Downtowns
Homeless People Could Pay the Price of Reno's 'Revitalization'
Reno is considering a law that critics say is a textbook example of the criminalization of homelessness and everyday life.
Mark Your Calendars: Draft of Downtown Atlanta Master Plan Coming Soon
A draft of the Downtown Atlanta Master Plan will be made public on September 13, 2017. The plan focuses on revitalizing the city's urban core.
Santa Monica Mayor: High Inclusionary Housing is Worth the Risk
Mayor Ted Winterer and Mayor Pro Tem Gleam Davis elaborate on the city’s new Downtown Community Plan, which includes what may be the state's highest inclusionary housing requirement.
Booming Downtowns Are Squeezing Out Homeless Shelters
In downtowns across America, booming development has come at the expense of crucial homeless services that have traditionally located there.
Eight Cities Rolling Out Streetcar Projects
America's urban streetcar renaissance looks to be on track with eight more projects planning to break ground by 2020. The list includes some of the nation's largest metros as well as plenty of medium-sized cities.
Why SXSW Attendees Couldn't Embrace Transit
In short, transit wasn't really there. When transportation network services went down, people felt stranded. Transit friendliness can go a long way.
Weddings on the Street
Wedding photographers are fond of taking post-nuptial photos on quaint Main Streets, but rarely on the commercial strip. Here's why.
Minneapolis Grapples with Food Truck Regulations
Downtown property owners are clashing with food truck operators over where the latter should park their businesses.
New Data on the Shift to Cities
It's no secret that urban centers are doing better today than they were 30 years ago. New FHFA data on housing prices confirms the trend and suggests that a changing environment (as opposed to changing preferences) account for it.
Riding the Bus in Portland: An Essay
Blogger and transit consultant Jarrett Walker paints a picture of Portland's Line 75, a workaday bus serving urban neighborhoods outside downtown. His reflections on radial and orbital journeys are worth a read.
Reinventing Des Moines
Fairly or unfairly, Des Moines has a solid reputation as one of the nation's least interesting cities. But unbeknownst to the rest of us, this quiet working town might become the Midwest's answer to Austin, Texas.
Preserving Main Street in Large Developments
The Terraces, a mixed-use project in Charlottesville, Virginia, adopts a design that reflects its historic downtown surroundings. Oliver Kuttner, the developer, says that "breaking up" large buildings can make them more palatable on street level.
A Parking Kerfuffle in Downtown Dallas
The big, contentious question of contemporary downtowns is under consideration in Dallas: Is there too much parking or not enough parking?
Vancouver Votes to Remove Downtown Viaducts; Obstacles Remain
The Vancouver City Council took a major step forward this week with an idea that it's been mulling for years: to tear down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts located in the city's downtown.
Transit Use Thrives on Destination Density
If jobs, services, and other urban amenities are concentrated downtown, suburbanites can use transit to get there quickly without a car. Job sprawl makes transit useless outside central districts.
Dallas' CityMAP Project Looks to Reimagine Downtown Connectivity
Local officials, planners, and other civic leaders have joined together to look at how the city can bring neighborhoods split by freeways back together again.
Dan Gilbert's Detroit Buying Spree Continues
The Quicken Loans founder and real estate mogul now controls 78 downtown properties. His investment choices can set the tone for life in what used to be an abandoned city center.
Most Downtowns Still Lagging Behind
Central districts have been surging back since the 1980s. But in most cities, the upper third of earners still favor outlying areas and are underrepresented closer to downtown.
Op-Ed: Streetcars Should Actually Serve Locals
While they're currently in vogue, streetcars are only worthwhile if they can be a viable option for local residents. Unfortunately, this is rarely how the systems are designed.
What Cities Can Learn From Companies Migrating to Downtown
The Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown report, released on June 18, 2015, provides in-depth analysis of a powerful trend of companies investing in urban downtowns.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
