Land Use

New York City Planning Director Leads the City's Renaissance

The Wall Street Journal profiles New York City Planning Director Amanda Burden, focusing on the populist projects her department has been successful in building in recent years.

June 29, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

China's Experiments with Financing and Building Transit

The Economist is fascinated by China's experiments in public-private financing in which the government gives land to private transit developers in exchange for greater mobility.

June 29, 2011 - The Economist

Tokyo to Include Tsunami-Hit Areas in 2020 Olympic Bid

In preparing a bid to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is planning to include areas that were ravaged by the recent tsunami and earthquake.

June 28, 2011 - Daily Mail

Public Ping Pong to Invade English City

More than 40 ping pong tables will be placed in public spaces throughout the English city of Hull this summer. It's part of a nationwide effort to get more people to exercise.

June 28, 2011 - Yorkshire Post

The Big City Goes Small Scale

New York's new big plans are actually quite small, according to this architectural review from The Guardian.

June 28, 2011 - Guardian

Stockholm's Transportation Remodel

In Stockholm, Sweden, planners are moving ahead with a broad central city redevelopment plan that seeks to continue the city's trend of reducing car traffic and congestion, and making it easier for bikers, walkers and transit takers to get around.

June 28, 2011 - Citiwire

The New Yorker's Dizzy Love of the Suburbs

Nicholas Lehmann wrote a review earlier this week wrapping up all of the latest planning books like Ed Glaeser's Triumph of the City into one hodgepodge critique that boiled down to a defense of the suburbs.

June 26, 2011 - The New Republic

Kunstler Predicts the Future Lies in Small Cities

Some suburbs will be successful smaller towns, while others will become ruins, predicts James Howard Kunstler. Unlike other urbanists though, Kunstler thinks big cities are in trouble when cheap energy disappears.

June 25, 2011 - Orion Magazine

Urbanism and Kids

Scott Doyon, a parent and an urbanist, argues that the suburban model isn't doing kids any favors. But, he says, designing urban areas that are kid-friendly is still a challenge.

June 25, 2011 - PlaceShakers

City of the Future: Two Legs Good, Four Wheels Bad

Once dubbed the "lungs of the city," highways are becoming perhaps less essential. From Seattle to Seoul, pedestrianization is gaining traction on both the domestic and international fronts.

June 24, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Smart Growth Weathered Housing Crisis Better Than Sprawl

Abigail Gardner of Smart Growth America takes aim at a recent article based primarily on Wendell Cox's correlation of smart growth policies to the housing market bubble and collapse.

June 23, 2011 - D.C. Streetsblog

A Big Plan in Many Small Parts

Philadelphia is embarking on a long-term planning effort -- one in a string of many efforts over the past few decades. But this effort is different, compiling many small-scale plans for the city's future.

June 23, 2011 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

High Rise Boomlet Bringing Good and Bad to Chicago

High rise apartment construction is set to take off again in Chicago, though it's unclear for how long and whether the resulting projects will have a positive lasting impact on the city.

June 23, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

'The Johnny Appleseed of Walk-able Communities'

Walkability guru Dan Burden's long-preached message of pedestrian-focused planning is increasingly becoming policy in cities across the country.

June 22, 2011 - The Washington Post

Western Australia's Capital Envisions its Transformation

Recently released Capital City Planning Framework for Perth outlines a mixed-use city that is both livable and welcoming to outsiders.

June 22, 2011 - Architecture & Design

A Neighborhood of Stairs

The La Independencia neighborhood in Medellin, Colombia sprawls up a hillside, leaving the inhabitants to walk up to 10 flights of stairs every day. An ambitious development program is considering building an outdoor network of escalators.

June 22, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Reviving the Real Estate Market with Parks

The idea of tuning toxic or polluted sites into parks has been creating new green spaces in cities throughout the country. It's also re-starting the real estate market.

June 22, 2011 - THE DIRT

New Bridge and Park Reconnects Detroit Neighborhood

A new pedestrian bridge over a freeway has reconnected a Detroit neighborhood with new accessibility and a new park.

June 22, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Which is Greener: Urban Farms or Urban Density?

Edward Glaeser adds "large-scale metropolitan farming" to a list -- which also includes historic preservation -- of barriers to densifying urban development patterns. His argument is that the latter is the greener of the two.

June 21, 2011 - Boston Globe

The History and the Flaws of the Cul-de-Sac

This episode of 99% Invisible looks into the history of the cul-de-sac, and why its design flaws overpower its benefits.

June 21, 2011 - 99% Invisible

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.