Community / Economic Development

Boyle Heights

East Los Angeles Community Groups Prove that Community Planning Matters

The landscape of community development in Los Angeles today differs vastly from even a few years ago. Two groups in East L.A. are developing solutions to accelerating gentrification and displacement and a compounding affordable housing crisis.

August 24, 2016 - The Planning Report

Brooklyn

Op-Ed: Stay Expensive, New York—It Helps the Rest of the U.S.

Here's a controversial assertion: expensive, desirable cities are doing everyone else a favor by forcing people to move.

August 24, 2016 - Bloomberg View

Moscow, Russia

Moscow's Erratic Shift Towards a Walkable City

Moscow's Mayor has pushed an agenda to beautify the city, create social spaces, and make the city more walkable, but critics see the move towards walkability as more of a forced march.

August 23, 2016 - Foreign Policy

The Bronx

Poor Urban Planning and the Birth of Hip Hop

An architect known as the Hip-Hop Architect explains how the planning decisions of the 20th century served as muse and breeding ground for the multi-million-dollar industry of hip hop.

August 23, 2016 - Fader

Toledo

'Rust Belt Chic' Not Enough to Attract Millennials in Some Cities

The city of Toledo, Ohio provides a case study in how the best intentions of attracting degree-holding Millennials can come up short.

August 22, 2016 - Toledo Blade

Suburban Woes Follow After Companies Depart for Cities

It's not bad enough that the Northeast is losing population to the South and West. As companies decamp from the suburbs, pristine communities, many where apartments are outlawed, are seeing a steady decline in housing values.

August 22, 2016 - The Atlantic

Horse Toy

Horsey! Grassroots Public Art Connects People, Past, and Present

Never underestimate the power of whimsy in the built environment. A genuine and unconditional spirit of welcome and inclusion can be found in the most unexpected forms of participatory art.

August 18, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Building Permanent Paths out of Poverty

One Tanzanian nonprofit is putting the focus on skill-building to fight poverty. David Lambert, an engineer with Arup, discusses the nonprofit's latest endeavor, a new vocational school near the town of Same.

August 17, 2016 - Doggerel

Pop Up Plaza in Louisville

Six U.S. Cities to Workshop the Methodologies of Tactical Urbanism

Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a recently announced series of tactical urbanism workshops will take place in six U.S. cities.

August 17, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

Betsy Ross Bridge

New Jersey Gas Tax Standoff Leaves Construction Workers in the Lurch

The plight of laid-off laborers who had been repaving a New Jersey bridge illustrates that people suffer as well as infrastructure and mobility when transportation funding bills fail to pass.

August 17, 2016 - The North Jersey Record

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Mystery

A blog post exploring why Los Angeles is more car-dependent than some less dense cities.

August 16, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Food

L.A. Restaurant Charges Based on Neighborhood Income

Meals at a Los Angeles restaurant will priced according to the income of the surrounding neighborhood.

August 15, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Friday Fun: Mapping a Decade of Philadelphia Block Parties

David Bowie and Mick Jagger approved.

August 12, 2016 - PlanPhilly

Bushwick

Can Design Defeat Gentrification?

The social vision of an architecture firm working in Bushwick, in Brooklyn, faces a familiar set of challenges.

August 12, 2016 - New York Magazine

Why Planners and Other Built Environment Professionals Should Pay Attention to Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go represents the coming of age of a powerful new technology: augmented reality. PIA Young Planner Nick Kamols applies a planner's perspective to what today's anime-based craze might tell us about what's coming tomorrow.

August 11, 2016 - LinkedIn

Nightime view of San Diego skyline

A Peek at the Future Downtown San Diego Without a New Charger Stadium

With two November ballot initiatives proposing to rezone a large part of downtown San Diego for a combined NFL stadium and convention facility, the community and a team of architects worked furiously to complete a more urban vision for the site.

August 11, 2016 - UrbDeZine

One Major Similarity in the Trump and Clinton Infrastructure Plans

Donald Trump's first major economic speech showed significant changes, including how he'd pay for his hefty infrastructure plan. Both he and Hillary Clinton will likely be relying on the same funding source.

August 10, 2016 - CNBC

Mosque

Department of Justice Steps in to Halt Religious Discrimination Through Zoning

As the U.S. Department of Justice takes action to protect the religious freedoms of Muslims in the United States, zoning decisions have proven a particularly common source of anxiety among Muslim communities.

August 10, 2016 - The New York Times

California Aqueduct

Future of California's Climate Agenda in Peril

Legislation to reauthorize the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 is in peril due to 'a powerful bloc of business-friendly Democrats' who are uneasy about its impact on businesses, particularly Big Oil, due to higher energy costs.

August 8, 2016 - CALmatters

Shanghai

Where Have all the Great Urban Places Gone?

Newly built urban places leave a lot to be desired, according to this article in Governing.

August 7, 2016 - Governing

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.

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.