Urban Development
Critiquing Santa Monica's 'Grand Bargain' of a Downtown Plan
The city of Santa Monica increased in population by 6,500 between 1960 and 2010, while the rest of Los Angeles County grew by 60 percent over the same period. A debate over a new downtown plan that includes more housing was never going to be simple.
Traffic Concerns Sink Light-Rail-Adjacent Development in San Jose
The city of San Jose has a mixed record of moving forward with land use changes that complement its existing and expanding transit systems.
Op-Ed: To Lower Housing Costs, Make it Cheaper and Easier to Build Housing
The argument in the headline, put more specifically: inclusionary zoning, fees, legal challenges, and minimum apartment sizes are counter-productive. The only policy that will add housing stock, is to make it much cheaper to add housing stock.
Texas Bill Would Immunize Property Rights From Zoning Code Changes
The Texas Legislature and executive branch is continuing to wage a battle against local control, this time pursuing a land use law that would undermine zoning code changes, such as the current CodeNEXT process in Austin.
Study: 'Eyes on the Street' Have Real Value for Neighborhood Safety
The first study to make an attempt at quantifying the value of "eyes on street"—an idea most eloquently described by Jane Jacobs—offers reason to support a mix of uses, with businesses operating later in the evening.
Alexandria's Affordable Housing Stock Shrank 90% Since 2000
Rents and prices are going up for basically every kind of housing unit in Alexandria, Virginia. The city's commitment to the preservation of subsidized housing is no match.
Property Tax in Africa
The rapidly growing and urbanizing continent of Africa offers lessons in property tax.
Controversy Follows Proposed Midtown East Plan
A very public spat over proposed Midtown East plan took place in the pages of Crain's this week.
Eminent Domain Sparks Controversy in New Jersey
Developers had plans for the largest undeveloped waterfront property north of Hoboken in the state of New Jersey. The borough of Edgewater has other plans.
Coffee With Your Gentrification?
The Los Angeles Times published a pair of incendiary articles this week in which coffee plays an integral role in the conversation about gentrification.
How Planners Can Liberate the Next Amazon
The path to business success occasionally passes through the garage—famously demonstrated by industry titans like Amazon or Hewlett Packard. Zoning codes should encourage, not obstruct, these kinds of American success stories.
Lawrence Halprin and the Public Realm: Can the United Nations Plaza Unite San Franciscans?
Since its inauguration in 1975, San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza has not served its intended purpose.
Permits for Single-Family Homes in Texas Once Again Outnumber Multifamily Permits
The longstanding trend in Texas of permitting more single-family homes than multi-family developments looks to be accelerating.
A New Video to Explain the High Cost of Free Parking
Mobility Lab, the Chilton Media Group, and Vox have produced a new video on the price of parking, and "how we have historically done it all wrong" in the United States.
Transit Village Plans Popping Up All Over San Jose
A long-awaited BART extension into San Jose, California is also bringing major development interest of the transit-oriented variety.
Trump Administration Suddenly Drops Fair Housing Concerns in Westchester, New York
The news that the Trump Administration hired a former party planner to oversee HUD's New York and New Jersey office went viral in June. The hire has already had an effect on affordable housing policy in Westchester County, New York.
Cleveland Clinic Lacks a Prescription for its Community
According to an article by Dan Diamond, the Cleveland Clinic is a worldwide success story, but the community surround the hospital "remains mired in poverty."
The Remaining Gap Between 'Smart Cities' Ambition and Reality
A critique of a proposed "smart cities" development in Mumbai reveals how much work remains in providing the resources and maintaining the rigor to built sustainable, resilient, liveable cities.
San Diego Activists Plan a Pedestrian Promenade and 'Nudillo'
Activists organized to save their downtown San Diego neighborhoods from the NFL Chargers' stadium proposal. Their defense strategy? A fine-grained community plan with no stadium. In the process, they came upon the idea of a promenade and a "Nudillo."
The Secrets of 'Place Making' Success
Some well-meaning urbanists try a place-making-in-a-box approach. Their efforts would resonate more if they took the neighborhood’s history and culture into account.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
