New York City

New NYC Program Aims to Phase Out its Worst Polluters

By partnering with banks, real estate developers and nonprofit groups, New York City will assist some 10,000 buildings to convert to cleaner fuel, a major step in reaching PlaNYC's goal of having the cleanest air of any major U.S. city.

June 18, 2012 - Good Environment

Park Maintenance Proves To Be a Problem for NYC

"Currently in its greatest period of park expansion since the 1930s," New York City has shown a remarkable commitment to expanding its open spaces, but finding the resources to maintain them is another issue entirely, explains Caitlin Blanchfield.

June 15, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Finding a Kindler, Gentler Way to Alter Driver Behavior

Due to its successful application in cities such as London and Singapore, congestion charging has become the favored approach for changing driver behavior. However, a professor at Stanford University may have found a nicer way to change habits.

June 12, 2012 - The New York Times

Cities Frown Upon Air Conditioned Sidewalks

As the Summer months heat up, Sarah Laskow reports on cities' efforts to keep retailers' doors closed.

June 3, 2012 - GOOD Magazine

Battling For a Bite of the Apple

Matt Brian explores the incredible lengths retail property owners and local authorities are going to lure Apple Stores to their areas.

May 21, 2012 - The Next Web

Harnessing the Power of Water on Its Way to Your Tap

Jim Dwyer takes a look at a proposal to produce clean energy by tapping into New York's extensive and abundantly fed water delivery system.

May 11, 2012 - The New York Times

The Real Story Behind NYC's Bike Share Coup

Neighborhoods skipped, sponsorship indifference, the entire program imperiled? Read what Andrea Bernstein has to report about the items left out of Monday's splashy announcement.

May 9, 2012 - Transportation Nation

Has the NYC Landmarks Commission Gone Rogue?

Tom Stoelker summarizes the tenor of a flurry of bills introduced this week at a City Council hearing that seek to revamp the way business gets done at the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

May 5, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Congestion Pricing: The Key to Better Transit?

Noah Kazis describes the explosive success of transit systems in London, Stockholm, and Singapore, and suggests that charging motorists for road use is the secret ingredient that keeps ridership high and public support strong.

May 3, 2012 - Streetsblog

The High-Tech Urban Experience, Now Standardized

The seven largest metros in the nation are teaming up to unify the technologies that are revolutionizing life in the city, Steve Towns reports.

May 2, 2012 - Governing

America's Top Ten Transit Meccas

Real estate's favorite tool for gauging neighborhood walkability now has a companion for transit, Kaid Benfield reports.

April 26, 2012 - Switchboard

Can Times Square's Makeover Win Back the Heart of New Yorkers?

Justin Davidson examines the latest "reinvention" of Times Square, sealing the deal on a move toward pedestrianization that began three years ago.

April 25, 2012 - New York Magazine

The Biggest NYC Infrastructure Project You Haven't Heard of...

NYC's long-declining waterfront industry is expected to experience a new boom time, as the expansion of the Panama Canal will allow double the cargo and much larger ships to call at New York's harbor by 2024.

April 24, 2012 - MetroFocus

The Dream Team Behind America's Transportation Revolution

In the first of a five-part series, Angie Schmitt pays tribute to three "visionary bureaucrats" who are changing the face of transportation in the United States.

April 20, 2012 - Streetsblog

Planning for New York's "Sixth Borough"

A year after its release, Tom Stoelker tracks the progress of New York's comprehensive plan for its waterfront, Vision 2020, the recent recipient of the APA's Daniel Burnham Award.

April 19, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

For Affordable Housing in NYC, a Bountiful Harvest

Alison Gregor highlights efforts by affordable housing developers to implement edible community gardens, bringing fresh food and neighborhood ties to inner-city tenants.

April 16, 2012 - The New York Times

A Farm Grows in Brooklyn

Last week, plans were announced to create what may be the world's largest rooftop farm on 100,000 square feet of space atop a building on the Brooklyn waterfront. Lisa Foderaro has the details.

April 12, 2012 - The New York Times

In Greenwich Village: a Case for a Planning Landmark, or, Simply, a Dash of Nostalgia

There is a certain irony in community stalwarts in testy Greenwich Village wanting to have the stale housing slabs hovering over the bland park composing Washington Square Village declared an architectural landmark that will somehow thwart New York University from overdeveloping further the singular super block. “Fugataboutit,” would be a relative polite New Yorker’s observation by anyone who has ever been to this dance before, as I have. The plea is really just a feint to get the retro-redevelopment realists involved into a backroom of one of the proposal’s big buck backers to splice and dice the project so it can be swallowed by all without choking to a political death.  

April 11, 2012 - Sam Hall Kaplan

Can Tappan Zee Park Make It Past the Drawing Board?

Plans to transform New York's Tappan Zee Bridge into a park have captured the public's imagination, but some speculate it's just a pipe dream, Peter Applebome reports.

April 6, 2012 - The New York Times

America's Best Bike Cities

With gas prices at an all time high, bike riding has never looked better.  Shermans Travel identifies the top cities to bike through, noting a bounty of amenities to save on costs for the urban biker.

March 29, 2012 - The Huffington Post

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.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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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.