Coronavirus and Urbanism

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Pennsylvania

Developers Rush to Build in Final Days of Philly's Tax Abatement

Neighborhoods that have been stubbornly resistant to investment for decades are suddenly the scene of waves of permitting activity as the city of Philadelphia prepares to tighten its tax abatement program.

August 12, 2020 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Houston, Austin, and College Station

Not Just New York: Reports of an Urban Exodus From Houston

A recent article about Houston residents fleeing the city for College Station reads a lot like articles about New Yorkers decamping for less urban climes.

August 11, 2020 - Houston Chronicle

New York Manhattan Chinatown

Opinion: Upzone Now to Improve Commutes in the Post-Lockdown Future

Building more housing where people work is a simple way to come out of the pandemic with a stronger sense of community and shorter commutes, according to this article.

August 11, 2020 - City and State New York

Digital City

How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Ideas of the 'Smart City'

Accelerated investment in smart city technologies presents increased opportunity for connection and data-driven decision making, so long as cities can avoid the common pitfalls of implementation.

August 5, 2020 - Citymetric

Tassafaronga Village Oakland California

Affordable Housing Production Grinds to a Halt During Pandemic

Just when the nation needs a functional market for affordable housing, the industry that builds affordable housing supply has stopped functioning, like to many other parts of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 5, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

San Fernando Valley

Friday Funny: Al Fresco on the Freeway

Fake news site The Onion imagines the logical result of car-centric planning during a pandemic.

July 31, 2020 - The Onion

Elevator Public health

Adaptive Reuse Proposal Responds to COVID-19

Designers have gone back to the drawing board to keep proposals moving through the development pipeline in light of lessons from the pandemic.

July 30, 2020 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Coronavirus in Oregon

The Great Debate: Will the Pandemic Alter the Course of Urbanism?

The geography for the coronavirus has changed, but most of the debate about the future of cities continues along many of the same lines as in the early months of the pandemic.

July 27, 2020 - James Brasuell

Hong Kong

The Greener Side of Hong Kong: Five Parks to Visit

Most people only know Hong Kong as an urban jungle and one of the densest cities in the world. However, there are actually green places where its residents can go for exercise and relaxation.

July 17, 2020 - South China Morning Post

African American

New Homes Selling Like Hotcakes

New homes, located mostly on the fringe of developed areas, are selling at a torrid pace this summer.

July 14, 2020 - CNBC

COVID-19

Resurgence Delayed—or a Pandemic Exodus?

In this interview with Emily Badger of the New York Times, Natalie Moore of WBEZ Chicago, and Amanda Kolson Hurley of Bloomberg Businessweek, Slate's Henry Grabar asks about the future viability of America's cities and suburbs in a time of COVID-19

July 14, 2020 - Slate

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Pandemic-Proof Real Estate: Whither NYC?

The president of Hudson Companies and The Planning Report’s first editor, David Kramer, discusses New York City’s COVID response and recovery and its likely impact on multifamily housing development going forward.

July 10, 2020 - The Planning Report

Coronavirus Map

19 Ways to Redesign the World in the Covid-19 Era

POLITICO Magazine surveyed designers, architects, planners, doctors, psychologists, logisticians, and others, asking them how they would redesign the world for the Covid-19 era and beyond.

July 8, 2020 - Politico Magazine

San Francisco Parklet

How Local Planners Can Lead a Proactive, Aggressive Response to the Pandemic

The novel coronavirus has so far preyed on the most vulnerable in cities, as a result of the planning failures of the previous century. Planners today can take steps to reverse that reality, if they reclaim their historic role.

July 8, 2020 - Democracy

Newtown Creek

Measuring the Coronavirus Effect on Development in Brooklyn, Queens

Two development markets charged by an early 2000s rezoning will test the reach of the coronavirus in New York City's development market.

July 8, 2020 - The New York Times

Coronavirus and Transportation

More Riders on Buses Than the Subway in New York City, in a Historic First

Buses in New York City are proving to be a crucial tool as New York recovers from a brutal experience at the beginning of the pandemic.

July 7, 2020 - The New York Times

Riverside, California

COVID-19, YIMBY, and PHIMBY

How will COVID-19 and its economic consequences affect housing supply?

July 6, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

Chelsea Square Restaurant in Chelsea in in New York

'Open Restaurants on Open Streets' Program Announced in NYC

The al fresco streets concept is coming to New York City.

July 6, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Standard Hotel

The All-New High Line

With travel restrictions requiring quarantines for many out-of-state visitors to New York City, the normal hordes of tourists on New York's High Line will be absent for months to come.

July 3, 2020 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus Social Distancing

Does Density Aggravate the COVID-19 Pandemic? Early Findings and Lessons for Planners

A new study finds that county density is not significantly related to the infection rate, but higher density counties have significantly lower virus-related mortality rates than those with lower densities, possibly due to superior health care.

July 2, 2020 - Journal Of The American Planning Association

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.