Density
Blog post
A month or two ago, COVID-19 was primarily a Northeastern problem. Is that still the case?
Feature
Perceptions of what makes density either "good" or "bad" have shifted over the years, and the pandemic is likely to precipitate another shift.
Facing the potential for accessory dwelling units to win swift legalization in Chicago inspires one columnist to push back.
Chicago Tribune
Chicago residents will have the option of building coach houses or convection units if a new law passes as written through the Chicago City Council.
Chicago Cityscape
An opinion piece makes the case for pro-development urban planning as a tool of economic recovery.
The New York Times
The coronavirus crisis is highlighting the contributions of cities as well as their vulnerabilities and the planning issues that need to be priorities in the future.
The City Fix
In the midst of the pandemic, Americans are expressing a new preference for less crowded spaces, according to the results of a Harris Poll conducted last week.
Axios
Blog post
As in metropolitan New York, big, dense cities don't always suffer from coronavirus to a greater extent than their car-oriented suburbs.
Blog post
Questions about how highly contested questions about the future of the built environment will reference COVID-19 for years to come. The question about whether that debate will achieve any actual change is still very much up for debate.
"Cities of all sizes may soon look less alluring, if drastic drops in income, sales and tourism tax revenue leave gaping holes in budgets," according to this article, which encapsulates a popular school of thought as the pandemic rages.
The New York Times
The public health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus are threatening to further entrench inequality in America—between regions and within cities.
Brookings
Blog post
Only 7 percent of U.S. residents live in the nation's largest metropolitan area (New York). Has that made coronavirus less deadly?
An interview with Michael Berkowitz, former executive director of 100 Resilient Cities, finds a path to the light at the end of the tunnel.
CityLab
Alisa Orduña shares her insight on Santa Monica's COVID-19 response and the pandemic's disruption both on the lives of L.A.'s unhoused and the approach cities take towards crises of public health, safety, and wellbeing, going forward.
The Planning Report
The densest city in the country is struggling with the rapid spread of the virus, and close proximity is likely a primary factor.
The New York Times
Cities have survived terrible infectious diseases before, because the power of concentrated human and economic activity is just so strong. When it’s time to reopen U.S. cities, a few key actions will ensure the future safety and health of all.
Brookings
According to this article, it would be a shame if the coronavirus inspires new levels of skepticism about density and city living.
The New York Times
To encourage recreational walking while practicing social distancing in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the New York City mayor and city council speaker to devise a pilot project to provide for open streets.
CNBC
The inventor of the term missing middle housing has advice on writing zoning codes that effectively deliver on the potential of the tool.
CNU Public Square
Blog post
Numerous writers and experts are already examining the question about what happens to ideas about urbanism in a future forever altered by recent events.
