Land Use

Bringing the Creative Class to Wales

BBC News reports on a development touting itself as an 'urban village' that hopes to rejuvenate run-down High Street in Swansea, U.K. It features a series of courtyards with shops, offices, restaurants and apartments.

April 14, 2010 - BBC News

Ambitious Plan for San Francisco's Treasure Island

Plans for a re-envisioned Treasure Island are reaching the approval stage. John King takes a close look at the ambitious plan, which includes lots of protected open space and a 650 ft. tower.

April 14, 2010 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Giving an Identity and Purpose to Governors Island

The New York Times takes a look at plans to redesign Governors Island, control of which was recently take over by the City of New York.

April 14, 2010 - The New York Times

Salt Lake Suburb Pins Hopes On Downtown Revival

South Salt Lake is seeking to revive itself economically by creating a downtown entertainment district connected by a streetcar.

April 14, 2010 - The Salt-Lake Tribune

Smart Growth Worries School Board

The school board of Chicopee, Massachusetts is concerned that a proposed smart growth district would overwhelm the school system.

April 14, 2010 - The Republican

Boston Proper Cheaper Than Burbs

A new report from ULI maps out the 'housing plus transportation' costs in all Boston neighborhoods. Turns out living in the heart of the city is cheaper than the outer neighborhoods.

April 13, 2010 - Streetsblog

New York City Takes Over Governor's Island

The City has reached a deal to take over 172-acres of undeveloped land from the State, and redevelopment possibilities are flooding in - public park, high school, commercial buildings, NYU satellite campus, and more.

April 12, 2010 - New York Times

Solution for Shrinking Cities: Art and Parks

After unification, many East German towns began losing jobs and population. In 2003, the government formed a group to study how these cities could best recover. The results are in.

April 12, 2010 - Speigel International

Suburbs Exist Because People Want Them

Developers, planners, and city officials haven't been insisting on regulations protecting low-density residential all these years -- the people who live there have, says Kevin Drum at Mother Jones.

April 12, 2010 - Mother Jones

2,029 Urban Gardens

Vancouver set a goal of creating 2,010 food gardens around the city by the time of the 2010 Olympics, and managed to reach that number (and a little more).

April 12, 2010 - The Vancouver Courier

Bay Area Rediscovers the Creeks Under The Streets

A new proposal in Berkeley to daylight a portion of Strawberry Creek is the latest in a lineage of small interventions to bring buried portions of the urban watershed to the surface.

April 10, 2010 - Streetsblog San Francisco

Completing the Grid to Improve Walkability

Grist's David Roberts maps out why his neighborhood is not walkable and how it could be greatly improved with just a little extra infrastructural connectivity.

April 10, 2010 - Grist

America's Best New Urban Parks

The Infrastructurist lists the top new urban parks that have been built in the U.S. in recent years.

April 9, 2010 - The Infrastructurist

Kotkin and Clubs

In a widely-read review of Joel Kotkin's book, a statistic claiming that suburban dwellers join significantly more social clubs than urban residents is called into question by Robert Steuteville.

April 9, 2010 - New Urban News

Planning for Sustainability, Japanese-Style

Artist and student of architecture Azby Brown has spent 25 years in Japan, and today sees a number of design principles that drive the Japanese way of building and living that can be used by designers.

April 8, 2010 - Design Observer

Portland Demoted to America's Second Most Bike-Friendly City

The city of Portland is in a state of shock after being de-throned as America's most bike-friendly city.

April 8, 2010 - The Oregonian

Haiti Needs Old Urbanism, Not New

Plans for rebuilding Haiti have a strikingly New Urbanist tinge. But some say Haiti's economic situation isn't ready for a New Urbanist approach.

April 8, 2010 - Fast Company

Wind Goes From Curse to Boon for Struggling Texas Town

Roscoe, Texas is a rural town that was declining by degrees for decades, with a fierce wind that made crops difficult. A local started a wind farm business and the town is turning around, turning its curse into a blessing.

April 7, 2010 - NEWS21

Farming Settles into the City

The idea of urban farming has gone from fringe to functional, with backyards plots and small infill operations teeming across North America. Lloyd Alter takes a look at the trend.

April 7, 2010 - Azure Magazine

Want Your TOD To Work? Add Parking

A panel of experts at a ULI Los Angeles came together to talk best practices for transit-oriented development. Their recommendations include better security, improved connectivity, and yes, more parking.

April 6, 2010 - The Ground Floor (ULI)

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.

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.