Urban Density

The Mathematics in Support of Urban Density
The strongest case for urban density can't be made in terms of aesthetics, according to this article.

San Diego High-Speed Rail Plan Counts on Future Density
Despite slowing population growth statewide, officials believe the region will "grow into" the new rail system if cities promote dense development around transit stations.

Opinion: How Trader Joe's Nailed its Pandemic Response
Cities could learn from the grocery store chain's successful navigation of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiny Houses—Not a Big Enough Solution
We shouldn’t have to scale down the idea of basic economic security to fit inside the dimensions of a tiny house. But that’s precisely what we’re doing.

Seattle Light Rail Expansion Brings Redevelopment Boom
The city’s Northgate Link extension has spurred development around the new stations, and one neighborhood is poised to change dramatically.

Study: Housing Crisis Stems from Inequality (Not Zoning)
A new paper examines the impacts of broad economic trends—like inequality, job markets, and migration—on housing markets in the nation's major metropolitan areas.

Gas Prices and Vehicle Miles Traveled Analyzed Since 2000
Urban economist Joe Cortright examines the connection between gas prices and driving in the U.S. over the last two decades. Prices matter: increased gas prices results in decreased driving, providing the prices persist for the long-term.

San Francisco's Outer Neighborhoods Fear Change from Housing Bill
Legislation from a former supervisor could transform much of San Francisco, particularly the outer-neighborhoods, by increasing heights and density along transit corridors. Opposition is growing.

New York City Congestion Pricing Plan Deserves to Move Forward
Congestion pricing, done right (details matter), mitigates a downside of urban density: traffic congestion. Professor John Rennie Short explores the history of congestion pricing, its application in Singapore and London, and why it's good for NYC.

Density and Activity Near Transit, Explained for the Twin Cities Regional Transportation Plan
The Metropolitan Planning Council offers guidance on how regional planning efforts around the Twin Cities should address the connections between land use and transit.

Regardless of Cost, New York Must Rehabilitate its Crown Jewel: the Subway
Depending on what's included, the cost to rebuild the ailing 665-mile system could be $111 billion, but the city's future depends on it. A feature-length New York Times Magazine piece looks at its history and suggests ways to finance rebuilding.

How Dense Cities Reap Green Benefits
What they may lack in peace and quiet, crowded cities more than make up for by requiring residents to live smaller. Tangible environmental benefits follow.

Allowing Higher Density to Fix Slums
Despite its economic dynamism, Mumbai is known for a lack of adequate housing. Citywide increases to maximum Floor Space Indices (i.e., Floor Area Ratios) will increase living space per resident, provided the right redevelopment takes place.

Can a Parking Garage Village be Livable?
Students in Atlanta have designed a tiny house village inside a parking garage to help better understand how livable micro-housing projects can be.

Southern Fried Urbanism
You do not hear much talk about meaningful urbanism in the Southeast U.S. Until political winds shift, don't expect that to change.
The Chemistry of Safer, Denser Cities
While the middle class sought the refuge in the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s, it turns out that the crime they were fleeing had nothing to do with density, race, or even blight. Mother Jones magazine suggest that it was all because of lead.
How Technology Is 'Amplifying the Benefits of Urban Density'
Edward L. Glaeser takes the recent purchase of Zipcar by Avis as the jumping-off point for an essay on the ways that technology, which once aided the sprawling suburban lifestyle, can now amplify the sharing of infrastructure by city dwellers.
Is a New Vision for Stockholm Meant to Sway or Scare?
As cities across the world look for ways to blend higher densities to accommodate the increased demand for urban living, a recent proposal for how to solve Stockholm's critical lack of housing in the core of the city may define "inelegant density."
New Census Numbers Detail Surprising Facts About Urban Density
John King considers a new report released by the Census Bureau on Monday, which finds that of the ten most densely populated urbanized areas in the United States, nine are in the West.
Which is Greener: Urban Farms or Urban Density?
Edward Glaeser adds "large-scale metropolitan farming" to a list -- which also includes historic preservation -- of barriers to densifying urban development patterns. His argument is that the latter is the greener of the two.
Pagination
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
City of Bakersfield
Standridge Inc.
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service