Skylines

Construction on a high-rise, with cement trucks and tall cranes, is visible on an Austin Street.

Austin's Tallest Tower Rising Quickly

Sixth and Guadalupe, which will top out at 875 feet, will soon be crowned the tallest building in Austin, and the fifth-tallest building in Texas.

December 7, 2021 - Urbanize Austin

Chicago Spire

Two Skyline Changing Apartment Towers Proposed to Rise on the Site of Chicago's Failed Spire

An infamous site has new development life after developers returned to the public with a revised project proposal.

March 12, 2020 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago, Illinois

Proposed Mega-Development Would Expand Chicago's Skyline

The One Central development would transform 34 acres over Metro tracks near Soldier Field.

March 16, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

San Jose, California

Editorial: Raise Height Limits to San Jose's Proper Stature

The city of San Jose has the "least distinctive" downtown skyline of the nation's major cities, according to editorial board of The Mercury News. The City Council has a chance to change that.

March 12, 2019 - The Mercury News

Downtown Construction

Tracking the Skyward Progress of Western U.S. Cities

A Washington Post feature analyzes the changing skylines of cities from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

February 6, 2019 - The Washington Post

Chicago, Illinois

Envisioning the Chicago Skyline of the Near Future

An already impressive skyline will be gaining some very tall additions by 2023.

August 20, 2018 - Chicago Magazine

Queens, New York City

Hyper Urban Growth Without Residential Displacement

Here's a change: Displacement in the nation's fastest growing urban neighborhood has largely been limited to businesses. The new highrises have given Queens something it never had: a skyline.

September 22, 2017 - New York Magazine

Shanghai

Fixation On City Skylines Detracts From City Streets

City life happens at street level. But some of our most iconic images of cities are focused hundreds, or even thousands, of feet in the air. Our streetscapes are the worse off for it.

May 31, 2017 - Common Edge

New York

Taking Stock of New York's Changing Skyline Post-9/11

Fear that skyscrapers might be a persistent target of terrorist attacks did not last long beyond the days and months following 9/11. Neither terrorists nor the Great Recession have stopped the city's skyline from continuing to reaching skyward.

September 11, 2016 - The Record

111 West 57th St

Explore the Skinny Skyscrapers of New York

Track the rise of "super slender" towers in New York with an online tool from the Skyscraper Museum.

June 9, 2016 - Dezeen

Tokyo Skyline

Friday Fun: Can You Name These City Skylines?

Pop quiz hotshot: can you name the city by looking at silhouettes of their skylines?

May 29, 2015 - The Washington Post

Wanted: An Architectural Icon to Capture the Essence of Portland

On op-ed in the Oregonian makes the case for Portland to design and build a unique architectural icon that differentiates the city from its rivals in the Pacific Northwest.

May 20, 2015 - The Oregonian

Flat Tops No Longer Required for Los Angeles Skyscrapers

Emily Alpert Reyes reports that Los Angeles has overturned a long-standing requirement for its skyscrapers to have flat roofs to accommodate the fire department's helicopters in the event of an emergency.

October 1, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

A Rorschach Test for City Skylines

In a photo essay, Thomas J. Sigler interprets what the skylines of some of the world's most prominent cities say about their character.

August 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The 'Negligible' Building Safety Benefit of Helipads

In the second part of a series looking at codes in L.A. that require tall buildings to have flat roofs for helicopter landing, Curbed LA discusses a new building that has been exempted from the code and whether more are likely to follow.

October 27, 2010 - Curbed LA

The Fire Department Code That Flat-Tops L.A.'s Skyline

All buildings in Los Angeles taller than 75 feet are required to have a flat surface on the roof where helicopters can land, according to a fire department-mandated code. Now leaders are thinking about updating that code -- and the city's skyline.

October 26, 2010 - Curbed LA

Skylines Rising in New Global Cities

Cities across the world are rising higher and beefing up their skylines with high-profile skyscrapers. A building boom in emerging global cities has put a new face on the battle for the best skyline.

June 10, 2008 - Der Spiegel

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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.