | 4 comments
“Secret Mall Apartment,” a Protest for Place (modernagejournal.com)
In 2003, a group of Rhode Island artists created a secret living space within a busy shopping mall and lived there off and on, undetected, for about four years.
Art, Urban Planning, Protest, Community Art
101 points by rufus_foreman 15 days ago | 74 comments
Tentative tree planting 'decades overdue' in sweltering Athens (phys.org)
On a cloudy spring morning in one of Athens' most densely inhabited districts, thousands of fresh saplings dotting a small hilltop park mark a fledgling effort to tackle crippling heat that critics say is long overdue.
Climate Change, Urban Planning, Greece, Environmentalism
10 points by PaulHoule 23 days ago | 0 comments
New study finds link between green spaces and police violence (medicalxpress.com)
A novel research project has shown that areas with greater amounts of green space have a lower prevalence of police violence.
Urban Planning, Crime, Public Health, Social Justice
8 points by PaulHoule 24 days ago | 6 comments
Uber to introduce fixed-route shuttles in major US cities (techcrunch.com)
Ride-hail and delivery giant Uber is introducing cheap, fixed-route rides along busy corridors during weekday commute hours in major U.S. cities — one solution to a world that feels, for most people, more expensive every day.
Transportation, Ride-sharing, Urban Planning, Public Transportation, Technology
182 points by rpgbr 24 days ago | 424 comments
Bike-mounted sensor could boost the mapping of safe cycling routes (newatlas.com)
Studies have shown that many people don't commute by bike due mainly to a fear of being hit by cars. A new bike-mounted proximity sensor has been designed to help such folks, by objectively telling them which streets are the safest for cyclists.
Cycling Safety, Technology, Urban Planning
97 points by yunusabd 24 days ago | 63 comments
Why do NYC drivers waste two hundred million hours a year circling the block? (newyorker.com)
New York’s problem is that it doesn’t have enough parking and it has too much parking.
Traffic, Parking, Urban Planning
15 points by haltingproblem 24 days ago | 1 comments
If Free Buses Aren't Wise, What About Cheaper Citi Bikes? (vitalcitynyc.org)
It’s easy to forget that there was a time when Citi Bike wasn’t a ubiquitous presence on our streets.
Transportation, Public Transit, Urban Planning, Bike Sharing
16 points by raybb 29 days ago | 9 comments
All Major U.S. Cities Are at Risk of Sinking, Not Just Coastal Urban Areas (discovermagazine.com)
The 28 most populous U.S. cities are all settling to one degree or other, according to a study in Nature Cities.
Urban Planning, Environmental Issues, Climate Change, Geology, Science
6 points by jnord 29 days ago | 0 comments
All of the Biggest U.S. Cities Are Sinking (climate.columbia.edu)
A new study of the 28 most populous U.S. cities finds that all are sinking to one degree or another.
Climate Change, Urban Planning, Geology, Research
6 points by geox 30 days ago | 0 comments
Philadelphia's window-box gardens and urban reform (theconversation.com)
It’s that time of year when Philadelphia row home owners with a green thumb fastidiously attend to their window boxes – selecting new plants to design an artful blend of colors, shapes and textures.
Philadelphia, Urban Planning, Gardening, City Development
5 points by PaulHoule 31 days ago | 0 comments
Heat stress mitigation by trees and shelters at bus stops (sciencedirect.com)
Municipalities are attempting to create safe and comfortable transit systems in the face of climate change.
Climate Change, Urban Planning, Public Transportation, Environmental Science
144 points by rntn 33 days ago | 132 comments
The Case for American Reindustrialization (theguardian.com)
Walking through the US’s deindustrialized zones is a bit like walking through Dresden after 1945. We can rebuild better than before
Reindustrialization, American Economy, Politics, Urban Planning
5 points by andsoitis 36 days ago | 7 comments
New Study: Waymo is reducing serious crashes and making streets safer (waymo.com)
The path to Vision Zero requires reducing severe crashes and improving the safety of those most at risk. Our latest research paper shows that the Waymo Driver is making significant strides in both areas. By reducing the most dangerous crashes and providing better protection for pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users, Waymo is making streets safer in cities where it operates.
Autonomous Vehicles, Safety, Artificial Intelligence, Urban Planning
385 points by prossercj 37 days ago | 403 comments
San Francancisco crime is down, way down (growsf.org)
Citywide crime in San Francisco is now at its lowest point in 23 years. And in the past year, San Francisco saw one of the biggest drops in crime among major U.S. cities, including a 45% drop in property crime in the first quarter of 2025, alone.
Crime, San Francisco, Statistics, Urban Planning
9 points by JumpCrisscross 46 days ago | 0 comments
College Towns: Urbanism from a Past Era (governance.fyi)
How Universities Accidentally Preserved the Walkable America We Demolished Everywhere Else
Urban Planning, History, Academia, Cities
66 points by toomuchtodo 50 days ago | 137 comments
America's Magical Thinking about Housing (theatlantic.com)
The city of Austin built a lot of homes. Now rent is falling, and some people seem to think that’s a bad thing.
Housing, Economics, Urban Planning, Texas
7 points by lantry 50 days ago | 2 comments
On Jane Jacobs (2017) (salmagundi.skidmore.edu)
The legend of Jane Jacobs centers on the writer who revolutionized our thinking about cities with her now-classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and the fearless activist who stood up to planning czar Robert Moses’s rampaging road construction, thereby saving Gotham. A recent, rather cartoonish film on the subject is even titled: Citizen Jane: The Battle for New York. It is an irresistible David vs. Goliath story with a feminist twist.
Urban Planning, History, Activism, Biography
70 points by herbertl 51 days ago | 46 comments
Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland (popsci.com)
A handful of wealthy, politically connected Silicon Valley investors are reportedly eyeing Greenland’s icy shores as the site for a techno-utopian “freedom city.” 
Greenland, Technology, Urban Planning, Billionaires, Politics
12 points by geox 55 days ago | 5 comments
Crime is down, way down (growsf.org)
Citywide crime in San Francisco is now at its lowest point in 23 years. And in the past year, San Francisco saw one of the biggest drops in crime among major U.S. cities, including a 45% drop in property crime in the first quarter of 2025, alone.
Crime, San Francisco, Statistics, Urban Planning
7 points by davikr 57 days ago | 8 comments
Demystifying Development: Does It Pencil? (ternercenter.app)
The developer journey to build and finance new housing is long and complicated. Throughout this process, a developer must take into account several market and regulatory factors that impact whether or not they can successfully propose and build residential projects.
Housing, Finance, Urban Planning
10 points by coldsunrays 58 days ago | 2 comments
"The Phantom Tollbooth" Was Supposed to Be a Nonfiction Book About Cities (arbesman.substack.com)
The Phantom Tollbooth was initially supposed to be a children’s book about cities.
Children's Literature, Writing, Urban Planning
12 points by arbesman 60 days ago | 1 comments
Let's Ban Billboards (iambateman.com)
Most improvements to cities are hard — they take millions of dollars and years of planning.
Urban Planning, Advertising, Public Policy
359 points by iambateman 61 days ago | 296 comments
YIMBYism as Industrial Policy (slowboring.com)
Shenzhen is China’s leading high-tech hub. The once obscure fishing village became a pillar of the global economy thanks to its proximity to Hong Kong and to being designated a Special Economic Zone in the earliest days of Deng’s reforms, plus some other smart choices and good luck. Part and parcel of that economic transformation is that the city has physically transformed from looking like a poor fishing village to looking like a major 21st-century city.
Urban Planning, China, Economic Development
45 points by JumpCrisscross 64 days ago | 90 comments
Paris Votes for 500 More Car Free Streets (theenergymix.com)
As Paris votes to make another 500 streets car-free, the first residents are moving into a newly-built town outside Cambridge, UK, where the bicycle, not the car, is king.
Paris, Urban Planning, Transportation, Sustainability, Public Policy
22 points by Sontho 65 days ago | 7 comments
Spanish speakers in Philadelphia break traditional rules of speech in signs (phys.org)
I've discovered something fascinating about how Spanish speakers in Philadelphia address each other and communicate through public signs.
Linguistics, Urban Planning, Philadelphia, Culture, Language
3 points by PaulHoule 65 days ago | 2 comments
Living Car-Free in Arizona, on Purpose and Happily (nytimes.com)
One community near Phoenix is taking a “completely different” approach to development.
Lifestyle, Arizona, Urban Planning, Sustainability
23 points by lxm 71 days ago | 2 comments