Urban Development

Urban Solar Power

How Cities Will Lead the Energy Future

Last month, politicians, energy executives, and energy experts met in Istanbul for the 23rd World Energy Congress. The event gives global leaders a chance to coordinate energy policy, discuss new ideas, and seek solutions to climate change

November 16, 2016 - Doggerel

Not My President

Trump Election Coverage Round Up (Planning Edition)

A compendium of the most discussed examples of news and commentary regarding the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States—but only what's directly relevant to the fields of planning and urban design.

November 15, 2016 - Planetizen

St. Petersburg, Florida

Historic Block in Downtown St. Petersburg May Not Survive

Failing to receive protection from the St. Petersburg, Florida city council, a historic downtown block faces an uncertain future.

November 15, 2016 - Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Kent Ave

The de Blasio Administration Stays Firm on Waterfront Rezonings

Despite its ambitious housing targets, the de Blasio Administration isn't willing to sacrifice more of its prime industrial spaces, and the jobs they bring, in the name of residential development.

November 15, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

Washington, D.C. Announces an Ambitious Affordable Housing Agenda

The Washington, D.C. Housing Preservation Strike Force released a final report last week.

November 14, 2016 - Next City

Gentrify Occupy

Visualizing Gentrification in 9 Cities

A new atlas explores the multiple causes of gentrification through bold graphics and data visualizations.

November 14, 2016 - Creative Review

Big New Subdivision Approved Along Virginia's U.S. 29 Corridor

A 277-acre development got the rezoning it needed to go from single-family housing to mixed-use outside of Charlottesville, Virginia.

November 13, 2016 - Charlottesville Tomorrow

East Harlem

East Harlem Rezoning Could Bring 7,500 New Apartments

Planners released new details of a proposed rezoning on the East Harlem neighborhood in New York City.

November 12, 2016 - New York YIMBY

Calgary's Fused Grid, the Barcelona's Superilles in the Sprawl

The Fused Grid incorporates and extends the principles underpinning Barcelona’s transformation to the design of street networks on undeveloped land.

November 12, 2016 - Cities of the Future

Santa Fe Railyward

How Good Planning Remade the Santa Fe Railyard

A planner reflects on one of New Mexico's great planning successes, the Santa Fe Railyard.

November 11, 2016 - Santa Fe New Mexican

Dublin Skyline

Brexit Fallout: Office Construction Booms in Dublin

Anticipating a massive shift of companies from London following implementation of Brexit, Dublin, Ireland is seeing plans for new office buildings popping up all over.

November 11, 2016 - The Irish Times

Suburbia

'Revealed Preference' Can't Explain the Shortage of Urban Housing Options

A familiar argument of suburban apologists is that people prefer suburban environments over urban environments. Joe Cortright reminds us, however, that "revealed preference" doesn't tell the whole story.

November 10, 2016 - City Observatory

More Towns Mimicking New Orleans and Allowing Public Drinking

It used to be that only New Orleans and Las Vegas allowed people to carry a drink outdoors and imbibe in public. Now cities all over the country, mostly in traditionally conservative states, are loosening their laws.

November 9, 2016 - Stateline

Houston, Construction

Vacancies Define the Houston Office Market in 2016

Industries over leased and developers over built. The city of Houston's office market has gone from boom to bust in only a few years.

November 9, 2016 - The Wall Street Journal

Atlanta

Atlanta Has a New Parking Regime

Sometimes the day-to-day operations of the most fundamental of citywide responsibilities comes down to the details of a contract.

November 9, 2016 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Seattle KeyARena

Seattle NBA Arena Proposal Back From the Dead—But This Time it's Privately Funded

The mastermind behind a failed plan to build a new NBA arena in the Seattle neighborhood of Sodo has tweaked the plan and come back to the negotiating table. A big question still waiting for an answer: Will the NBA will expand to return to the city?

November 9, 2016 - Crosscut

Sacramento

California's Rental Housing Crisis Has Come to the Capital

The state capital of California is starting to see rents that would fit in around San Francisco or Los Angeles. Although explanations are scant, some are blaming the stagnant multi-family development industry.

November 8, 2016 - The Sacramento Bee

Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

A $1.7 Billion Highway Project Looms in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) is built atop of crumbling series of bridges. The city is expected to go in high gear on construction on Brooklyn's only interstate highway by the beginning of the next decade.

November 8, 2016 - Politico New York

D.C. Metro

Big Hopes Ride on a Recently Approved Transit Station in Alexandria

A long-delayed decision by the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration removes the final regulatory obstacle for the construction of a new Metro station in Alexandria, Virginia.

November 7, 2016 - The Washington Post

Good for the Planet—and the Real Estate Industry?

Climate change is the new reality, and building owners and developers that want to remain in business need to adapt. So says a recent Urban Land Institute (ULI) report that calls last year's Paris agreement "a potential game changer."

November 7, 2016 - Doggerel

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.