Land Use

What is it about historic downtowns that makes them so darned attractive, and unlike the placeless architecture spreading across our urban landscapes? Graeme Sharpe looks at the "basic recipe" that created these admired environments.

January 10, 2013 - Urban Indy

After 5 decades of abandonment, and recent inspiration from the much-lauded High Line, a rusty railway stretching three-and-a-half miles through central Queens may become NYC’s next elevated greenway.

January 10, 2013 - New York Times

After two years of work, hundreds of meetings, and 70,000 survey responses and comments from participants, Detroit will today release the strategic framework plan that will guide the city's long-term recovery, reports Leonard N. Fleming.

January 9, 2013 - The Detroit News

A new study mandated by the federal Resources Planning Act predicts that developed land in the U.S. will increase by 41 percent in the next five decades. Such development could have dramatic impacts on our natural resources and ecosystems.

January 9, 2013 - NRDC Switchboard

A new report released by Smart Growth America evaluates the federal government's influence on America's real estate sector. With $450 billion in subsidies per year, it's clear "the communities we’ve constructed weren’t built on market demand alone."

January 8, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

After the city rezoned Williamsburg, affordable housing was supposed to be built on the grounds of a NYCHA project there. Seven years later, ground has not been broken.

January 8, 2013 - The Brooklyn Bureau

Professional planners can be a great resource for staffing local planning and zoning commissions (especially in smaller communities). That is, of course, as long as they can manage to wear both hats without conflict.

January 8, 2013 - The Western Planner

The uncompromising writer, who pioneered the position of full-time architecture critic at an American newspaper, and exemplified the pinnacle of the profession for five decades, died on Monday.

January 8, 2013 - The New York Times

Research supports the argument that increased densities reduce vehicle miles traveled, even in areas with minimal transit service.

January 7, 2013 - Michael Lewyn

ArtPlace — a collaboration of foundations, banks, and federal agencies that supports creative placemaking projects — has released a new study that identifies 12 neighborhoods across the country as America's Top ArtPlaces 2013.

January 7, 2013 - ArtPlace

Brian Libby examines the plans for Zidell Yards, downtown Portland's last major real estate opportunity, which "seeks to be a macro development comprised of many different micro-sized parts."

January 7, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

An award-winning street redesign project in the Los Angeles exurb of Lancaster provides a case study in the value of retrofitting for walkability.

January 6, 2013 - NRDC Switchboard

In case anyone thought that developers were the only bad actors seeking to profit off of contentious projects, confidential settlement terms leaked to Curbed show how local groups abuse the California Environmental Quality Act for dubious gains.

January 5, 2013 - Curbed LA

In Hong Kong, new government policies to curb real estate speculation in housing markets have led investors to turn elsewhere for quick, lucrative profits - the market for parking spaces.

January 5, 2013 - Los Angeles Times - Business

A new exhibit seeks to document the Los Angeles that could have been, had the visionary plans of the past been executed, reports Eric Jaffe.

January 4, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

In the Virginia suburbs outside of D.C., the radical plan to reshape auto-oriented Tysons Corner into vibrant, walkable Tysons is going ahead, despite skepticism that the monumental task can be accomplished, reports Corinne Reilly.

January 4, 2013 - The Washington Post

Like a lot of people, Placeshakers is kicking off the new year with a list: placemaking wishes for 2013. Read on for seven trending ideas they hope break large.

January 4, 2013 - PlaceShakers

In a photo essay on small homes and the people who love them, Sightline Fellow Alyse Nelson explains the attraction of compact living and the ways in which small homeowners are living it up by scaling down.

January 3, 2013 - Sightline Daily

Russia's growing middle class is leading a boom in American-style enclosed shopping malls, which are still rather new to the country. Some rival the size and popularity of Minnesota's infamous Mall of America.

January 3, 2013 - The New York Times

Jason Corburn issues an indictment of the "community malpractice" by policy-makers that's led to America's glaring health inequalities, and argues that 2013 must be the year that planning works towards improving the living conditions of the poor.

January 2, 2013 - RWJF Human Capital Blog