Redevelopment

Google street view of parking lot with cars in Spokane, Washington, Washington.

Spokane Could Tax Parking Lots 12% to Increase Development

A proposal before the city council would tax surface parking lots in an effort to boost infill development.

November 27, 2025 - The Spokesman-Review

View from top of hill in San Francisco with people walking down sidewalk next to historic Victorian homes.

San Francisco Mayor’s ‘Family Zoning’ Plan Faces Pushback, Displacement Concerns

Newly proposed legislation aims to protect long-term tenants from displacement caused by Mayor Lurie’s proposed zoning reform plan, which would allow for more housing construction in parts of the city.

September 15, 2025 - San Francisco Examiner

Bright yellow, pink, and green historic wooden houses in New Orleans, Louisiana.

20 Years After Katrina, New Orleans is More Unaffordable Than Ever

The city’s post-hurricane redevelopment has failed to include its most vulnerable residents.

September 2, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Historic abandoned brick buildings in Baltimore with boarded-up windows.

Does Historic Preservation Really Define a “Successful” City?

One common argument against new housing is that a successful city is an historic city. The data says otherwise.

September 2, 2025 - Michael Lewyn

Former Lincoln Heights jail, now abandoned, with graffiti on white Art Deco stone walls in Los Angeles, California.

Opinion: As Prison Populations Drop, Shuttered Facilities Offer Opportunity

The redevelopment of hundreds of former military bases in the 1980s provides a model for how similar facilities can be repurposed to serve the surrounding communities.

August 10, 2025 - Governing

Front view of Art Deco 1933 Los Angeles County General Hospital building

Revitalizing LA’s Historic General Hospital

Los Angeles County is transforming its historic General Hospital into a mixed-use community with housing, healthcare, and green space — an ambitious project aimed at revitalizing underserved neighborhoods while preserving a cultural landmark.

August 5, 2025 - CoStar News

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

July 6, 2025 - Parking Reform Network

Looking up at high-rise office buildings in New York City.

Office Conversions Have Increased Every Year This Decade

Since the pandemic, office vacancy rates remain high, leading many cities to adjust zoning codes to accommodate adaptive reuse.

June 26, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Rendering of proposed 38-story tower in downtown Portland, Maine.

Downtown Portland Ready for Maine's Tallest Building

The city of Portland anticipates a major new urban development addition called the “Old Port Square” project.  

June 22, 2025 - News Center Maine

Large crowd on street in San Francisco, California during Oktoberfest festival.

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns

In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

June 2, 2025 - Robbie Silver

Kingsbridge Armory, large hangar-like brick building in the Bronx, New York City with brick lower floors and glass/metal curved roof..

A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard

After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.

April 9, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

Looking up at office buildings from various eras in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnesota Seeks State Support for Office Conversions

The 30% “CUB credit” would support the conversion of buildings 15 years or older into any use that “will return that vacant area to an income-producing, habitable condition.”

April 7, 2025 - Minnesota Reformer

Downtown Providence, Rhode Island.

From Plan to Place: Providence’s Downtown Renaissance

Providence’s downtown is transforming from plan to place. Decades of strategic planning, zoning reforms, & investment are paying off, creating a more vibrant, walkable urban core. Here’s how thoughtful policy and design are shaping the city’s future.

February 5, 2025 - * A Placemaking Journal

Street in Charlestown, Indiana.

Charlestown, Indiana Announces City Square Improvement Project

Charlestown, Indiana announces a City Square Improvement Project after its Redevelopment Commission acquires a vacant 20-year-old building in the Jennings Plaza downtown.

February 3, 2025 - WDRB

Minneapolis, Minnesota skyline with river and bridge in foreground.

Looking Back on 60 Years of Land Development in the Twin Cities

In 1960, about 12 percent of the Twin Cities metro's land was already developed. By 2020, about 34 percent had been developed. Many factors influenced how the region has changed since 1960.

January 12, 2025 - Metropolitan Council: Metro Update

Aerial view of Erie, Pennsylvania.

Opinion: Congress Should Expand the Opportunity Zone Program

The federal economic development program has brought over $100 billion in private investment to revitalize struggling communities.

January 3, 2025 - Governing

View of pavilion rooftop on Toledo riverfront.

The Glass City’s Riverfront Sparkles with Promise

How Toledo is transforming its waterfront into a beloved community space.

December 22, 2024 - Scott Carpenter

Gas Works Park with old, rusty coal gasification equipment in Seattle, Washington.

Revitalizing Cities Through Soil Health, Green Spaces, and Nature-Based Remediation

Investing in soil health, urban parks, and nature-based solutions for brownfield remediation is essential for creating resilient cities, restoring ecosystems, and improving community well-being.

November 26, 2024 - Center for Creative Land Recycling

MMC Bronx Norwood Montefiore Medical Center campus as viewed from North Central Bronx Hospital in 2018.

In the Bronx, Planning a More Vibrant Future for a Hospital Campus – and its Community

How an integrated approach to redevelopment is transforming a formerly isolated medical campus into a valuable community amenity.

November 21, 2024 - Mike Aziz

Colorful paper banners strung across street in historic tourist neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas.

Placemaking in the Barrio: Conceptualizing Infill Development in Disenfranchised Communities

How one San Antonio neighborhood could approach sustainable revitalization while supporting the existing community and drawing on its rich and diverse history and cultural resources.

November 5, 2024 - Matthew Reyes

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.

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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.