Urban Development

110 Freeway

L.A.'s New Transit Oriented Communities Guidelines Are a Boost for Affordable Housing

The city of Los Angeles is taking substantive action to provide incentives for affordable housing development.

September 25, 2017 - Urbanize LA

High Rises

A Database of Urbanism-Related Research

A new project is intended to forge connections between research and practice in the world of urbanism.

September 25, 2017 - Public Square

Octopus City Discovered

Scientists discover a 15-octopus 'city' off of the eastern coast of Australia, the second such colony of cephalopods.

September 25, 2017 - CityLab

Corner Store

Bodegas Are Vital to Urban Neighborhoods

Bodegas play an essential role in the communities they serve. Under threat by online retail and encroaching chain stores, they face a new danger from technology. New York YIMBY gives them a well-deserved shout-out.

September 24, 2017 - New York YIMBY

Infill Development

Salvaging Historic Building Materials for Job Creation and Environmental Benefit

A proposed ordinance would save derelict buildings from the wrecking ball, and send them to the salvage yard instead.

September 22, 2017 - Urban Milwaukee

Miami Temperature

Miami Beach: A Model of Climate Adaptation for Coastal Cities?

How did the seven square mile, four-foot high barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean off Miami and Biscayne Bay hold-up to Hurricane Irma? The city arguably has done more to adapt to sea level rise in recent times than any other coastal city.

September 22, 2017 - Planetizen

D.C. Auditor Reveals Blight Enforcement Shortcomings

There's a surprising amount of vacancies and blight in the nation's capital, and District officials aren't doing everything in their power to address the challenge.

September 22, 2017 - The Washington Post

HUD

Carson Op-Ed Lays Out the Trump Agenda for HUD

Ben Carson has penned an op-ed that lays out the ideology driving the Trump Administration's approach to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

September 22, 2017 - The Hill

Queens, New York City

Hyper Urban Growth Without Residential Displacement

Here's a change: Displacement in the nation's fastest growing urban neighborhood has largely been limited to businesses. The new highrises have given Queens something it never had: a skyline.

September 22, 2017 - New York Magazine

Drake Meme

Friday Not Funny: Drake Meme Appears in a NYC Parks Department Rendering

An armed forces veteran or a Boston Marathon bombing survivor would have been a better choice.

September 22, 2017 - Brokelyn

New Jersey

Proposed Density Causes 'Chaos' at the Newark City Council Hearing

A suite of zoning changes that would increase building heights and density along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, provoked a chaotic council hearing that devolved into shouting and the removal of residents from the council chambers.

September 21, 2017 - NJ.com

A Health-Focused Building Certification Gets Its First Showcase

The first WELL-certified buildings are now online, and the Urban Land Institute has examined the business propositions behind the system.

September 21, 2017 - Urban Land

Salesforce Tower and 181 Fremont

Facebook to Expand in San Francisco

While everyone's attention in recent weeks has been on Amazon, another huge tech company has made a big bet on San Francisco.

September 21, 2017 - San Francisco Business Times

East Harlem

Mapping Displacement Stories

The Regional Plan Association calls on the power of the contemporary Internet to broadcast stories of displacement from around Greater New York.

September 21, 2017 - Regional Plan Association

Mexico City Earthquake Should Raise Questions About Building Safety

The epicenter of Tuesday's quake was in the state of Puebla, 80 miles southeast of Mexico City. Soft soil and unreinforced buildings magnified the damage. The quake comes two weeks after an 8.1 quake struck off the coast of the state of Oaxaca.

September 20, 2017 - The Washington Post

Biki Bikeshare Montreal

Montreal Wants to Lead North America in Biking Infrastructure

Montreal has a five-year plan to become an "international bike metropolis and cycling leader in North America."

September 20, 2017 - Daily Hive Montreal

Caribbean Hurricane Season

Puerto Rico Braces for Direct Hit from Hurricane Maria on Wednesday

A second catastrophic hurricane is on track to devastate much of the Caribbean, barely two weeks after category five Hurricane Irma departed. In addition to Maria, a much weaker Hurricane Jose will affect the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

September 19, 2017 - CNN

Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth

Amazon's second headquarters is huge, and their bias for walkable places says they are going to do it all over again in a new city. However, maybe they should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.

September 19, 2017 - Smart Growth America

Chicago Bike Trail

Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and 'Environmental Gentrification'

Large, adaptive-reuse projects are all the rage in urban planning today, but absent a fundamentally new approach—with affordability at the center of the process—they are likely to become engines of what's been termed "environmental gentrification."

September 18, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Pittsburgh at Night

Report: How Pittsburgh Can Boost Its 'Innovation Economy'

A team of researchers at Brookings suggests ways for Pittsburgh to lock in its status as a hub of the next economy, leaving all talk of the "Rust Belt" behind.

September 17, 2017 - Brookings

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.