Land Use

View of Portland, Oregon from Pittock Mansion

Portland State Invests $3 Million to Study Homelessness and Smart Cities

Two new research hubs will explore the intersections between homelessness, technology, and urban planning.

October 9, 2018 - Oregon Live

School Chlidren

San Jose Proposes Turning Schools into Teacher Housing, Faces Outcry

A San Jose Unified School District plan to relocate several schools and build affordable housing in their place has sparked controversy. The district says teachers increasingly can't afford to live in the area.

October 9, 2018 - The Mercury News

Surveying

Toronto Mayoral Candidate Suggests Repurposing City Golf Courses

Former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat wants to transform three failing golf courses into free public spaces.

October 9, 2018 - The Toronto Star

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

Boston Aerial

Boston to Consider Workforce and Investor Diversity in Real Estate Decisions

Beginning this week, the city of Boston will ask developers how they plan to include women and minorities as workers and investors when putting city-owned real estate out for bid.

October 8, 2018 - The Boston Globe

Flood Damaged Suburb

A Year After Harvey, Homes Still Going Up on Houston Flood Plain

Despite the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey, builders and buyers alike are sustaining a market for new construction on land likely to get flooded again.

October 8, 2018 - The Houston Chronicle

MTA Bus

Report: NYC Not Doing Enough to Prioritize Buses

According to a bus advocacy coalition's progress report, New York City hasn't yet delivered on promises to get buses moving faster with comprehensive and well-enforced bus lanes.

October 8, 2018 - NY Daily News

Twin Cities

Keeping Our Cool: Extreme Heat in the Twin Cities Region

A report discusses how rising temperatures affect the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and how those effects can be mitigated.

October 7, 2018 - PlanIt - Metropolitan Council

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

Housing Construction

California's Housing Package, One Year Later

It's too early to gauge the long-term effects of California's housing package signed a year ago. But with a $4 billion bond on the ballot this November, some facts (and some dramas) have already made themselves known.

October 6, 2018 - CALmatters

Tiny House Prefab

Closure of Tiny House Village in Seattle Prompts Concern

Meant to serve chronically homeless people, the Licton Springs tiny house village has been controversial from the start. It's uncertain whether enough permanent housing exists to resettle all residents.

October 6, 2018 - KUOW

Affordable housing

Seattle to Use Surplus Public Land for Affordable Housing

New municipal and state laws have made it possible for Seattle to sell excess land to affordable housing developers at below-market rates, or even to give it away.

October 5, 2018 - Crosscut

Allston Interchange

Should This Mass Pike Viaduct Come Down?

Public opinion favors an at-grade highway, but the state is still considering retaining the elevated section in Allston.

October 5, 2018 - The Boston Globe

MATA Trolley

Memphis Downtown Boom Highlights the Potential of Adaptive Reuse

The city of Memphis, Tennessee is in the middle of an understated boom focused on downtown development and adaptive reuse.

October 5, 2018 - Curbed

Community Meeting

Community-Based Planning: A Case Study

When neighborhoods are allowed to plan and zone without considering the regionwide interest in increasing housing stock, scarcity results.

October 5, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Stahl House Los Angeles

Los Angeles Launches Wave of Community Plan Updates

With a promise to update all 35 of its community plans by 2024, Los Angeles took a big step toward that goal this week by launching new planning processes in nine community plan areas.

October 3, 2018 - Los Angeles Department of City Planning

Iowa

As Tax Increment Financing Districts Sunset in Iowa City, Questions Abound

Iowa state law requires tax increment financing to sunset after 20 years. Cedar Rapids is in the process of evaluating some of its TIF districts after they expired this summer.

October 3, 2018 - Cedar Rapids Gazette

Vinod Khosla

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Case Threatening the California Coastal Act

A conservative and partisan court handed a victory to public access and California's environmental law by refusing to hear an appeal sought by billionaire Vinod Khosla.

October 2, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Birmingham, Michigan

'The Users' Guide to Zoning Reform' Published by the Congress for New Urbanism

The Congress for New Urbanism's Users' "Guide to Code Reform" leads planners through the code reform process, providing tools for governments lacking the capacity to develop a full form-based code.

October 2, 2018 - Public Square: A CNU Journal

BART Station

BART Development Law Signed

Under a law signed today by Governor Jerry Brown, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) gains the power to rezone its properties. It's a decisive victory for state preemption over local control in the face of California's housing crisis.

October 1, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.