Housing
'Zombie Buildings' Plague Spain's Economy
The burst of the housing bubble is still causing major economic turmoil in Spain, where 1.5 million "zombie" housing units sit empty.
Rental Housing Market Still Recovering in New Orleans
A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that the median price of rental housing in New Orleans has risen from $662 in 2004 to $882 today.
Struggling Towards TOD on Long Island
Developers on Long Island are hoping to build transit-oriented developments as a way of keeping young residents on the island and increasing the amount of affordable housing. But some local opposition is standing in the way.
Looking Down on Sprawl
Writing in The New York Times, Geoff Manaugh looks at Christoph Gielen's aerial photography of urban development and sprawl.
No Progress in Program to Convert Luxury Condos to Affordable Housing
A year-old program in New York City intended to convert stalled condo projects into completed affordable housing has yet to make any progress.
Making the Transit-Land Value Connection
When the link between transit operators and real estate developers was severed in the early 20th century, transit became both unprofitable and unresponsive to market demand, and land value-lowering MTA cuts are just one example, says Stephen Smith.
Bike Storage is the New Hot Commodity
With bike riding and commuting soaring in NYC, the question of where to store bikes - at home, is becoming more important. Bike storage is now a hot amenity in many Brooklyn and Manhattan apartments - so much that monthly fees may apply.
Suburbs Go Head To Head With The City
"With cities worldwide busy repurposing their industrial districts and docklands as upmarket housing and waterfront retail centres, the suburbs need to find a new competitive edge," writes Sarah Murray.
Re-Rio
With the next World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics on their way, Rio de Janeiro is in the midst of a vast citywide regeneration campaign.
Dubai's Formula of Tax Free Economic Zones and Mass Tourism Doesn't Work
Joshua Hammer describes his visit to the financially straitened emirate where he found "deserted highways, empty hotel rooms, miles of unsold residential and office space."
Google Creates Affordable Housing Fund
Google has invested $86 million in a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund to create 480 affordable rental housing units for low income families.
Could General Stores Reduce Car Trips in The Suburbs?
Belinda Lanks details architect Frank Ruchala's scheme to bring general stores back into America's residential areas. He believes "a general store could work just as well in a (suburban) subdivision as it did in small villages a hundred years ago."
Kowloon Cultural District Takes Shape in Hong Kong
Office of Metropolitan Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Rocco Design Architects have each submitted plans for Kowloon's new cultural district to be built on reclaimed land.
How Philistinism and Contempt For Urban Planning Scarred England's Crowded Cities
England is now the second most densely populated place in Europe, after Malta. New data shows the UK as a whole has roughly the same density as Germany. This indicates a concentration of population in particular places and underpopulation elsewhere.
In Oregon, Students Seek Key to a Sustainable City
Roughly 600 University of Oregon students will take part in the university's Sustainable Cities Initiative, which pulls together students of architecture, planning, law, journalism and business to make a plan to fix downtown Salem.
A New Ethic for Urban Reinvention
In a unique collaboration, an American lawyer and a Venezuelan architect merge thinking on holistic design, planning and regulation
The Vancouver Dream, The Vancouver Nightmare
Despite its reputation as a planner's dream, the city of Vancouver has incredibly high housing prices, which is part of the reason New Geography's Steve Lafleur calls it a middle class nightmare.
London's Property Prices Force Commuters Into Campsites
Consistently ranked one of the worlds most expensive cities to live in, many of its workers are now forced to commute from the campsites encircling the city.
Ebenezer Howard Lives
Victorian-style model towns from the age of Ebenezer Howard are seeing a revival in emerging urban areas, according to this piece from The Guardian.
The Top 20 Urban Planning Successes of All Time
An interesting post appeared on the Public Servant Blog a few days ago. The list includes Amsterdam, Eugene, Oregon; Ponce Center City, Puerto Rico; and the city of Philadelphia among others.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
