Land Use
Examining Zoning's Origins to Shed Light on Current Critiques
As traditional zoning comes under increasing criticism for its exclusionary practices, strict separation of uses, and controls on density, Daniel Nairn explores its genesis and the arguments of pioneering planner Edward Murray Bassett.
How Well do You Know the World?
The Atlantic offers a brain teaser tailor made for the readers of Planetizen.
Density Reduces Traffic Congestion
An important new study published by the Arizona Department of Transportation indicates that, contrary to claims by critics, urban corridors have considerably less congestion than suburban corridors, despite many times higher densities.
Thirty-Four Bold Ideas for Transforming Toronto
The Grid solicited ideas from some of Toronto's smartest people for how to make the city better, no matter what the cost or feasibility. David Topping and Katie Underwood deliver the inventive results.
How Do Your City's Parks Score?
A new tool for assessing the quality of the park systems in America's cities was unveiled this week by The Trust for Public Land. Ryan Donahue delivers the rankings.
Is Neighborhood Activism Stifling Community Planning?
Roger Valdez gives his take on the new obstructionism that is dominating public participation and holding up much-needed growth in Seattle and elsewhere.
A Manifesto for New Urbanism's Next Movement
Building on one of the reverberating themes from this month's CNU 20 in West Palm Beach, Joe Nickol proposes the path of evolution for a movement that has become the new norm, but may have overlooked some critical issues in the process.
The U.S. Military: The Next Apostle of New Urbanism?
The Department of Defense has released new guidelines encouraging mixed-use, compact, walkable development throughout the nation's military bases, Sean Reilly reports.
The Best of the World's Street Art
For your lunchtime dose of inspiration, we bring you an eclectic collection of "70 Amazing Examples of Street Art" from Bored Panda, the "highly visual oddities magazine."
Profiling the Most Powerful Planning Director in America
Eleven years into a likely twelve-year tenure as director of the New York City Planning Department, Julie Satow explores the accomplishments, and unfinished agenda, of Amanda Burden.
Quality of Place Trumps Density, says Richard Florida
Ten years after publishing of The Rise of the Creative Class, the prominent city-booster says high-rises are “vertical suburbs” and we need “urban environments that stir the spirit.”
Can the "Missing Middle" Generate Cincinnati's Thriving Re-Urbanization
Dan Parolek kicks off a series on recent efforts to revitalize the Queen City based on a strong foundation of coveted resources, including a variety of urban housing types.
The Changing Face of Urbanism in India
Neha Thirani speaks with Rahul Mehrotra, urban planner and chairman of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, about the challenges facing "emerging India," including its parasitic gated communities, preservation, and 392 "urban time bombs."
Detroit Reborn
In the first edition of a new series, Richard Florida introduces us to the inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and artists, designers and musicians invested in the bottom-up effort to revive Detroit.
Should the Bay Area Have Four Million More Residents?
Noting the Bay Area's relatively slow growth rate over the past two decades, Timothy B. Lee argues that the area's "bad housing policies" are harming business growth and investment opportunities in Silicon Valley.
Top 10 Websites - 2012
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
Amman's Subjective Cartography
How do you navigate a city with no street names? This is the question Amanda Erickson sets out to answer in an article on photographer Regina Mamou, who spent a year studying how the people of Amman get around.
Towards a More Nuanced Understanding of Density
Arguing for the value of historic low and mid-rise, but also dense, areas of Brooklyn, Washington D.C., and New Orleans, Edward T. McMahon asks us to reconsider the pursuit of density as an end in itself, and the high-rise as its fullest expression.
Fashioning a New Los Angeles Along Its Boulevards
Christopher Hawthorne begins a series exploring the ways in which L.A. is utilizing its boulevards to try on "a post-suburban identity for the first time", with a look at Atlantic Boulevard, a major north-south spine.
Vermont Towns Battle to Maintain a Sense of Place
Chain store opponents in Vermont battle to preserve the uniqueness of their small towns by pushing against a planned Dollar General Store. While a review board narrowly approved a plan, it also attached a lengthy list of restrictions.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
