Gentrification

Is Gentrification on Tap at Philadelphia's Pop-Up Beer Gardens?

Danya Henninger reports on the local controversy over a pop-up beer garden in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze.

June 8, 2015 - Billy Penn

Street Musician

Street Performers: Nuisance or Necessity?

With its eclectic music scene, Asheville, North Carolina is a popular spot for street musicians. They can bring a vibrancy the town might suffer without. But some residents fear a rise in panhandling and homelessness.

May 31, 2015 - The New York Times

Tacos and Beer

Trendy Chicago Taco Bell to Serve Alcoholic Drinks

Would you like a cerveza with that? A hip neighborhood in Chicago will play host to the first alcohol-serving Taco Bell. Isolated incident, or the future of fast food?

May 29, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

The Real Estate Rebound Comes to Southwest Denver

The Denver Post reports that a forgotten corner of Denver is showing signs of recovery from the foreclosure crisis.

May 26, 2015 - The Denver Post

Gentrification Concerns Ride Light Rail in Seattle

As Seattle considers a $900 million levy proposed by Mayor Ed Murray, locals are already wondering if new transit investments are precursor of unwanted gentrification.

May 13, 2015 - Seattle Weekly

Controversial Housing Moratorium Proposed for San Francisco's Mission District

San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who represents the popular Mission District, has proposed a 45-day moratorium on market-rate, multifamily residential development. A ballot measure is possible.

May 12, 2015 - San Francisco Examiner

Staten Island Ferry "Spirit of America"

The Rise of the Fifth Borough

With real estate prices rising in the other boroughs, Staten Island is starting to look more like Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Extensive retail and residential developments are underway in what has always been New York City's suburban borough.

April 25, 2015 - New York Times

Oregon Capitol

Oregon Moves to Lift Inclusionary Zoning Ban

By a vote split (nearly) down the party line, the Oregon House passed a bill to end state restrictions on inclusionary zoning. Municipalities may soon be able to require below-market pricing.

April 24, 2015 - Bike Portland

Hipster Cyclists

Op-Ed: Stop the Hipster Hate

Un-American to some, symbol of oblivious privilege to others, the urban hipster is a polarizing character. But the stereotype also lays blanket criticism on those simply trying to make people-scaled cities work.

April 22, 2015 - kevinklinkenberg.com

Philadelphia Jewelers' Row

Luxury Condos Versus Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row

Downtown gentrification threatens to displace skilled artisans in a district where workshops go back five generations. Some of the jewelers own their premises, but the rewards for building pricey condos are tempting.

April 14, 2015 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Seattle Residents Look to Community Land Trusts to Insulate from Displacement

Community land trusts are gaining popularity as a tool for building and protecting affordable housing. Seattle residents are the latest to consider the option in the face of rapid gentrification and displacement.

April 14, 2015 - Seattle Transit Blog

Study: 8,000 Latinos Have Left the Mission Since 2000

A recent study by the Council of Community Housing Organizations and the Mission Economic Development Agency puts some hard numbers to the displacement forces weeping through a historically Latino neighborhood in San Francisco.

April 5, 2015 - San Francisco Examiner

Latino Neighborhood

Can Gentrification Integrate Neighborhoods?

Hector Tobar argues that despite the well-documented ills of gentrification, under the right circumstances it can eat into long decades of racial segregation. Eastern Los Angeles may be a prime test case.

April 2, 2015 - New York Times

Diversity Leads to Tranquility in Astoria, Queens

The community was long known as predominantly Greek and Italian, but tensions existed with the African-American community. As whites moved to the suburbs, they were replaced with a "poly-glot mix" without the tensions. Next challenge: gentrification.

March 31, 2015 - NPR Code Switch

Gentrification

Grassroots Activists Take On Evictions, Displacement

On the ground, combating gentrification means putting a stop to cost-driven displacement and evictions. Grassroots organizations in some of the hardest-hit cities have dedicated themselves to that task.

March 31, 2015 - Next City

North view

Urban Farming Gains a Foothold in Houston

Operated by a pair of brothers, Finca Tres Robles is one of several Houston farms coaxing fresh produce from unused urban land. Increasingly, urban farmers compete with developers for space.

March 29, 2015 - OffCite

Accessory Dwelling Unit

The Trouble with Legalizing Illegal Units

The recent example of a dramatic rent increase in San Francisco may be less about loopholes in current housing laws and more about failing to consider all the implications of rushed legislation.

March 24, 2015 - Reuben Duarte

Transit Rendering

Architectural Renderings Depict Only the 'Wired and Young'

John King shares his thoughts on modern renderings. In too many drawings a hipster cult of youth is normalized, and it threatens to paint regular folks and true nonconformists out of the picture.

March 24, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Rich Suburban House

Affluence Still at Home in the Suburbs

Commentators often say an influx of wealth is transforming American cities. But if prosperity is really still suburban, what are the consequences for the environment?

March 19, 2015 - Grist

Alberta Arts District Mural Portland

A Response to the Loss of Black Communities in Portland

A five-minute video funded by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation tells the story of black communities struggling to preserve their traditions in what's been called the whitest city in the United States.

March 17, 2015 - Oregon Humanities

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.

Top Books

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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.