Planetizen's Most Popular Pieces of 2013

We're looking forward to another stimulating year of news, commentary, and professional development. But before the calendar turns to 2014, we wanted to take a look back at our most popular blog posts, exclusive articles, and news items from 2013.

2 minute read

December 30, 2013, 4:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


As Planetizen enters its 15th year, we're looking forward to bringing you another stimulating year of news, commentary, and professional development. But before the calendar turns to 2014, we wanted to take a look back at our most popular blog posts, exclusive articles, and news items from 2013. 

It's an exciting time for those of us in the planning, design, and development community and we hope we've been able to help inspire your work, introduce you to new ideas, teach you a new skill or tickle your funny bone over the past twelve months. Thanks, as always, to our esteemed contributors, partners, and readers for another great year!

In case you missed them, here are Planetizen's most popular pieces of 2013:

Blog Posts

  1. Density Done Well, and Not Just Downtown
  2. The Most Important Urban Design Decision Vancouver Ever Made
  3. Good Urban Parks and Our Wellbeing
  4. Yes You Can (Get Groceries Without A Car)
  5. There's a Planning App for That
  6. Who Should Pay for Transportation Infrastructure? What is Fair?
  7. Mythbusting: Exposing Half-Truths That Support Automobile Dependency
  8. Density Reduces Driving (Even At Pretty High Densities)
  9. Critiquing the "Urban Mobility Report"
  10. Writing a Statement of Purpose for Graduate Education


Exclusive Articles

  1. Top 10 Websites - 2013
  2. The 100 "Best" Books on City-Making Ever Written?
  3. Top 10 Books - 2014
  4. Why Do Certain Retail Stores Cluster Together?
  5. Top Trends 2012-2013
  6. A Plan To Shrink Detroit (Well)
  7. Who Teaches Planning?
  8. BRT: Cities Get on Board with Better, Reliable Transportation
  9. Taking the Guesswork out of Designing for Walkability
  10. Graduating Into the Workplace: Perspectives from Recent Planning Grads

News Items

Jonathan Nettler

Jonathan Nettler has lived and practiced in Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles on a range of project types for major public, institutional, and private developer clients including: large scale planning and urban design, waterfront and brownfield redevelopment, transit-oriented development, urban infill, campus planning, historic preservation, zoning, and design guidelines.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up of full beer glass with purple train-themed design sitting on bar between two frosty tall cans.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?

TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

7 hours ago - Cities Today

Vintage red Toronto streetcar passing in front of Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events

Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

June 30 - blogTO

Map of Berlin with ring roads in green and red.

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan

The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.

June 30 - Streetsblog USA

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.

Write for Planetizen