Controversies
The city of Berkeley, famed for its radical left politics in the 1960s, is now considered a bastion of anti-development obstructionism. Those politics could be changing, however.
The Bay City Beacon
The question of how and where to grow is causing controversy in Toronto. A recent op-ed picks a side.
Toronto Sun
The new TIF is expected to generate $900 million. Opponents wanted to wait until a new mayor is elected to decide on the TIF.
Chicago Sun-Times
There are more than a few reasons to think that the Obama Presidential Center won't go the way of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which gave up and decamped for Los Angeles.
Chicago Tribune
The AmazonHQ2 circus is packing up and moving to another city.
The New York Times
The opposition to the idea of Amazon locating one of its second headquarters locations in New York City has given the company pause, according to a recent scoop.
The Washington Post
The Central SoMa Plan took more than seven years of planning and debate to approve. A new lawsuit, expected to be just the first of many, threatens to erase all that work.
San Francisco Chronicle
A proposed development in Minneapolis would add affordable units in exchange for extra height. A neighborhood group worries about the precedent the project would set.
Star Tribune
Atlanta has wanted to update its tree ordinance since 2014.
SaportaReport
Angry public outcry wasn't enough to stop the Roanoke City Council from unanimously approving an ambitious transit station reconfiguration in downtown Roanoke.
The Roanoke Times
Housing advocates still expect controversies over the loss of parking to make room for thousands of affordable housing units.
CBC
The New York Times takes a deep dive into the "dark store theory" costing local municipalities millions, and potentially more, in property tax revenues all over the country.
The New York Times
A 2018 law required Airbnb to share the names and addresses of hosts in the New York City. A judge ruled that the mandate violates the 4th Amendment.
Daily News
Controversy surrounds a development deal in the city of SeaTac, after the city made a $15.5 million development deal that could displace a local business community powered by immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The Seattle Times
The borough of Homestead, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh, is in the middle of its first comprehensive planning process since 2001.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Neighborhood groups blocked the construction and completion of a Target-anchored retail complex and a 22-story residential high rise for years. Developers and the city have finally moved forward.
Urbanize.LA
Since a city judge determined the legality of the long controversial Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, Seattle has been able to move forward with the plan to allow new density around the city.
The Seattle Times
The city of Montreal will spend $123 million on the first phase of a project to revamp Ste-Catherine Street, removing 140 on-street parking locations in the process. More parking spots could follow.
Montreal Gazette
One of the most controversial community planning documents in Los Angeles history was approved by the city in 2012 and thrown out by a judge in 2013. The new draft environmental impact report for the plan is now publicly available.
Urbanize LA
Safety advocates in Halifax, Nova Scotia have installed crosswalk flags at over 150 crosswalks in the city. The question is whether the flags make anyone safer.
The Globe and Mail
