Debates

Presidential Campaign

Urban Planning and the Democratic Debate Field

The Democratic Party will hold a two-day debate event, starting tonight. It's time to brush up on the positions of the leading candidates on policies and politics relate to housing, climate change, and infrastructure.

June 26, 2019 - James Brasuell

Brooklyn

Debating the Qualities of a Changing New York

Is the gritty, diverse New York of yesteryear dying, vanishing, or otherwise ceasing to exist? Depends on who you ask and where you look.

July 23, 2018 - Harper's

Weekend Watch: Video Makes the Case for Light Rail Over Bus Rapid Transit

Here's another entry in the ongoing debate over which public transit mode reigns supreme.

May 5, 2018 - YouTube

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

It's the Tech Industry vs. the Sierra Club in California's Big Housing Debate

California State Senator Scott Wiener made a big splash this month by announcing a package of pro-development bills, and now interest groups are taking sides in a heated debate over housing and density.

January 25, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bean06_Crop

Reexamining Notions of Placemaking

Surveying the public discussion for answers about how to make sense of placemaking.

January 15, 2018 - Arch Daily

Confederate Monuments

The Archaeology of Public Memory and Civic Identity

The Confederate monuments debate invites a broader interdisciplinary conversation about the nature and planning of public commemorative landscapes and, by extension, the identity and soul of a community.

August 21, 2017 - Dean Saitta

The Left Critiques YIMBYism

There are two fundamental flaws with the emergent "YIMBY" approach to planning and development politics, according to this article in an influential magazine of the American left.

August 10, 2017 - Jacobin

USS Arleigh Burke Sailors perform preservation maintenance

In a Perfect World, Maintenance Is the Coolest Trend in Infrastructure

The New York Times opinion section includes a call for society, politicians, and business leaders to recognize the importance of maintenance.

July 26, 2017 - The New York Times

Hope VI Housing

Op-Ed: To Lower Housing Costs, Make it Cheaper and Easier to Build Housing

The argument in the headline, put more specifically: inclusionary zoning, fees, legal challenges, and minimum apartment sizes are counter-productive. The only policy that will add housing stock, is to make it much cheaper to add housing stock.

July 25, 2017 - Sightline Institute

Buffalo, New York

Inclusionary Zoning Proposed for Buffalo—Will it Help or Hurt the Housing Market?

Buffalo is considering policies to support affordable rental housing as demand rises. While inclusionary zoning is controversial everywhere, specific questions about the policy's effectiveness arise in cities with little to no population growth.

June 20, 2017 - The Buffalo News

San Francisco Mural

'Plansplaining' and its Discontents

Yes, planners have expertise to share, but according to this rather pointed critique, they also sometimes forget that other people do too.

May 22, 2017 - CityLimits.org

University of Denver

Has Placemaking Become Cliché?

There’s very little that differentiates proposals by four distinguished planning and design firms to better connect my university to its immediate neighborhood and the wider city. Why is that, and does it have to be that way?

May 15, 2017 - Dean Saitta

Debating Los Angeles' Proposed Affordable Housing Development Fee

A proposed affordable housing development fee has inspired a debate about how far developments fees can go in generating funds for affordable housing before they finally stop development altogether.

April 26, 2017 - KPCC

Amazon Warehouse

Debating the Role of Amazon Delivery Service in the Future Built Environment

The team at Strong Towns is taking an in-depth look at Amazon, with a week of events, including the point-counterpoint series shared here.

April 26, 2017 - Strong Towns

Housing Construction

Ten Ways to Frame Constructive Housing Messages

There are lots of arguments available for people that want to oppose new housing projects, but what are a few guiding principles for framing a supportive and constructive housing conversation?

April 7, 2017 - Sightline Institute

San Francisco

Leading San Francisco Architect Picks a Fight With the City's Planning Department

Architects and planners have to work together, as everyone on both sides of the equation knows. Even though the fields often speak the same language, there still seem to be many moments and ideas lost in translation.

April 5, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Salt Lake City Trax and Bike

Debating the Local-Federal Transit Funding Mix

Devolution—or the end of federal funding for local or regional transit projects—is back on the table, thanks to the Trump Administration. Articles in two prominent media outlets debate the idea.

April 4, 2017 - The Overhead Wire

Evanston, Illinois

Know of Any 'Suburbs in Name Only'?

No cities are entirely urban, or even similar from one neighborhood to the next. The Corner Side Yard has some fun thinking about which Chicago neighborhoods we "Chicago in Name Only" and which of its suburbs are "Suburbs in Name Only."

February 6, 2017 - The Corner Side Yard

Friday Funny: The Infinite New York to Los Angeles Feedback Loop

A satirical New Yorker article nails the perpetual debate between New York and Los Angeles.

January 29, 2016 - The New Yorker

District DOT Considering Stop Consolidation to Speed Up Transit

The tough task of removing bus stops to speed up travel times is on the table in Washington, D.C.

January 28, 2016 - Borderstan

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.