Land Use

Manhattan Skyline

Manhattan Community Group Resists 'Super Tower'

Plans for an 800-foot tower have attracted well-funded opposition from a community group. Its campaign to regulate the structure's height has spiraled into a big fight.

October 30, 2017 - Politico

Dallas

Downtown Dallas 'Smart District' in the Works

Spanning eight blocks, plans for the Dallas Smart District include offices, hotel space, and retail. Anchoring the development: a 78-floor tower that would become the tallest building in town.

October 30, 2017 - Dallas News

Wine Country Fires

Three Congressional Bills Respond to Western Wildfires

Two GOP bills and one bipartisan Senate bill hope to reduce the wildfire risk in the West. The "Wildfires Management Act of 2017" is sponsored by the two Republican senators of Idaho and three of the four Democratic senators of Washington and Oregon.

October 30, 2017 - The Associated Press

Dangerous Intersection Gets an Overpass and a Cap Park in Golden, Colorado

The city of Golden, Colorado celebrated the opening of the Linking Lookout earlier in October

October 29, 2017 - The Denver Post

Washington

Livability Standards Have Arrived in the Pacific Northwest

The city of Bellevue, Washington has adopted new zoning and land use standards as part of an ongoing Downtown Livability Initiative.

October 29, 2017 - The Urbanist

6th Street Viaduct

A Bold Housing Vision for the L.A. River

An unsolicited proposal from the engineering firm reimagines a stretch along the L.A. River as a mixed-use mega-development, rich in housing and jobs.

October 28, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

Closing Time

D.C. Removes Parking Spaces to Make Room for Late-Night Ride Hailing

Fewer parking spaces, more sober rides home. Sounds like a recipe for a good night out.

October 27, 2017 - CityLab

Suburban Three-Car Garage

An App to Rent Driveways

The shared economy is coming to that most sacred of private properties—the garage or driveway parking spot.

October 27, 2017 - Smart Cities Dive

Arlington Virginia

Cities Suburbanize While Suburbs Urbanize

As the internet makes retail more widely accessible, and poverty and density move to suburbs, the difference between cities and suburbs is shrinking, narrowing lifestyle choices.

October 26, 2017 - Bloomberg

Desert Farm

An Agrihood Takes Root in Palm Springs

Developer Freehold Communities is planning a suburban farming community in California's Sonora Desert.

October 26, 2017 - Mercury News

Cars Banned From New York's Prospect Park Starting in 2018

Decades of activism have led to this victory for pedestrian advocates, Streetsblog NYC reports.

October 26, 2017 - StreetsBlog NYC

National Park System

Interior Department Wants to Hike National Park Entrance Fees

Two years after increasing entrance fees at national parks, The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to raise daily vehicle entrance fees at the nation's most popular parks to $70.

October 25, 2017 - CNN

Produce Aisle

Ground-Level Grocery Stores Proliferate in Boston

Being able to get groceries without a car can be a big draw in walkable, mixed use neighborhoods. Many Boston grocers and developers are taking that to heart.

October 25, 2017 - The Boston Globe

Civic Engagement

MacArthur Genius’s Mission: Enliven the Planning Process

Damon Rich wants constituents and professionals alike to get excited about the bureaucratic slog.

October 25, 2017 - Next City

Minnesota

Minnesota Town Halts All Multi-Family Construction for One Year

Anoka, Minnesota decided it has enough rental housing.

October 24, 2017 - Star Tribune

Ontario, Canada

Sidewalk Labs, Waterfront Toronto Partnership Shoots the Smart Cities Moon

The most ambitious example of the almost-mythological "smart city" will be tested in the Quayside district in Toronto as result of a partnership between Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto.

October 23, 2017 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Atlanta Beltline Acquires Major Piece of the Future Eastside Trail

The Atlanta Beltline will be realized one step at a time, and this was a big one.

October 22, 2017 - Curbed Atlanta

California

Integrating Environmental Justice Into Planning Processes

National City, California pioneered a model for implementing environmental justice considerations into planning processes—state law compels states to follow National City's leadership.

October 20, 2017 - Next City

Mountain Waterfall

Friday Eye Candy: Mapping a World of Water Words

Cultures and geography have created a dictionary's worth of words for water. A new video from Vox maps (most of) them out.

October 20, 2017 - Vox

Wine Country Fires

Wildfire Destroys Santa Rosa Neighborhood Outside of Fire Hazard Zone

The Wine Country wildfires destroyed Coffey Park, a subdivision within the urban boundaries of the Bay Area's fifth largest city, and outside of the state's severe fire hazard zones. But the cause wasn't a mystery to wildland fire scientists.

October 20, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

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.

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.