Harvey Morris surveys recent controversies in France, England, and Germany that have stoked the simmering debate over whether the accelerating gentrification of Europe's major cities is leading to the ghettoization of their urban poor.
With the global recession increasing the gap between "the haves and have-nots" in Europe, as in America, the expense of Europe's major cities has continued to rise, further reducing the areas affordable to lower-income residents.
With ghettoization increasing, lower-income residents and their advocates aren't taking the situation lightly; as recent riots in Amiens, criticism of a plan to demolish Communist-era apartment blocks in central Berlin, and opposition to a proposal to sell municipally-owned homes in expensive neighborhoods in Britain, and move their low-income tenants elsewhere, attest.
Read the full story: Europe’s Cities: Gentrification or Ghettoization?
The Growing Urban Inequality Gap, Visualized
Inequality is growing faster in large metropolitan areas, according to a New York Times data visualization.
Op-Ed: Only Half of San Francisco is Changing
Using a mid 20th-century painting as his point of reference, Benjamin Schneider points out that the vast, disruptive changes we often associate with San Francisco are only affecting the city's eastern side.
As Cities Have Changed, So Have Richard Florida's Ideas
Call it the re-education, the evolution, or the contrition of Richard Florida, but the "rock-star urbanist" has realized some unintended consequences of his creative class ethos, and he's ready to share a new vision for cities.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello