Urban Planning

LA Ciclavia

Can L.A.’s Streets Be Great? Deputy Mayor Rick Cole Opines

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation Rick Cole shares his views on the critical ingredients necessary for the city to improve its thoroughfares at a Urban Land Institute-Los Angeles’ panel discussion titled "Can LA’s Streets Be Great?"

March 16, 2014 - The Planning Report

Urban Planning Fundamental: Facilitate a Strong Labor Market

Wendell Cox reviews a new working paper by Alain Bertaud called “Cities as Labor Markets.” Cox calls the lesson contained therein “Urban Planning 101” and a “much needed midcourse correction to urban planning around the world.”

March 6, 2014 - New Geography

Edinburgh

Why Urban History Matters

Chuck Wolfe's recent reconnaissance of Edinburgh provides a foil for his rallying cry: Going forward, let’s not discount the influence of history’s recurring themes in how we redevelop the urban realm.

March 4, 2014 - myurbanist

Shanghai Maglev

The Future is Cities

Cities are growing faster than you can say megalopolis. But as populations around the world shift to urban areas, cities are also focal points for global challenges—water, energy, health. MIT is working to address these issues.

February 20, 2014 - Spectrvm

Aberdeen Charrette

4 Steps to Highly Engaging Plan Documents

Plan documents tend to be static, long, and—let's face it—boring. See how three planning organizations started thinking outside the PDF box to encourage more informed citizen participation.

February 15, 2014 - Engaging Cities

Holiday Gifts

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Plan-Nerd

Holiday gift recommendations for your urban planning geek friend or family member (or yourself) from L.A.'s ultra-plan-nerd, Clement Lau.

December 15, 2013 - UrbDeZine.com

Making the Camera Your Friend

The role of photography in urban planning should not be underestimated. Visual communication is incredibly important and powerful. Michael Heater provides a guide to using photos to remember, inspire, and create.

October 14, 2013 - APA

Bill Fulton On What It Will Take to Rebuild San Diego's Planning Department

Bill Fulton, noted Smart Growth advocate and Director of Planning for the City of San Diego, looks to rebuild a department and pass community plans in the wake of San Diego's leadership crisis. In this interview, he describes the path ahead.

September 26, 2013 - The Planning Report

HackNY Hackathon

How Can Techies and Planners Work Together to Create Better Cities?

As Director of Public Policy at Airbnb, Molly Turner has noticed she's the only planner in attendance at the Bay Area's myriad hackathons and conferences. As tech increasingly addresses urban issues, is it doomed to repeat planning's past mistakes?

July 27, 2013 - Next City

Master Planning is Back; Thank an Architect

In a feature article and provocative editorial, The Architect's Newspaper seeks to examine the lead role that architects are playing in 'laying out the future of cities'.

July 13, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

Can Former APA Head Help Revive English Planning?

Mitchell Silver's passionate defense of planning has earned admirers in England, where "a deflated planning profession is on the defensive". Peter Hetherington looks at Silver's advice for how English planners can show their value to skeptics.

July 8, 2013 - The Guardian

Dharavi Slum

Is Urban Planning Effective in the Developing World?

A common question raised by those working in the developing world is whether urban planning is useful in those environments. Since questions often focus on planning of a comprehensive type, they overlook planning's intrinsic value and flexibility.

July 1, 2013 - The World Bank Group

Tommy Trojan

Should USC Axe Its Unique Planning Doctoral Program?

Dr. Clement Lau, a Los Angeles County Planner, describes what the threatened USC Doctor of Policy, Planning, and Development (DPPD) program meant to him and why he thinks it's worth saving.

June 30, 2013 - UrbDeZine.com

Does Proposed Merger Signal Planning's Surrender in Los Angeles?

Rick Cole, former City Manager for the City of Ventura CA, analyzes the upcoming merger of the Department of City Planning with the Department of Building and Safety in the City of Los Angeles.

June 13, 2013 - The Planning Report

Suburban Poor? Are You Sure?

Brookings Institute's “Confronting Suburban Poverty” is generating a lot of buzz. Community development leaders and planners took to Rooflines to voice opinions and critiques of the book, moving its authors to submit a response that you must read.

June 12, 2013 - Rooflines

L.A. Planning Director Makes Case for Merging Planning & Permitting

Michael LoGrande, Director of the L.A. Department of City Planning, discusses plans to merge his department with the L.A. Department of Building and Safety to approach the planning and development process from a more holistic and efficient angle.

May 10, 2013 - The Planning Report

The Global TechniCity

Tom Sanchez (Virginia Tech) and I decided to offer a free course to a global audience. The response has been phenomenal with more than 17,000 people participating. Learn about what the globe has to say about technology in cities.

April 27, 2013 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Haiti Update: Reshaping Ravines

Haiti has seen improvements since the 2010 earthquake. However, persistent challenges remain. Dave Hampton, architect and international development consultant for natural and built environment integration, writes about one in particular: ravines.

March 14, 2013 - UrbDeZine.com

India Comes to Grips With the Challenges of Urbanization

In the first entry in an eight-part series, Aparna Piramal Raje explores the challenges facing an urbanizing India that lacks sufficient planning to ease the country's transition from a nation of villages.

January 24, 2013 - Live Mint

Can Science Save Planning from Extinction?

In a recent paper, urban theorist Stephen Marshall rehashes Jane Jacobs's criticism of city planning as a pseudoscience built "on a foundation of nonsense." Can science and design be reconciled to provide planning a more stable foundation?

December 7, 2012 - Scientific American

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

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.