Small Houses

Bird's eye view of studio apartment design.

In These Cities, Most New Housing is Under 441 Square Feet

With loosened restrictions on “micro-housing,” tiny units now make up as much as 66% of newly constructed housing.

June 15, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Cottages on Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes

The ‘workers’ cottages’ are being replaced with larger, more expensive homes, threatening one of the city’s original forms of affordable housing.

May 16, 2022 - WTTW

Tiny House Prefab

Clearing the Path for Tiny Houses

Clocking in at less than 500 square feet, tiny houses are in greater and greater demand. They've been touted as a means to address affordability, inequality, homelessness, and environmental concerns. But regulatory issues are holding them back.

July 14, 2016 - Pew Charitable Trusts

Building in an Impossibly Narrow Spot

Israeli writer Etgar Keret has commissioned a home to be built in the narrow space between two buildings in Warsaw, Poland. The house will be 4 feet across at the widest point.

August 8, 2011 - Fast Company Design

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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.