Urban Development

Charlotte

Charlotte Wonders About its Future as a Fast-Growing City

Behind all the debates surrounding the consequences of quick growth, a big question looms for Charlotte and other similarly growing cities: Will it last?

October 30, 2016 - The Charlotte Observer

University of Washington

A New Master Plan for the University of Washington

The University of Washington's growth pattern mirrors that of its home city of Seattle. Now the university must make room for 20 percent more of everything—students, faculty, and staff.

October 30, 2016 - The Urbanist

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Planners Have Had It Up to Here With Parking Podiums

Above-grade parking garages, also called parking podiums, have become a standard typology across Los Angeles. From Koreatown to Downtown, new residential buildings are separated from the street by several floors of space devoted to parking.

October 29, 2016 - Urbanize LA

Parkchester

Affordable Living in The Bronx

A look at Parkchester, one of four planned communities built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York City, circa 1940s. The complex includes over 12,000 rental and ownership apartments, located near the #6 subway.

October 29, 2016 - The New York Times

Bradenton Florida

The Genesis of a Medium-Sized City's Affordable Housing Strategy

Bradenton, a medium-sized city on the Gulf Coast of Florida, offers a case study in affordable housing policy.

October 29, 2016 - Bradenton Herald

Camden

How *Not* To Do Economic Development

It's clear that New Jersey’s economic development planners didn't spend much time thinking about opportunity costs when they approved $1.1 billion in tax incentives under the Grow NJ program.

October 28, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Toronto Skyline B&W

Help Wanted: Canadian Cities Turn to the Federal Government for Affordable Housing

An organization representing Canadian cities is asking for $12.7 billion to respond to rising housing costs.

October 28, 2016 - Next City

Urban Sky

Y Combinator's New Cities Project Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

The Silicon Valley start-up devoted to reinventing the city made a splashy hire this week.

October 28, 2016 - TechCrunch

Busy Downtown

Density Doesn't Measure the Success of Cities

Using density as a metric of urban quality is misleading and inadequate, according to an article on CityLab.

October 28, 2016 - CityLab

Three-Car Garage

Garage Construction Continues to Outpace Apartment Construction

New data reveal the U.S. housing industry's preference for garages for cars over apartments for people.

October 27, 2016 - Bloomberg

Bromo Seltzer Tower Baltimore

Baltimore's New Zoning Code Almost a Done Deal

The Baltimore City Council granted initial approval for the city's first zoning code overhaul in over 40 years.

October 27, 2016 - The Baltimore Sun

Joan Clos

'The World's Urban Planner': UN-Habitat's Joan Clos

The phrase "everything on the street" captures UN-Habitat head Joan Clos's approach to urbanization. In the wake of Habitat III, who is the man behind the conference's "New Urban Agenda"?

October 26, 2016 - Citiscope

Sprawl

A Toolkit for Solving California's Housing Crisis

The McKinsey Global Institute wants to help California build 3.5 million homes by 2025.

October 26, 2016 - The New York Times

Washington D.C.

Mapping Washington, D.C.'s New Zoning Code

After years of planning, Washington, D.C. this year adopted a new zoning code. With new maps from the District Office of Zoning, you can see for yourself what the city's new land use regulation regime looks like.

October 26, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Chicago

A Plan to Bike the Length of the Chicago River by 2030

The Chicago River is attracting some of the city's most creative visions for the future. The second plan in recent months proves the potential of the river as an open space asset.

October 25, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Ground-Breaking Rent Control Project Proposed in San Francisco

California law and a local ordinance prevent new apartment buildings from falling under rent control. But that need not prevent a developer from requesting it, as a developer in San Francisco's Excelsior District has done.

October 25, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Brooklyn

As Cities Have Changed, So Have Richard Florida's Ideas

Call it the re-education, the evolution, or the contrition of Richard Florida, but the "rock-star urbanist" has realized some unintended consequences of his creative class ethos, and he's ready to share a new vision for cities.

October 25, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

Corner Store

Growing Cities Starting to See Mixed-Use Development as a Solution

New York City provides a case study in the effort to satisfy growing demand with more mixed-use development.

October 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Walkable Street

Looking for a Walkable Urban Place for Retirement

Though many retirement communities still look just as they have for many decades—defined by cul-de-sacs and golf courses—many seniors are looking for a more urban lifestyle.

October 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Residential Infill Regulations Designed to Slow the Advance of McMansions

The city of Portland, Oregon is considering new regulations to limit the kinds of homes that can be built in existing neighborhoods.

October 21, 2016 - Portland for Everyone

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.