Land Use

A U.S. Planner's Experience In Iraq

A planner and Army Reservist from Florida talks about his time spent working on planning issues in Iraq, and relates it to his experiences as a city planner in the U.S.

July 17, 2007 - The Ledger

Tree Replacement Project Sparks Protests In Santo Domingo

Residents of the Dominican capital are outraged by the government's move to cut down mature trees in the city's colonial areas.

July 16, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

A Checklist For Good Planning

Harris Steinberg, director of PennPraxis of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania, offers 10 steps for good urban planning.

July 16, 2007 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Book Review: Worthy Of The Nation

The second edition of this seminal historical planning study of Washington, D.C. offers readers an in-depth look at the city's birth and creation.

July 16, 2007 - Matthew B. Gilmore

A New Model For Urban Infill

When residents of Denver's Curtis Park neighborhood learned of a plan to build an apartment complex on a small lot, they formed the Curtis Park Investors Group (CPIG) to purchase the land. Then they built something else.

July 16, 2007 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

California 2050: Sprawl Or Skyscrapers?

Study predicts that by 2050 California's population will grow by 75%. Experts weigh in on what this means to planning for the state's growth.

July 10, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

A Recipe For Grassroots Community Building

A new book bills itself as a do-it-yourself guide for residents looking to strengthen the sense of community it their neighborhood.

July 10, 2007 - Pioneer Press

The Vacant Building Syndrome

In this new column, award-winning journalist and author Roberta Brandes Gratz reports on urban development crises around the country and the opportunities they present for positive action.

July 8, 2007 - The Next American City

Report Calls For Changes In Development Patterns

A new report calls on planners in the metropolitan Boston area to significantly alter housing development patterns to avoid a severe loss of land and natural resources by 2030.

July 6, 2007 - The Boston Globe

The New Metropolitanism?

Good middle class suburbs aren't sustainable without a vibrant city, and vice versa, argues a recent article in the Houston Chronicle.

July 5, 2007 - The Houston Chronicle

How Poor Planning Creates Slums

By ignoring the "spinoff" effects of urban growth and sprawl, planners in Jamaica have unwittingly encouraged the creation of slums and overcrowded urban centers, according to experts.

July 4, 2007 - Jamaica Gleaner

New Development In Scenic West Creates Catastrophic Fire Risk

New wave of development in scenic areas adjacent to federal lands in the western United States ignore fire risks.

July 2, 2007 - The New York Times

Straw Men In A Sprawl World

Smart growth isn't an attack on the middle class, and those who argue as such are simply misrepresenting facts to distract from the real issues that planners are trying to mitigate.

July 2, 2007 - Michael Dudley

Who Pays The Cost Of Living In Paradise?

The cost of living in California keeps on rising. Who is paying for it?

July 2, 2007 - Abhijeet Chavan

Infrastructure Capacity May Limit Smart Growth Plans

Ordinances in several Maryland counties that limit development were schools and sewers are in short supply may thwart the state's efforts to focus development in built-up areas.

July 1, 2007 - The Washington Times

Suburban Richmond Wrestles With 'Smart' Growth?

Chesterfield County's bucolic way of life is threatened by the arrival of new suburban subdivisions, which residents challenge don't meet the test of smart growth.

June 30, 2007 - Style Weekly

Downtown Malling Continues To Haunt Some Cities

The Silicon Valley cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale are alike in many ways. But their downtowns offer a study in contrasts because of land use decisions made 30 years ago.

June 29, 2007 - California Planning & Development Report

Geologists Warn Major Development Project Could Endanger Galveston

Plan for 4,000 new homes and two hotels could threaten Galveston, TX, which was hit by the deadliest hurricane in American history.

June 28, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

High Density Housing Element Overruled

A district appeals court ruling has invalidated the housing element of San Francisco's general plan, arguing that the environmental consequences of the plan's increased density were not considered.

June 27, 2007 - The San Francisco Chronicle

A New Species of Mall Rat Evolving?

The second largest mall owner in the nation will redevelop over 200 of its properties into mixed-use centers.

June 27, 2007 - New Urban News

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.