Urban Design
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Considering Mindfulness as an Urban Planner's Tool
A recent blog post in Substack considers the appropriation of mindfulness to urban observation and, implicitly, urban planning today.
Did the Pandemic Spur Radical Urban Change?
The Covid era highlighted social inequities and prompted new paradigms for urbanism and mobility. Will they stick around?
Vernacular Architecture in the Era of Climate Change
We no longer have time for design that ignores the climate crisis. Building and community design must respond to this new context to successfully meet people’s needs.
Can Urban Design Truly Impact Loneliness?
Some theorists want to design cities to reduce loneliness and isolation. Others want to accommodate them.
Fighting the ‘Loneliness Epidemic’ in Cities
While urban design alone can’t mend the tears in our social fabric, planning decisions and thoughtful, inclusive design can offer or hinder opportunities for interaction.
How Cities Can Avoid Perpetuating Segregation
Residents of big cities, known as the ‘melting pots’ of America, have fewer interactions with people outside their socioeconomic group than those in smaller communities, according to new research.
How Urban Design Impacts Public Health
With more and more people living in cities, designing equitably healthy urban spaces becomes a key question for policymakers.
Finding Beauty in Adaptive Reuse
The summer issue of Metropolis Magazine calls on designers to embrace the beauty in circularity.
How the ‘Social Field of View’ Impacts Street Life
The vibrancy of a neighborhood may be defined by what people can see in their immediate vicinity.
AI and Downtown Recovery: Missing the Mark in Seattle?
In his fourth GeekWire article on downtown recovery, Chuck Wolfe reviews the use of AI imagery in a section of the Seattle Downtown Activation Plan and suggests how it may have missed the mark.
Livable Streets, Revisited
The updated version of Donald Appleyard’s 1982 book Livable Streets, written by Appleyard's son, dives even deeper into the ‘ecology of the street,’ proposing actionable solutions for the conflicts and problems facing urban environments today.
Reshaping Cities for Present-Day Populations
The demographic changes of the last few years give city planners and urban designers an opportunity to reimagine how public spaces can most effectively promote public health, wellbeing, and equity.
City Dwellers Happiest in Parks, Angry at Transit Stops
An analysis of geotagged tweets reveals that city dwellers express positive emotions in green spaces and restaurants, while bus stops and transit elicited more frustrated reactions.
Lonely by Design: How Urban Planning Can Intensify Social Isolation
Walkable neighborhoods, access to parks, and opportunities for social interaction can help reduce the burden of loneliness and promote community. But many of our cities aren’t built this way.
Ambulances vs. Pedestrians
Are the needs of emergency response vehicles inconsistent with nondrivers’ needs for slower, safer streets? Maybe not.
How to Include Community Ideas in Urban Development
Urban planners are obligated to sensible and efficient development, but can also take community ideas into account. By prioritizing concerns and thoughts and keeping the future in mind, planners can develop optimal urban communities.
‘Roku City’ Would Be a Desirable Place to Live—if it was Real
A streaming box screen saver exhibits better urbanism than many real-life cities.
A New Vision for Dallas’ Dealey Plaza
After decades of neglect, a team of designers reimagines the infamous plaza as a safe, vibrant, multimodal public space.
When Nostalgia Impedes Progress
Urban design critic John King urges fellow Berkeley residents to embrace change and growth.
Pagination
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.