Architecture

Abu Dhabi

Planning for an Eco-Friendly City in the Desert

Building a new eco-friendly city in the middle of a country so reliant on fossil fuels is no easy task, but development is well underway for Masdr City to rise in the UAE

June 6, 2016 - Public Square

Who is NYCxDESIGN?

NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s annual celebration of design, recently wrapped up its fourth season. To learn more about who makes up the design community, photographer Charles Aydlett asked attendees how they would like to see design evolve in the city.

June 1, 2016 - Doggerel

Hospital Signs

A Missing Conversation: Medical Centers and the Built Environment

Hospitals, medical research centers, and the like are supposed to represent health, but are often an unappealing and monolithic presence in the urban landscape. How can the form of health centers fall in line with their function?

May 25, 2016 - The Brookings Institution

National Building Museum

A Visit to D.C.'s Museum for the Built Environment

Washington, D.C. has many great museums. One of its least known may be the most interesting to architects, planners, builders, and others. The National Building Museum is all about the built environment.

May 25, 2016 - UrbDeZine

New York City's Zoning Code, First in the Nation, Approaches its Centennial

New York's 1916 zoning code would not have allowed 40 percent of buildings in Manhattan to be built today, according to a recent analysis. It also turns 100 on August 27 of this year.

May 23, 2016 - New York Times

Washington D.C. Row Houses

Photos: Why So Many Former Stores Are Now Homes in Washington, D.C.

If some residences look a little out of place in Washington, D.C., it may be because they were originally retail shops. A Tumblr is devoted to these homes, and the zoning laws that created them.

May 23, 2016 - CityLab

Trump Tower

How Donald Trump Earned His Reputation as a Developer

Perhaps no development is more associated with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee than Trump Towers, which established his reputation as a developer with little regard for historic preservation and revealed his character in business.

May 20, 2016 - Planetizen

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge

Revisiting the Legacy of Robert Moses

A visit from the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to see Robert Caro, author of "The Power Broker," provides a refresher on the works of Robert Moses and Caro's writing.

May 16, 2016 - The New York Times

Downtown Miami

Miami's Form Based Code Touted as New Urbanist Ideal

Miami 21 overhauled an 80-year old zoning code and replaced it with a New Urbanist-style form-based code that many credit as being the key to changing development in the city.

May 14, 2016 - Governing

Gender Neutral Bathroom

Gender Neutral Bathrooms Designs Respond to Controversial North Carolina Law

While the Justice Department and North Carolina duke it out over proper access to bathrooms, many places, including the White House, have designed gender-neutral bathrooms that address many of the problems associated with sex-segregated bathrooms.

May 12, 2016 - The New York Times

Milwaukee

Changes Coming to the Downtown Milwaukee Skyline

The Architect's Newspaper surveys the development scene in Downtown Milwaukee—an that remained quiet for 20-some years is now expecting four new high rises before 2020.

May 11, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

Chicago Bikers

Get Around Chicago Like an Insider with 20 Apps

These 20 apps and services will help you engage with everything Chicago has to offer in a whole new way.

May 10, 2016 - Netted

Calatrava WTC Hub

A Review of Calatrava's World Trade Center Transportation Hub

There's still a construction fence around the World Trade Center transportation hub designed by Santiago Calatrava, and its not accessible from the street yet. Carol Berens shares a few photos and impressions.

May 4, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Transbay Terminal Construction

As Price Tag Skyrockets, S.F.'s Transbay Terminal Needs a Bailout

Phase 1 of a project described as the "Grand Central Station of the West" has almost doubled in cost since 2008. Now San Francisco County Supervisors are considering a bailout of the project.

May 4, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

Ford Headquarters

Ford Plans New Headquarters for a New Century

Following the example of much newer corporations in Silicon Valley, the Ford Motor Company is planning a $9 billion new campus in Dearborn, to be built over ten years.

May 3, 2016 - The New York Times

Seattle Brick Loft

Seattle's Seismic Risk Concentrated in Capitol Hill

Seattle's updated list of masonry structures at risk from earthquake includes many structures in the Capitol Hill district. Property owners are not currently mandated to retrofit the buildings they own.

May 1, 2016 - Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

High Line park NYC - Manhattan - New York City

Around the World, Cities Imitate the High Line

The High Line's brand of urban reinvention has caught on, sparking a number of similar projects throughout the world. In addition to disused rail, many projects repurpose old road infrastructure.

May 1, 2016 - Citiscope

Splashy Pier 55 Project for the Hudson River Gains Final Approval

The Pier55 project, as it's now known, was announced in November 2014 and granted regulatory approval in April 2016. Now it's expected to begin construction this summer.

April 29, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

Historic London

Friday Eye Candy: Historic London Visualized

Historic London collects panoramic views of modern London streets with historic photos transposed over them. Most of the views date from the first two decades of the 20th century.

April 29, 2016 - Historic London

Seattle Introduces New Urban Park Prototype

Seattle's 12th Avenue park offers a prototype for future urban parks. It is compact, doesn't require buying a lot of costly land, and can accommodate neighborhood scale events and programs

April 28, 2016 - Crosscut

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.