Urban Development

A green sign for Koreatown on a red pole

LA may place emergency ban on karaoke room permits

If Councilwoman Heather Hutt’s proposal passes, the moratorium would last between 45 days and one year.

November 1, 2026 - Los Angeles Magazine

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A crowd of people cut the ribbon on Fresco's new downtown.

Dallas suburbs are turning their downtowns into small towns

Four Texas towns are embracing walkability and density in their downtowns.

October 27, 2026 - The Dallas Morning News

Two Black children roller skate.

This Chicago neighborhood is using planning to increase life expectancy

The Garfield Park Quality-Of-Life Plan aims to bring residents everything from easier access to fresh food to revitalized commercial corridors.

October 20, 2026 - Block Club Chicago

Tourists admiring the Seattle skyline.

Yet again, Seattle’s density zoning update is hit with delays

The city must now examine the ‘maximum possible development’ under a future zoning scenario, rather than the ‘maximum likely development.’

October 19, 2026 - The Urbanist

A rendering of one of the district's buildings, which is white with many windows and about four stories tall.

Texas’ $1 billion ‘live-work-play destination’ sees progress

When complete, the project’s plaza will house up to 14 restaurants and lifestyle brands in six buildings.

October 18, 2026 - Houston Chronicle

Two people in masks stand in front of a "caring for you at home" sign. They speak to people in medical masks.

The city is the health system

Your healthcare system treats you after you get sick. Your city decides whether your health declines at all. Singapore is proving that planning is preventive medicine.

October 8, 2026 - Rajiv Ahuja

Three images of different sprawl environments

A Transect of sprawl

A development pattern this lifestyle-defining deserves its whole own classification system.

September 25, 2026 - Michael Lewyn

The Ancient Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia captured in early morning light. The temple is gray, and has three pillars with cone shaped tops. It is under a light blue sky.

What the fall of earth's largest pre-industrial city can teach us about urban sprawl

Angkor was a low-density metropolis. It lasted six centuries, until it could no longer maintain its infrastructure in a changing climate. Today, it offers planners a sobering warning about the risks of dispersed urban living.

September 18, 2026 - Stefan Al

People in a crosswalk in downtown Vancouver, BC with tall glass apartment towers in background and streetcar cables criss-crossing above the street.

To upzone or not to upzone? Two views on the housing crisis

Allowing more density can increase the housing supply, but does the attendant rise in land prices cancel out the benefits?

August 14, 2026 - Michael Lewyn

Close-up over shoulder of child looking at Minecraft video game splash page on iPad.

Children in 55 countries are redesigning their cities in Minecraft

A U.N.-backed program lets students and community members reimagine sites in their neighborhoods in the game — and translate them into real-life buildings.

August 11, 2026 - The New York Times

City workers in yellow vests and hard hats working to shut off water infrastructure after wildfire in destroyed neighborhood in Spokane, Washington.

Nearly a third of US housing is in the wildland-urban interface — and at growing risk of wildfire

As suburbs increasingly mingle with undeveloped land, homes face a higher risk from destructive fires.

August 10, 2026 - High Country News

Giant metal globe sculpture in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

Historic Queens park is getting a $120M upgrade

The borough's largest park will undergo significant upgrades for accessibility, flood mitigation and historic preservation.

August 8, 2026 - Secret NYC

Skyline of Memships, Tennessee at sunset with glass pyramid in foreground.

15 US cities and their global namesakes

Hundreds of cities around the United States are named after other places. We tour a few of them.

August 7, 2026 - Diana Ionescu

Large, orange fire burning on hillside behind SPanish-style homes in Azusa, California.

80% of California homes built between 2020-2022 are in high fire risk areas

In 2020, California wildfires destroyed nearly a fifth of homes they came in contact with.

August 4, 2026 - Los Angeles Times

Three-story white brick residential buildings with retail on ground floor/basements in Washington D.C.

Is this the first wave of de-gentrification?

Valencia, Temescal, H Street and the fickle fortunes of the gentrified neighborhood.

July 31, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

Two people walk through flooded street with wood homes in Louisiana.

Study: Historically redlined neighborhoods face higher risk of extreme flooding

A new study indicates that structural disinvestment can translate into serious risk for vulnerable communities.

July 27, 2026 - Bioengineer

Elevated freeway segment with stoplight at underpass in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee mayor abandons highway removal plan

Mayor Johnson spoke in opposition to a proposed plan to turn part of I-794 into an at-grade boulevard, expressing concerns about traffic.

July 24, 2026 - Streetsblog USA

People walking on cobblestone street between old buildingsin Maastricht, Netherlands.

Planning for Love, Part 3: Enhancing human connection through walkability

In the third and final installment of this series, author Hannah Kosoff examines what her research findings say about modern dating and urban form.

July 24, 2026 - Hannah Kosoff

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.