Urban Development

Durham, North Carolina

Not All Mid-Sized Local Economies Are Alike

The research director of the National League of Cities explains the defining characteristics of local economies—namely that of five distinct kinds of local economies, three serve to distinguish the nuances between mid-sized cities.

August 31, 2017 - CitiesSpeak

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

5 Ideas for the Milwaukee RiverWalk

The Milwaukee RiverWalk is already pretty great, but there's still work than can be done.

August 31, 2017 - Urban Milwaukee

South Bend

South Bend Has Big Innovation District Plans

Public Radio International (PRI) surveys the keys to an ambitious plan to restore the industrial "temples" of South Bend, Indiana.

August 30, 2017 - Public Radio International

Atlanta

First the Olympics, Then the Braves, and Now Georgia State Football

The Atlanta Braves left Turner Field, located in the Southeast Atlanta neighborhood of Summerhill, in 2016 to heavy criticism. Now the stadium has new life as the home to the Georgia State football program.

August 30, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

San Francisco Construction

Time Is Money for Housing Developments (and Residents)

While strict, suburban-style regulations often get a bad rap for the lack of housing in high demand cities, the red tape and other obstacles that delay development could be the worst culprit.

August 29, 2017 - Sightline Institute

Seattle, Washington

Amazon Makes Seattle the Nation's Biggest Company Town

The company town seems like a relic of a previous era of American industry, but Amazon and Seattle are redefining the concept.

August 29, 2017 - The Seattle Times

Pittsburgh to Gain a 23-Acre, $10 Million Urban Farm

The Hilltop Urban Farm project is moving along in Pittsburgh. Few, if any, community gardens have been built on this scale before.

August 29, 2017 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Austin Construction

For Discussion: Why Are More Millennials Choosing the Suburbs?

A trio of journalists gathers to discuss statistics that show the trends of U.S. population growth has shifted to suburban areas.

August 29, 2017 - Bloomberg

The End of Redevelopment Worsened California's Housing Crisis

Anthony York performs an autopsy of how decisions made by Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislature during the Great Recession are influencing the housing market, nearly a decade later.

August 28, 2017 - Pacific Standard

Miami Brightline Construction

Trump Administration Kills Obama Era Local Hiring Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation quietly killed an Obama Administration program that would have been the only federal level local hiring initiative.

August 28, 2017 - The New York Times

Home For Sale Signs

Changes to Mortgage Interest Deduction Cap Still on the Table

One hot button item to watch as Congress takes up the issue of tax reform in the coming weeks: whether Republicans are able to follow through on a promise to reform the mortgage interest deduction.

August 27, 2017 - CNBC

Canton, Ohio

$750 Million to Create a Sports-Focused, Mixed Use Development in Canton, Ohio

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is about to get a major makeover. The development investment is the largest in the history of the city of Canton.

August 27, 2017 - The New York Times

Baltimore Rowhouses

Advocates Tout Community Land Trusts for Solutions to Displacement, Blight

Community land trusts are a favorite tool of advocates who want to take a communitarian approach to property and public space in cities facing the challenges of population decline, blight, and gentrification.

August 27, 2017 - Yes! Magazine

Raising the Alarms as Hurricane Harvey Heads for Houston and the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Harvey was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. If the damage in human and economic terms is terrible, a lack of infrastructure maintenance and development responsibility will be to blame.

August 26, 2017 - CityLab

Vancouver Skyline

Professor: High-End Housing Worsened Vancouver's Affordability Crunch

UBC's Patrick Condon argues that for Vancouver and cities like it, simply adding supply at any level doesn't get at the root causes of the global affordable housing crisis.

August 25, 2017 - The Planning Report

Hawthorne, California

Elon Musk Cleared to Tunnel in Southern California

Elon Musk will get a first chance to prove predictions that the Boring Company can improve tunneling technology after the city of Hawthorne in Los Angeles County approved his plan to build a two-mile tunnel.

August 24, 2017 - Daily Breeze

Empty Parking Lot

AVs and Real Estate - A Guide to Potential Impacts

AVs are more than a transportation issue and will have significant impacts on real estate. Expect AVs to affect parking, sprawl, housing prices, and transit.

August 24, 2017 - Urbanism Next Blog - Sustainable Cities Initiative

Freeway Cap Park

Bellevue, Washington Could Put a 'Lid' on its Freeway

The idea is still very preliminary, but the city of Bellevue, Washington is circulating a plan that could create a freeway cap park spanning the I-405 freeway as a component of a new bike and pedestrian path.

August 24, 2017 - The Registry

Far Rockaway

Headed for Approval: Rezoning for Affordable Housing in Far Rockaway

The New York City neighborhood of Far Rockaway will see the latest of the rezoning proposals at the center of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing plan.

August 24, 2017 - The Real Deal

Sprawl

The Tax Code's Special Interest: Suburban Real Estate

Suburbia isn't an accident.

August 24, 2017 - Devon Marisa Zuegel

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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.