Urban Planning

Who's Right in the Informal Housing Debate?

When Los Angeles County Planner Jonathan P. Bell wrote about informal housing in the region, several commenters responded. So Bell decided to answer questions and critics.

November 18, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Gentrification

The False Choice in the Gentrification Debate

The income of original residents is more important to the gentrification debate than any opposition to luxury development or price controls. We need to begin to embed income inequality within the gentrification debate.

October 28, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

'History of the Present' Series Examines Profound Urban Transformations

Emerging from a half century of dictatorship, can Myanmar's principal city be a model of sustainable, democratic development?

October 6, 2014 - Places Journal

City Planners

How Planners Can Help Cities Thrive

For planners, the key to moving a city’s vision for development forward is to value public as well as private investment in projects, according to urban planner and author Howard M. Blackson III.

October 4, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Vancouver Skyline

Are We Approaching Peak Land Use Control?

With an increasing reliance on development regulations and requirements on land owners to satisfy policy goals, are we approaching an unsustainable point in land use controls?

September 8, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

Rainbow Crosswalk

The Future of the Gayborhood

With the advancement of LGBT rights and equality, the traditionally LGBT neighborhood is changing to reflect the tastes and preferences of the new LGBT community within.

September 2, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

How Streets and Social Justice Intersect

A look at how streets affect health, social interaction, and economic development by Marissa Reilly, a Berkeley-based urban planner and Lillian Jacobson, a master’s candidate at MIT.

August 13, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Denver Skyline

Should Urban Planners Live in the City?

The Denver Post writes about Brad Buchanan, who in February became the executive director of the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development.

August 11, 2014 - Denver Post

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

Time to Look at Oakland

While Oakland is by no means an easy place to develop real estate, the often maligned East Bay city of over 400,000 residents may very well be the Bay Area’s best place to embrace much-needed development.

August 4, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

Aerial views during an Army search and rescue mission show damage from Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast, Oct. 30, 2012.

How Coastal Communities Can Adapt to the Effects of Climate Change

Dave Hampton, an architect and a principal at the consulting firm re:ground llc reviews last month’s "MIT Sea Grant’s Climate Change Symposium: Sustaining Coast Cities."

July 19, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Vancouver Skyline

Why Foreign Money is Irrelevant to Increasing Density

While concern over foreign investment in the local real estate market is perfectly valid, the concern is irrelevant to the reasons and need to increase density and the supply of housing.

July 10, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

The Many Benefits of 'Level of Service' Reform

A long read by Eric Jaffe serves as a primer on the "Level of Service" (LOS) requirement in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as well as predicting the large impact of LOS reform on planning in the state and around the country.

July 9, 2014 - CityLab

City Planners

How to Work with Planning Consultants

Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau review of the book "Working with Planning Consultants."

July 3, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Los Angeles River

Destabilizing Urban Planning

How can the contemporary concepts in ecology studies—adaptability, resiliency, and flexibility—advance urban planning practices?

June 19, 2014 - Steven Snell

Stahl House Los Angeles

The Fall of Planning Expertise

With increasing skepticism and conflict towards planners and planning projects, we must ask ourselves: Is the power and politics now vested in "community participation" undermining the planning profession?

June 10, 2014 - Reuben Duarte

How to Put More Kick in Urban Parks and Recreation Planning

Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau makes a case for increasing the number of fields and facilities dedicated to a sport that is growing in popularity – soccer.

June 3, 2014 - UrbDeZine

The Impossibility of Updating Los Angeles’ Community Plans

Despite years of community engagement, political discussion, and planning, the city of Los Angeles has struggled to pass updated community plans, and in many neighborhoods, developments may suffer through years of litigation and bureaucracy.

May 30, 2014 - The Planning Report

How will the Physical Urban Environment be Affected by Obamacare?

Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau discusses what the Affordable Care Act means for hospital construction, design, and expansion.

April 23, 2014 - UrbDeZine

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

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.