Mitchell Silver

new York City

Even Parks Are Going Online During the Pandemic

Parks departments in New York City and Pittsburgh are offering videos and livestreams to cooped-up residents.

April 10, 2020 - Next City

Queens Park

An Interview With New York Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, FAICP

Mitchell Silver, commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, former planning director of Raleigh, and former president of the APA, discusses the aspirations and realities of a long, successful career in planning.

September 4, 2019 - James Brasuell

Large Capital Infusion for New York's Community Parks Initiative

$285 million in capital dollars through 2019 will help fund parks in New York not called the High Line and lacking high-profile private backing.

October 13, 2015 - Inhabitat NYC

Central Park Aerial

Mitchell Silver to Head NYC’s Department of Parks and Recreation

He might be an outsider to some New Yorkers, but Mitchell Silver is one of the most recognizable and respected planners in the country. For his new job as New York’s parks commissioner, Silver will oversee 29,000 acres of parkland and 1,900 parks.

March 21, 2014 - New York Times

What is the Purpose of Planning?

After several years spent facing strong professional headwinds, former APA president Mitchell Silver is encouraged to see planners revitalizing the profession by embracing their roots.

July 11, 2013 - Citiwire

Can Former APA Head Help Revive English Planning?

Mitchell Silver's passionate defense of planning has earned admirers in England, where "a deflated planning profession is on the defensive". Peter Hetherington looks at Silver's advice for how English planners can show their value to skeptics.

July 8, 2013 - The Guardian

Former APA President Allegedly Assaulted at Zoning Hearing

Don't let anyone tell you that planning isn't dangerous. Past APA President and current Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver was allegedly punched by a resident opposed to rezoning that would allow the construction of a gas station.

June 28, 2013 - News & Observer

Economic Development and Planning: It's a Match!

Mitchell Silver, Raleigh City Planner and President of the APA, is on a mission to get planners to realize the importance of return on investment (ROI) in their projects. Raleigh is providing the testing ground for his arguments.

February 14, 2013 - Raleigh Public Record

The Roots of American Planning

During the 1920s, the federal government passed a pair of laws that continue to this day to be hugely consequential to the modern practices of city planning and zoning. The two laws also planted the seeds of the planning profession.

February 9, 2013 - KCET.org Laws That Shaped LA

Finding Returns in Lean Times

Connecting existing assets and social networks with very little additional monetary investment can generate returns in lean times, writes Hazel Borys.

June 15, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Rezoning "Sprawleigh"

That's the nickname earned by Raleigh, North Carolina, due to its fast and unrestricted growth over the past decade. The city is planning an extensive rezoning for its 2030 plan, which TIME Magazine calls "ambitious".

April 14, 2011 - Time

"Urban Renewal Was Never Really A Planner's Idea"

So says APA President Mitchell Silver, AICP, in a recent interview. "...but planners were the agents, they had to implement it."

November 5, 2010 - Model D Newsletter

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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.