Architecture

San Francisco Transbay Transit Center

SF Transbay Transit Center Cracks Isolated to Beams, Say Experts

As the investigation continues, cracks found in girders supporting the building do not appear to be due to a design issue.

November 26, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Image of 20 Fenchurch Street, London

New Skyscraper Blooming on London's Skyline

A new tulip-shaped tower designed by Foster + Partners is planned for London. Approval is still pending.

November 22, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Washington DC Adams Morgan

The Street-Level Consequences of Zoning

Modern zoning practices separated uses, claiming this was a better way to organize American cities. However, the social, cultural, and urban design outcomes drastically changed the world we live in.

November 2, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

Plan Voisin

Op-Ed: Utopian Thinking Poses Continued Dangers for Urbanists

Charles Wolfe calls attention to similarities between contemporary urbanism and yesterday's debunked utopias. The two may differ in substance, but both tend toward a certain level of dogma that isn't necessarily helpful on the ground.

October 30, 2018 - Public Square: A CNU Journal

Chicago Spire

Aldermanic Obstruction Too Strong for Former Chicago Spire Site Plans

Developers Related Midwest have new plans for the infamously failed development site, but have so far been stymied by demands from the office of Alderman Brendan Reilly.

October 24, 2018 - Chicago Tribune

The New York Wheel Stops Spinning

Actually, the New York Wheel never started spinning, but now the project is permanently dead so it will never get the chance.

October 24, 2018 - Staten Island Advance

Hover Board

The New Dream Home Includes a Granny Flat

You can pay off the mortgage, but you can never leave.

October 16, 2018 - The New York Times

Millennium Tower

San Francisco Considers More Aggressive Measures to Earthquake-Proof High Rises

The city has proposed tighter rules for new construction and a more active approach to securing existing tall structures from collapse.

October 14, 2018 - Governing

Quicken Loans

Potential Height of Dan Gilbert's Detroit Skyscraper Rises Again

The final height of the tower that will become Detroit's tallest building may exceed 900 feet. The tower and its complex are expected to include retail, office, residential, exhibit, and event space.

October 8, 2018 - Crain's Detroit Business

Brooklyn Navy Yard

New Master Plan Envisions Brooklyn Navy Yard as Next-Gen Manufacturing Hub

Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation's master plan for the site is a $2.5 billion bet that high-tech manufacturers can be enticed back to New York, bringing with them the economic heft to transform the whole area.

October 6, 2018 - Curbed New York

Earthquake Damage

Op-Ed: Portland Should Fully Commit to Earthquake Preparedness

An editorial calls for Portland, Oregon to approve a requirement that warning signs be placed on unreinforced historic buildings. An argument is made for further measures, and a greater sense of urgency.

October 6, 2018 - The Oregonian

Amazon Smart Home

Amazon's First Forays Into Homebuilding Are Worth Watching

A new player with a very familiar name has entered into the residential homebuilding market.

October 4, 2018 - Yahoo Finance

San Francisco, California

Open for a Month, San Francisco's Transit Terminal Shut Down Due to Cracked Beams

The $2.2 billion Salesforce Transit Center, which opened to much celebration on Aug. 11, closed down abruptly Sept. 25 after workers found a cracked steel beam. A second cracked beam was later found. Work began Sunday to shore up the structure.

October 1, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Robert Venturi

The Clarity of Robert Venturi

Robert Venturi, who died last week at 93, was not an urbanist as such. But in rejecting modernism and bringing honesty to discussions about aesthetics, Venturi deserves a debt of gratitude from planners and other architects alike.

September 27, 2018 - Josh Stephens

Stadium construction at Hollywood Park

The Latest on Los Angeles' Hollywood Park Development

New photos and renderings show the Inglewood Stadium construction and future plans for the 300-acre multi-use project.

September 26, 2018 - Urbanize LA

Trump Sign

Another Chicago Skyscraper Sign Controversy

Regulations crafted in the wake of the Trump sign controversy of 2014 could be relaxed to let Salesforce leave its mark on the city of Chicago's skyline.

September 25, 2018 - Chicago Tribune

Bonaventure Expressway

Montreal's Bonaventure Expressway Removal and Redevelopment Earns Recognition

More than one-half mile of elevated expressway was demolished in the heart of downtown Montréal to make way for a spectacular ground-level urban boulevard and over six acres of continuous public space, bookended by two monumental sculptures.

September 24, 2018 - Canadian Architect magazine

New York by Gehry

Making Privately Owned Public Spaces in New York City More Accessible by Mapping Them

A new map shows where privately owned public spaces are located to encourage more public use.

September 22, 2018 - Curbed New York

Philadelphia Architecture

Robert Venturi, Author and Architect, Dies at 93

Urban design media mourned the passing of Robert Venturi this week.

September 20, 2018 - The New York Times

The Grand Bayway

A Showcase of Innovative Climate Change and Resiliency Design Projects

A competition in the San Francisco Bay Area highlights projects considering new ways to design for impending environmental changes.

September 15, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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.