Land Use

D.C. Loosens Up its Tie

Amanda Kolson Hurley surveys the innovative architecture and urban planning transforming America's notoriously stodgy capital into a model of progressive urbanism.

June 22, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

More Carrot, Less Stick Needed for Affordable Housing

Mixed-income housing - infusing affordable housing with market-rate units - is relying more on incentives and subsidies, than mandates, to stimulate development.

June 21, 2012 - Urban Land

Planning in LA is On a Roll

Hot on the heels of the hard fought passage of a new community plan for Hollywood comes news that the City Council has approved five years of funding for L.A.'s planning department to revise the city's zoning code, for the first time since 1946.

June 21, 2012 - Curbed LA

NPR Turns Its Attention to Cities

Announced this week by All Things Considered hosts Melissa Block and Robert Siegel, National Public Radio is launching a new series called the NPR Cities Project and they're asking listeners for their input.

June 21, 2012 - NPR

Tulsa "Code Enforcement" Sparks Outrage

The demolition of a Tulsa resident's edible garden, deemed "too tall" by city inspectors, has sparked a civil rights lawsuit, and is generating national attention.

June 21, 2012 - Grist

Cost, Rather Than Compass, May be Key to Healthy Eating

Efforts to alleviate urban food deserts has focused on the proximity of healthy food choices as a correlating factor for obesity. However, a new study concludes that price, rather than proximity, has a stronger correlation to rates of obesity.

June 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Plan for Hollywood Densification Gets Final Approval

Yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a controversial new Community Plan for Hollywood, the first update since 1988, that allows increased density around transit stations, to the consternation of some neighborhood groups.

June 20, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Sprawl Hits a Wall

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, Allison Arieff considers the next phase of the "American Dream," as the notion of trading in the ideal of the home as fortress for the home as part of a larger whole gains widespread traction.

June 19, 2012 - The New York Times

The Intellectuals That've Had the Biggest Impact on Cities

Zócalo Public Square has gathered together four accomplished planning and development professionals to give their opinions on which scholar or intellectual of the last 50 years has had the greatest impact on the cities we live in today.

June 19, 2012 - Zocalo Public Square

Public Space, Interrupted

The Project for Public Spaces has compiled a "how-to" list for re-claiming your community's public spaces.

June 19, 2012 - Project For Public Spaces

Massachusetts Struggles to Retain its Young Talent

The Bay State is terrific at attracting the leading young minds from around to world to its prestigious institutions of higher education. But when those students graduate, high housing prices are forcing them out of the state, writes Edward Glaeser.

June 19, 2012 - The Boston Globe

Is Smaller and Cheaper the Smarter Way to Start a Makeover?

In his "Dream City" column, Will Doig looks at the attributes making tactical urbanism the hot revitalization trend for municipal authorities across the country.

June 18, 2012 - Salon.com

Cato Hosts Affordable Housing Battle Royale

This past week, the Cato Institute and Next American City played host to an energetic discussion of the role of housing and development policy in controlling the supply of affordable housing in American cities.

June 17, 2012 - Cato Institute

Plan for Willets Point Comes into Focus

Unveiled earlier this week by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the area around Citi Field in Queens is due to become "the site of historic private investment," as a result of a deal reached with developers Sterling Equities and Related Companies.

June 17, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Park Maintenance Proves To Be a Problem for NYC

"Currently in its greatest period of park expansion since the 1930s," New York City has shown a remarkable commitment to expanding its open spaces, but finding the resources to maintain them is another issue entirely, explains Caitlin Blanchfield.

June 15, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

App Reveals More of Paris's Treasures: Parks and Gardens

CityGardens is an award winning mobile app that can help tourists and residents find hidden parks and gardens in the middle of Paris.

June 14, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Activists Seek Return of L.A.'s Lost Urban Agriculture

With a year-round temperate climate and a history of widespread urban agriculture, it's a shame that Los Angeles now finds itself ranked 43rd amongst America's 50 largest cities for their support of local food. Can L.A. turn back the clock?

June 13, 2012 - Good

Is a New Vision for Stockholm Meant to Sway or Scare?

As cities across the world look for ways to blend higher densities to accommodate the increased demand for urban living, a recent proposal for how to solve Stockholm's critical lack of housing in the core of the city may define "inelegant density."

June 12, 2012 - ArchDaily

Dallas's Urban Regeneration Flies Beneath the Radar

Though "generally cited as an example of all the things you don’t want a city to be," Karrie Jacobs finds reason to believe that Texas's third largest city has taken to heart the "country’s newfound passion for all things urban."

June 12, 2012 - Metropolis

Eleven Recent Films for Fans of Cities

Searching for ways to wring more value out of your underutilized Netflix subscription? Nate Berg has compiled a list of "11 of the best documentaries about cities streaming on Netflix."

June 11, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.