Urban Development

Did Amazon Really Just Create a Pop-up Homeless Shelter?

As cities around the U.S. scramble to figure out how to address the housing affordability crisis, one of them has now leaned on the benevolence of what some consider the least benevolent of them all.

June 10, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Philly Developer Must Comply With Zoning Deal Before Tenants Can Occupy Luxury Units

City officials in Philadelphia are scrambling to deal with the fallout after a developer suddenly backed out of a deal that allowed additional height in exchange for affordable housing units for a 250-unit development near the Delaware River.

June 10, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bogota, Colombia

When Urbanism Was a Weapon in the Cold War

The founding of Ciudad Techo in 1961 just outside of Bogota, Colombia played a key role in a strategy by the United States to beat back communist intrusions into Latin America during the height of the Cold War.

June 10, 2016 - Wilson Quarterly

Anchorage Theater

Anchorage Reconsiders Iconic 4th Avenue Theatre Development Proposal

Request for tax breaks to redevelop deteriorated property in downtown Anchorage are recommended for denial by Chief Financial Officer Robert Harris.

June 9, 2016 - Alaska Dispatch News

Golden Gate

Bay Area Election Roundup: Wetlands, Housing, Ballot-Box Planning, Sales Tax

A regional measure to tax all property owners in the 9-county Bay Area to adapt to sea level rise passes; S.F. voters support raising the affordable housing bar; Richmond voters reject ballot-box planning; San José approves sales tax increase.

June 9, 2016 - Planetizen

Gensler Spire Concept

A 2,000-Foot Skyscraper Imagined for the Site of Chicago's Infamous Spire

Global architecture firm Gensler is doing its job to get the ball rolling on the dormant former site of the Spire project designed by Santiago Calatrava.

June 9, 2016 - Curbed Chicago

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Bridge Park Project Gains Key Approval—Lawsuit Expected

It seems like one step forward and two steps back for a proposal to develop two residential towers at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

June 8, 2016 - Politico

Not in my back yard

What Millennials Want, and Why it Doesn't Matter

The debate about whether Millennials prefer urban or suburban misses a big, important point: what Millennials really prefer is possible in either setting.

June 8, 2016 - Ben Cummins

Freeway Construction

Stop Saying 50 Percent of Humans Live in Cities

The idea that half the world's population has moved to cities, with more coming soon, misses a fundamental fact about cities: many of them are actually suburbs.

June 8, 2016 - Undark

Austin Sends Big Planned Unit Development Back to the Drawing Board

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department put the proposed Grove at Shoal Creek Planned Unit Development on a short timeout earlier this month, but only to negotiate final details of the massive project.

June 7, 2016 - Austin Monitor

Kids on bikes

Op-Ed: Jane Jacobs Wouldn't Recognize the Cities of Today

Without children at the center of activity, the urban neighborhoods of today offer little compared to the ideals expressed by Jane Jacobs, according to this strongly worded critique of contemporary urbanism.

June 7, 2016 - The American Conservative

New York City

Special New York Skyscraper Issue: 'Life Above 800 Feet'

The New York Times Magazine has published a big, interactive issue devoted to the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

June 7, 2016 - The New York Times Magazine

Tysons Corner Station Redevelopment

Survey: Americans Favor TOD-Friendly Zoning Changes

A survey by HNTB Corporation found that 73 percent of Americans would support land use and zoning changes to encourage transit oriented development.

June 7, 2016 - HNTB

Brewery

Op-Ed: Don't Ditch Those Industrial Land Uses

An op-ed describes the choice by many cities to prioritize residential projects in old industrial spaces as short-sighted and potentially unjust.

June 6, 2016 - Next City

Columbus Ohio

The Story of Columbus' Success

The New York Times has given the city of Columbus an unequivocal stamp of approval, and without condescending to do it.

June 6, 2016 - The New York Times

Abu Dhabi

Planning for an Eco-Friendly City in the Desert

Building a new eco-friendly city in the middle of a country so reliant on fossil fuels is no easy task, but development is well underway for Masdr City to rise in the UAE

June 6, 2016 - Public Square

Downtown Cleveland

Watch the Documentary 'Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City'

In May, the documentary film "Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City" was made available in full on YouTube.

June 4, 2016 - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

East Brother Light Station

Developer's Ballot Box Planning Would Allow Suburban Development at Ferry Terminal

A June 7 ballot measure in Richmond, California would permit 59 single family homes to be built on a 5-acre bayfront lot within walking distance to a future ferry landing for San Francisco service. The site is zoned for high-density housing.

June 4, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Philadelphia Rowhouse

Real-Estate Site Locates Redevelopment Potential Across Philadelphia

A new map-based web tool created by a former city employee calculates the redevelopment potential of every parcel in Philadelphia.

June 4, 2016 - Philly Voice

San Francisco Bay Bridge

The 'Housing Development Dashboard' Promises a New Understanding of Housing Policy

A new set of tools from the U.C. Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation offers insight into how projects fit into the policy landscape, as well as how changes to the policy landscape could impact development.

June 3, 2016 - Terner Center for Housing Innovation

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.