Land Use

Planning in a Rural County

The rural county of Story in Iowa, located to the north of Des Moines, is launching a planning process that will set a 20-year planning agenda for the county's 90,000 residents.

July 1, 2015 - Ames Tribune

Commute

Economic Underperformance Tied to Bad Commutes

The price of long commutes can't just be measured in lost hours. Income segregation, job sprawl, and the resulting negative feedback on families eats into overall economic and social well-being.

June 30, 2015 - Chicago Magazine

Suburbia

American Suburbia Transplanted to Beijing

Chinese and Indian cities have been quick to welcome housing developments modeled on North American suburbs, including "Orange County" and "Vancouver Forest" in Beijing. This globalized sprawl perpetuates all the ills of our own.

June 30, 2015 - The City Fix

Hudson Yards Towers

Manhattan's Hudson Yards 'Mini-City' Back on Track

Stymied for a time by lackluster investment, planned redevelopment of Hudson Yards on Manhattan's West Side is picking up speed. Joining residential buildings and budget hotels, office towers will bring municipal revenues back up.

June 30, 2015 - The New York Times

Georgia State Report Predicts Major Impacts to Natural Habitat

Climate change and sprawl are identified as the culprits in the eradication of critical natural habitat by the year 2050.

June 29, 2015 - SaportaReport

Goose Island Chicago

Chicago's Golden Goose

Once known as "Little Hell" for its copious industrial plants, Goose Island is a rare, relatively undeveloped investment opportunity. Centrally located, it may one day house swanky offices.

June 29, 2015 - Crain's Chicago Business

Houten Train Station

Houten, Netherlands: Where Cars and Bikes Coexist

Well-known in transportation planning circles, Houten's suburban multi-modality can be found almost nowhere else. Perimeter ring roads, train access, and bike-friendly features have cut car trips down to 44 percent.

June 29, 2015 - CityLab

Downtown Pittsburgh Stakeholders Pitch Shared Streets

It's an early idea, but Pittsburgh, with support from transportation planners and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, could be the next U.S. city to consider the shared streets concept.

June 28, 2015 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Atlanta Region Developing More Walkable Urban Places

The Atlanta metropolitan area is bucking the trends established by its recent history of sprawling development by building a majority of its new developments as walkable urban places.

June 26, 2015 - ATL Urbanist

Portland's Unrealized Eastern Waterfront Plans Gain New Momentum

Portland is picking up momentum on fitful long-term planning efforts along the east bank of the Willamette River.

June 25, 2015 - The Oregonian

Cleveland Clears the Way for its First Parklet

Cleveland will soon have its first park let—thanks to the leadership of the nonprofit Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corp., the collective generosity of Cleveland Collectivo and more, and the approval of the Cleveland Planning Commission.

June 23, 2015 - The Plain Dealer

School Sprawl

The Hidden Costs of Locating Schools on the Outskirts

St. Cloud, Minnesota is considering the question of whether to renovate or rebuild—and where to rebuild—a local high school.

June 23, 2015 - SCTimes

Seattle Mixed Use Development

Seattle NIMBYs Protest Dense Development, Cite Eastern Bloc

A zoning bill has stirred up the fear that dense development projects will transform Seattle into a "Soviet cityscape." Residents accuse developers of using loopholes to squeeze in pricey, out-of-character townhomes.

June 23, 2015 - The Seattle Times

Dot Map LA

Diverse on Paper, Segregated in Reality

Many places are statistically diverse, but their inhabits can be worlds apart. A local perspective (and finer data) is needed to fully appreciate how different races and classes inhabit a neighborhood.

June 22, 2015 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Denver Skyline

Planners Across America: Brad Buchanan Shepherds Denver's Explosive Growth

In this interview for the "Planners Across America" series, Denver Planning Director Brad Buchanan details Denver's efforts to reactivate the urban core with strong planning, transit investments, and new residential and commercial developments.

June 22, 2015 - Josh Stephens

Planning Efforts Taking Off in Downtown Dallas

The Dallas Arts District will make a selection of a planning firm in the coming weeks to update the seminal 193 Sasaki plan responsible for much of the area's transformation in recent years and decades.

June 21, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

How to Make the Helena, Montana Urban Standards Boundary Work

Recent work by the American Planning Association’s professional institute’s Community Planning Assistance Teams program examined the case study provided by growth management challenges in and around the city of Helena, Montana.

June 21, 2015 - American Planning Association

New Designs for Los Angeles Convention Center Expansion Revealed

New renderings for Populous & HMC Architects winning proposal give a close-up look at the new-and-improved Los Angeles Convention Center.

June 20, 2015 - Urbanize LA

How One Plan Manages Growth in London

While still deeply attached to its history, today London is grappling with rapid population growth. The ensuing need to increase density in appropriate areas and improve connectivity present London with challenges of a quintessentially modern kind.

June 20, 2015 - The Planning Report

Angelino Heights

Mapping the Age of Every Building in Los Angeles

Developed using open data from local government sources, built: LA is a mapping tool that displays the age of every building in the county. Much of the area's built environment is surprisingly old.

June 19, 2015 - CityLab

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.