Architecture
The Death of the Office?
Despite efforts on the part of many employers to bring workers back to the office, office buildings are now the most distressed segment of the commercial real estate market.
The 100 Most Influential Urbanists, Past and Present
Planetizen readers have decided the who's who of urbanism (and its discontents) in 2023.
Friday Eye Candy: AI Envisions Solutions to the Challenges Facing Cities
Phoenix reimagined for shade. Los Angeles as a place where everybody walks. San Francisco with affordable housing. AI makes a vision of the future possible.
A New Tallest Skyscraper for Japan
The Toranomon-Azabudai reaches 330 meters into the sky, far lower than international standards but taller by 30 meters than the previous tallest building in Japan.
Vote for the Most Influential Urbanists, Past and Present
Readers sent hundreds of nominees for an updated version of Planetizen's Most Influential Urbanists list. Now's your chance to vote among 200 nominees.
Paris Reinstates Historic Height Limits as Part of its New Bioclimatic Local Urban Plan
Paris’ reinstated height limits, lowering height limits allowed in 2010, are part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s recently released Bioclimatic Local Urban Plan.
Cool Walkability Planning
Shadeways (covered sidewalks) and pedways (enclosed, climate controlled walkways) can provide comfortable walkability in hot climates. The Cool Walkshed Index can help plan these facilities.
Building Community With Cohousing
Developers and buyers create new models for housing that hold the promise of a more environmentally friendly, connected, and multigenerational way of living.
The Link Between Circular Building, Affordability, and Sustainability
A growing movement seeks to reduce waste in the construction industry and focus on the long-term impact of building materials.
LEGO Building Carbon-Neutral Factory in Virginia
The Denmark-based toy company just broke ground on a new carbon-neutral run factory in Chesterfield County near Richmond, Virginia.
Architecture Is for Everyone
An architecture critic disavows ‘gatekeeping’ in the field.
‘Facadism:’ Historical Preservation, Fakery—or a Little of Both?
Developers in cities like Oakland, California are turning to vintage architectural elements to inform building renovations, but this repackaging is far from traditional preservation work.
Single-Staircase Buildings: A Design Solution to a Political Problem?
One writer argues that single-staircase buildings solve an architectural problem and make buildings more interesting, but the political problem of the U.S. housing crisis goes much deeper.
A Dallas Architect Designs Statement Buildings With a Purpose
The Dallas Morning News’ architecture critic profiles one of the city’s most important current architects.
Dallas Ahead of the Game in Adaptive Reuse
Thanks in part to a state tax credit created in the early 2000s, downtown Dallas is set to create roughly 1,500 new housing units by converting office buildings to residential uses.
The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ for Office Conversion
A formula for the ideal office-to-housing candidate.
Skyline-Defining High-Rise Potentially Coming to Boise
A rendering making the rounds in Boise depicts a 40-story apartment building that would be taller than all other buildings in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Philadelphia ‘Lights Out Pledge’ Seeks To Prevent Bird Deaths
Migratory birds are often lured away from their normal paths by the bright lights of cities, with deadly results.
Why Office Conversion is Trickier Than You Think
Converting office buildings to housing is almost always possible, but, thanks in part to design changes in newer office buildings, it can often be cost-prohibitive.
Los Angeles County Looks to Mandate Seismic Retrofits
A common building type is a major contributor to earthquake fatalities, prompting the Board of Supervisors to consider requiring safety upgrades on older buildings.
Pagination
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.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello