Land Use

Parking

A New Era of On-Street Parking Policies

The influence of Donald Shoup's classic book, "The High Cost of Free Parking," is becoming more and more apparent in more and more cities around the country.

February 5, 2016 - Pew Charitable Trusts

This Valentine's Day, Celebrate Neighborhood Revitalization With #LoveThatLot

The #LoveThatLot campaign is the Center for Community progress' way of celebrating the hard work of transforming vacant, blighted properties into neighborhood assets and amenities.

February 4, 2016 - Center for Community Progress

Cortright: Oregon Legislation Would Make Housing Affordability Worse

Inclusionary zoning and weakened urban growth boundaries are not effective tools for reducing the price of housing. Joe Cortright of City Observatory suggests ending parking requirements instead.

February 4, 2016 - City Observatory

Detroit Gets Another Round of Property Tax Reductions

In an effort to bring relief to homeowners, the city will reduce property taxes on 95 percent of the city's residential properties.

February 4, 2016 - The Detroit News

Main Street

Preserving Main Street in Large Developments

The Terraces, a mixed-use project in Charlottesville, Virginia, adopts a design that reflects its historic downtown surroundings. Oliver Kuttner, the developer, says that "breaking up" large buildings can make them more palatable on street level.

February 4, 2016 - Market Urbanism

Los Angeles' Contentious 'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Explained

The soul of planning in Los Angeles will be up for vote in the citywide election that will occur on the same day as the U.S. presidential election.

February 3, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

Demolition

Heady Market in Chicago's North Side Drives Teardowns

Lakeview, located north of Lincoln Park and adjacent to Lake Michigan, leads the city by a wide margin in residential teardowns over the past five years. Local developers are selling new homes for four times the original price paid.

February 3, 2016 - Crain's Chicago Business

Protecting the Lungs of Children by Improving School Location

With the national spotlight rightfully focused on the irreversible effects of lead in the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, another insidious threat remains: motor vehicle emissions affecting children's lungs.

February 1, 2016 - EPA Connect

Amsterdam, Red Light District

A Forced Gentrification May End Amsterdam’s Red Light District

In an attempt to force out organized crime and bring in a better class of tourist, the local government has forced the closure of brothels in the city's famed Red Light District.

February 1, 2016 - The Guardian

Revisiting Plan El Paso With a Critical Eye

The critically lauded Plan El Paso hasn’t yet spurred the kind of urban revitalization it was designed to achieve. Some say its evidence that people still want sprawl, other say changes are still coming.

January 30, 2016 - The Atlantic

Eminent Domain an Issue in Republican Presidential Primary, Again

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is using a new ad against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, based on his use of eminent domain against an elderly woman in Atlantic City. Trump strongly defended using the controversial tool.

January 29, 2016 - Vanity Fair

Kansas Plains

Friday Eye Candy: Mapping the Least Dense Places in the U.S.

A map-making effort by The Washington Post's Wonkblog puts the Western United States' population, or lack thereof, in perspective.

January 29, 2016 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Op-Ed Warns of Grave Threats to the California Coastal Act

One of the most powerful agents of environmental protection in the state of California is faced with what some believe is an existential threat.

January 28, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Draft CEQA Updates Now Available for Public Comment

A big moment in the process of updating the California Environmental Equality Act.

January 28, 2016 - Streetsblog California

How to Help Seniors Rock City Life

A new report issued by McGraw Hill Financial Global Institute provides new thinking about how to create "age-friendly cities."

January 28, 2016 - Grist

An Ambitious Plan to Rethink Toronto's King Street

Here's a project to watch: an influential group of contractors has been hired for a complete streets makeover for King Street in Toronto.

January 26, 2016 - Toronto Star

An Appreciation of the 'Edgy Outskirts'

Long abused by those who favor more urban settings, the suburbs of major metropolitan areas should receive more credit for their cultural capital, according to this article written for Zócalo Public Square.

January 26, 2016 - Zocalo Public Square

Detroit Seeking a New Vision for its East Riverfront

The city of Detroit will review the presentations of seven finalists tasked with creating a new vision for the east riverfront—a part of Detroit poised for redevelopment momentum.

January 25, 2016 - Detroit Free Press

Newark Trying to Make the Most Out of Port Newark

A lack of a master plan for Port Newark is one of the reasons the city of Newark is looking to improve on the leadership of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

January 24, 2016 - The Record

Braddock Pennsylvania

Managing Abandoned Homes in North Braddock

The usual litany of Rust Belt woes hit North Braddock, Pennsylvania particularly hard. The Pittsburgh suburb has shed two-thirds of its population and is burdened with 350 abandoned properties.

January 23, 2016 - Belt Magazine

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.