Land Use

A massive $1.1 billion plan to develop residential and retail uses on land adjacent to the University of Southern California's South L.A. campus was halted by a committee of the Los Angeles City Council this week over concerns about displacement.

August 23, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Vacant lots in American cities consume vast amounts of land, which many are now recognizing as places of opportunity. Some cities and citizens are transforming once empty urban spaces into vibrant community-fostering places.

August 23, 2012 - The Nature of Cities

As one of North America's largest suburbs, Mississauga is joining some of its neighbors in the Greater Toronto Area in planning an unprecedented effort to replace its suburban roots with something more urban.

August 23, 2012 - The Globe and Mail

Businesses and residents in San Antonio are celebrating what a temporary makeover of Alamo Plaza last weekend revealed about the potential to bring locals back to the city's tourist mecca.

August 22, 2012 - San Antonio Express-News

Citing a "near-term risk" of rising tides, city planners in Boston are grappling with how to prepare residents and businesses for the effects of climate change, reports Monica Brady-Myerov.

August 22, 2012 - NPR

Giving new meaning to the phrase "take back the streets," Neal Peirce writes about the arguments in favor of a "freeway free" future for the world's cities, which was the subject of a recent Rockefeller Foundation Conference held in Bellagio, Italy.

August 22, 2012 - Citi Wire

Hazel Borys concludes her popular photo series on lessons from Canadian urbanism with a look at Ottawa, whose charming historic character is illegal to reproduce today in its more auto-centric outskirts.

August 22, 2012 - PlaceShakers

The wild success of a "pop-up urban intervention” transforming Toronto's Yonge Street has Christopher Hume and the city's residents excited about the ability of small moves to have a big impact.

August 21, 2012 - Toronto Star

With only one parklet completed in the city thus far, L.A. has its work cut out to catch its pioneering northern neighbor San Francisco, and their 40 parklets. By the end of this week, however, the city hopes to have the ball rolling.

August 21, 2012 - Streetsblog LA

After two decades of pushing the boundaries of what it means to build a community (both physically and spiritually), the annual Burning Man festival has a lot to teach municipalities about providing services and fostering participation.

August 21, 2012 - Shareable

America's national parks are as popular as ever. But, as the national park system approaches its 100th anniversary in 2016, years of strained budgets and deferred maintenance are conspiring to spoil the celebration.

August 21, 2012 - The Washington Post

August 20, 2012 - Edward J. Jepson Jr.

With South Korean officials set to move into their sparkling new "mini capital" next month, Chico Harlan examines plans for the new city that "will either drive growth outside the overpopulated capital or end up as an ill-conceived waste of money."

August 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Running out of options to help pay for spiraling maintenance costs at the park that runs along Manhattan's western waterfront, Friends of Hudson River Park (FOHRP) have begun floating the idea of establishing a Neighborhood Improvement District.

August 20, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

When we think urbanism, we often think cities. But small towns embody many of the elements of walkability that are illegal in most places. This pictorial review offers some palatable insights.

August 19, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Architizer takes us to the Chinese city of Zhuzhou, where a project featuring residences atop a retail podium stretches the definition of mixed use.

August 18, 2012 - Architizer

Back from a recent field trip to L.A., Sarah Karlinsky, Deputy Director of SPUR, the San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association, explores the benefits and challenges offered by the region's size, and what lessons it can provide the Bay Area.

August 17, 2012 - The Urbanist

Stewart M. Patrick looks at the convergence of trends in natural disasters and urbanization in the developing world and sees a dire threat to the world's urban populations growing.

August 17, 2012 - The Internationalist

Already the hottest major American city, Peter O'Dowd describes how planners in Phoenix are preparing for the increased sizzle brought on by global warming.

August 17, 2012 - NPR

Emily Badger explains how a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization is working to break the cycle of gentrification within artist communities by helping to create and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations.

August 17, 2012 - Fast Company