Urbanization

Aerial view of neighborhood with homes along a bayou surrounded by green trees in Sugar Land, Texas

A Rapidly Urbanizing Texas County Gets in Touch With its Agricultural Roots

Developers in Fort Bend County are drawing inspiration from ‘agrihoods’ to build car-light communities in one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas.

April 4, 2023 - Urban Edge

Victorian two-story buildings with retail shops in downtown Nashvile, Tennessee

How Adaptive Retailers Contribute to Positive Urbanization

Retailers must respond to changes to stay successful, and urbanization is one of the major factors influencing changing circumstances. Retail representatives that react with care and thoughtfulness contribute to positive urbanization.

September 29, 2022 - Devin Partida

Chicago Commute

Planning for Congestion Relief

The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

May 12, 2022 - James Brasuell

Congestion versus mobility

How Planning Fails to Solve Congestion

Solutions for congestion are never as simple and easy as armchair planners and engineers would like you to believe—especially those who suggest that congestion can be solved by forever building more roadway capacity.

April 20, 2022 - James Brasuell

Congestion

Planning and the Complicated Causes and Effects of Congestion

What do planners know about congestion, and what can they do about it? Explanations and solutions are less obvious than they seem (part one of a three-part series).

April 13, 2022 - James Brasuell

Row after row after row of single-family residences, with the high rises of the city of Toronto looming far in the background.

Opinion: When Transit-Oriented Suburban Mega-Projects Go Too Far

The architecture critic for the Globe and Mail finds fault with two massive development proposals in the Toronto suburbs.

February 2, 2022 - The Globe and Mail

Subway in India

The Fastest Growing Cities in the World

None of the fastest growing cities in the world are found in North or South America.

January 4, 2022 - City Monitor

Downtown Los Angeles

Census Data Reveal Increasing Density in the U.S.—Reversing a Two-Decade Trend

The New York Times is calling 2010 to 2020 the "Downtown Decade."

September 2, 2021 - The New York Times

China

10,000 Cities—and Counting

A novel approach to quantifying the world's urban population provides insight into a changing world.

February 28, 2021 - Next City

Freeway Construction

Cities Have Doubled in Size Globally in the Last 20 Years, Study Says

New research from China finds an incredible rate of urban expansion in North America and China.

November 9, 2020 - South China Morning Post

residential Neighborhood

Urban Link: UN Endorses a Uniform Measure for Urbanization

The Penn Institute for Urban Research's latest issue of Urban Link features Lewis Dijkstra writing on the Degree of Urbanisation, the first global definition of cities, towns and rural areas endorsed by the UN.

November 2, 2020 - Penn IUR Urban Link

Houston, Texas

The Social Dynamics of Houston's Urban Expansion

A new study published in the Land Use Policy journal explains how Houston's rapid expansion occurred, and why it matters.

October 6, 2020 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

cafe

Demand for City Living Hasn't Declined Yet, According to Real Estate Searches

Media is full of stories about people fleeing the city for suburban or even rural climes during the pandemic. The data from real estate search sites tell a different story.

June 16, 2020 - CityLab

Greece

The Urban Project: Urbanization, Urbanisms, and the Virus—A Historical Take

Perceptions of what makes density either "good" or "bad" have shifted over the years, and the pandemic is likely to precipitate another shift.

June 1, 2020 - Fanis Grammenos

Growth Chart

The 2010s Didn't Live Up to Potential as the 'Decade of the City'

The renaissance predicted for urban areas in the United States started strong during the 2010s but slowed in the years leading up to a potentially generation defining pandemic.

May 27, 2020 - Brookings

Climate Change protest

Fewer Baby Boomers Choose Urban Lifestyles Than Previous Generations

Despite appearances and a popular media narrative, Baby Boomers aren't becoming more urban in old age—when compared to previous generations at the same age.

January 27, 2020 - The New York Times

Map Kid

Kids and Urbanization

The question of whether there is space for children in rapidly changing cities was under investigation in two recent studies with somewhat contradictory findings.

August 5, 2019 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Tennessee

As More 'Superstar' Cities Emerge, the Gap With Other Cities Grows

Some cities, like Nashville, have been keeping pace with the economic growth of more internationally renowned cities like San Francisco and Seattle.

July 22, 2019 - Reuters

New York City

Immigration and Urban Growth

After growing in the first half of the decade, some cities might be losing population. Is this because of the pace of immigration has slowed?

June 19, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Nightlife in Tel Aviv

Nevertheless, the Youthful Preference for Urban Living Persisted

A forthcoming study, to be published by the Journal of Regional Science, finds the urban preferences of younger generations growing over the past three decades.

May 29, 2019 - CityLab

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.