Land Use

Detroit Pistons

Another Suburban Anchor Development Doomed by Fate in the Detroit Region

The Detroit Pistons recently played their last game in the Palace of Auburn Hills.

April 19, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

'NIMBY' Too Gentle a Word: How About 'New Urban Luddites'?

Richard Florida calls for the use of the term "New Urban Luddites" to describe the embedded interests that obstruct the growth of cities. The consequences of New Urban Luddite politics, according to Florida, are too severe for such an innocuous term.

April 19, 2017 - CityLab

Hurricane Ike Damage

Insurance Industry Reacting as Flooding Moves From Risk to Certainty

Federal legislation and rising sea levels are changing the way homes are insured against flooding. According to this feature article, in fact, flood insurance "is serving as a kind of advance scout into a more difficult future."

April 18, 2017 - The New York Times Magazine

Los Angeles

Lawsuit Closes Popular Hiking Trail to the Hollywood Sign

Closing today: one of the most popular hiking trails in the Hollywood Hills, another case of the antipathy between public access and private property.

April 18, 2017 - KPCC

Oregon

Multi-Family Development in Portland Stalls at a Controversial Crossroads for the City

On the one hand, the city of Portland is facing pressure to add new housing and development to meet the needs of a growing population and an expensive real estate market. On the other hand, change is never easy.

April 17, 2017 - Portland Tribune

Fringe Development

Creating Inclusive Communities: Notes From a Conference

The Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute annual conference is the region's premier gathering of planning professionals. This year's conference explored strategies for building inclusive cities in which everyone can thrive.

April 17, 2017 - Dean Saitta

Public Stoage

New York Joins Other Cities Hoping to Limit Self-Storage Facilities

Self-storage buildings are multiplying across New York City, where local officials would prefer to protect and grow the city's base of manufacturing and industrial jobs.

April 16, 2017 - The New York Times

Mt. Rainier

Seattle Upzones its Urban Core

A large swatch of downtown and an adjacent neighborhood can develop taller and denser after the Seattle City Council approved zoning changes this week.

April 16, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Cincinnati

Revitalized Neighborhood in Cincinnati Wants to Keep Parking for Free

The age-old controversy over the cost of parking in heating up in East Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.

April 15, 2017 - Cincinnati Business Courier

Glenwood Green Acres, Philadelphia

The Future of Farming is Millennials

An aging population of farmers may give way to a generation of young entrepreneurs who see the value and values of growing food.

April 14, 2017 - Fortune

Uptown San Diego

San Diego Controversy Exhibits Disconnect Between Citizen Advisors and Planning Staff

A community plan update and a development proposal have led to hurt feelings and flared tempers in San Diego.

April 12, 2017 - San Diego Uptown News

Parking Lots

Winner of the 2017 Parking Madness Tournament Announced

It's every Shoupista's favorite day of the year.

April 12, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

Corporate Parking Structures

How Apple's Headquarters Got More Parking Spaces Than Employee Spaces

Parking is back in the news, with a high-profile case study: the new spaceship-shaped headquarters of Apple in Cupertino has devoted a larger footprint to parking spaces than office space.

April 11, 2017 - The Economist

Retail

Is Payless ShoeSource Bankruptcy a Sign of the Coming 'Retail Apocalypse'?

The latest Chapter 11 in a familiar story.

April 7, 2017 - The Washington Post

1 Wall Street and Empire Building

Friday Fun: An Interactive Tool That Explains Floor Area Ratio

The Center for Urban Pedagogy's latest tool provides an easy and fun way to explain a difficult but critical concept: floor area ratio.

April 7, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Considering Options for Derelict Lakefront Power Plant

A planning consultant hired by FirstEnergy is putting out the first speculative ideas for the future of a contaminated lakefront site of a most demolished power plant.

April 6, 2017 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

San Francisco

Leading San Francisco Architect Picks a Fight With the City's Planning Department

Architects and planners have to work together, as everyone on both sides of the equation knows. Even though the fields often speak the same language, there still seem to be many moments and ideas lost in translation.

April 5, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Oceanside

Removing California's Costa-Hawkins Act and the Future of Rent Control

In an attempt to combat prohibitively high housing costs in California, some look to repeal the 1995 state law that limits the power of local rent control ordinances. However, removing those restrictions would likely exaggerate current problems.

April 5, 2017 - Reuben Duarte

Surface Parking

Critiquing the First Woonerf in Minneapolis

You be the judge: is this innovative land use in Downtown Minneapolis a woonerf or a glorified parking lot?

April 5, 2017 - MinnPost

Philadelphia

Philadelphia's Freeway Cap Park Almost Fully Funded, Ready to Start Planning

March was a momentous month for the Central Access Philadelphia (CAP) project. The project would build cap over I-95 at Penn's Landing, among other improvements.

April 4, 2017 - Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

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.