Land Use
Looking at Urban Design Through a Public Health Lens
New York City's Health Commissioner has urban design in his sights as he seeks to improve public health in the city.
Grassroots Planning Transforming Waterfront in Corpus Christi, TX
A group of citizens calling themselves Destination Bayfront have led the charge to turn their underused waterfront into a destination hotspot.
Residents vs. Opera-Singing Waiters
Colloseo, a restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach, wants to feature Luca, their opera-singing waiter, as part of the ambience. The Telegraph Hill Dwellers, an influential neighborhood situation, says no.
Top 10 Books - 2011
Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."
Failures in Thailand's Shopping Mall Urbanism
Shopping malls are scattered all over Bangkok. On one hand they create a distinct urban setting in the city, but they also fall far short of creating actual community, according to this post.
High Speed Rail Versus Historic Tree
A historic tree near the campus of Stanford University is the centerpiece of a fight to redirect California's planned high speed rail project.
An Ecological Urbanism or a New Urbanism?
Urban Omnibus offers a summary of the recent debate that went down over the future of Harvard's Graduate School of Design concerning urban design, landscape urbanism and new urbanism.
Dome City Dreamed for Abandoned Siberian Mine
A Russian construction company wants to build a 100,000-person city in an abandoned diamond mine, and cover it with a dome.
An Even More Urban Future in Japan
Major developments have been popping up all over Japan's heavily urbanized cities. This piece from The Diplomat looks at what urban future lies ahead for Japan.
Planner Malpractice?
Amanda Thompson, planning director of Decatur, GA, suggests that it is a good thing there isn't such a thing as "designer malpractice" or planners would be sued for the horrible impact their work has had on the public health.
Rethinking Detroit
Detroit reporter John Gallagher's new book "Reimagining Detroit" considers what it will take to remake The Motor City into a model that will work for the future.
The Evolving Attitude of Environmentalists
Passage of a bill in Berkeley that allows taller buildings to be built in the city's downtown illustrates changing attitudes about development amongst environmentalists.
Officials Fight to Remediate Contamination Underneath Main Olympic Site
A heavily contaminated site formerly used for chemical storage in East London provides an expensive lesson in urban brownfield remediation for government officials preparing the city for the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games.
Quantifying the Impact of Abandoned Properties in Philly
A new study suggests that Philadelphia's 40,000 vacant buildings reduce home values by as much as $8,000 and cost the city $20 million per year in maintenance.
The Not-Quite-20-Minute Neighborhood
Portland wants to create a series of "20-minute neighborhoods" -- places where people can walk, within 20 minutes, to most of the places they need to go and the services they need. Some neighborhoods are already there, but others have a ways to go.
The Wisdom and Future of Short-Run Transit
By looking at three Los Angeles examples of very short rail lines, writer Alissa Walker suggests that seemingly pointless but fun transit systems could be the best way to use transit to improve urban areas.
Livability Means Being Poor and Eating Only Iceberg Lettuce
Robert Steuteville comments on a recent article by Alan Pisarski that he says "regurgitates many of the heavy-handed arguments of the pro-sprawl, pro-highway crowd" in reaction to the Obama Administration's livability agenda.
New L.A. Planning Codes Could Create 'Transit Sprawl'
A new group of activists in Los Angeles is warning that recently approved changes to the city's planning code could make it easier for transit-related projects to be approved even if they are not in alignment with neighborhood planning documents.
Urban Agriculture Program Gets Boost in Oakland
A small-scale urban agriculture project in Oakland, California is set to receive a $4 million grant to expand its work.
Glowing Trees Light the Way
Researchers in Taiwan have discovered that gold nanoparticles can create luminescence in tree leaves, opening the possibility of glowing trees that cold act as streetlights.
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
