Urban Development

San Francisco Tower Takes On Many Meanings
Urban design critic John King’s aversion to LinkedIn’s new office space points to long-standing tensions in San Francisco.

Debating the Future of Baltimore: New Urbanism vs. Global Starchitecture
Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne and leading New Urbanist planner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk squared off in a debate about the future of Baltimore.
Kansas City Program to Turn Vacant Lots Into Urban Forest
The Kansas City Land Bank has the funding to back up plans to begin transforming blighted, vacant lots into thriving groves of poplar trees.

Urban Demographics: The New Elite
Economist Jed Kolko's recent study on how the lack in affordability of cities determines who's moving there, whose moving out, and how these changes are shaping cities and suburbs. His paper is the basis for several articles by leading urban writers.
It's the Complexity, Stupid! (Try 'Splainin' that in an Elevator)
The dangerous absurdity of building a national—or a community—to-do list around fear, resentment, and wishful thinking
Austin Waterfront District Due for Big Redevelopment Investments
The city of Austin is hoping to avoid a "piecemeal, haphazard" approach to redevelopment in the South Central waterfront district.

How to Rethink the Suburbs: A Lesson From Toronto
A new zoning law in Toronto could enable its hundreds of suburban tower developments to become vibrant and active communities.

Inner Suburbs Face Identity Crisis
Places like Columbia Heights, an older suburb north of Minneapolis, lie at the focal point of conflict over development and gentrification. Can these places support a 21st-century urbanism?

Suburban Poverty Rising in Atlanta
Driven by economic and demographic trends, poverty in "outer ring" suburbs is on the rise. Since 2000, Atlanta's suburbs have seen the highest rate of change in poverty of any comparable metro region.

A Utopian Solution to NIMBYism and High Housing Costs
The housing shortages caused by restrictive zoning are easy to solve in principle—even if the solutions are politically impossible.
Los Angeles River Restoration Going From Grassroots to Glam
As excitement around the L.A. River revitalization heats up, neighbors of the once-neglected channel wonder who will benefit from the billion-dollar redevelopment.

In Long Island City, a Glimpse of the Future?
According to critic James Russell, Long Island City has come to resemble the new metropolises of Asia. A frenetic jumble of old and new, the area's "dystopian" qualities aren't all bad.

In Pictures: Havana's Public Spaces
The recent thaw in U.S. relations with Cuba, as well as President Obama's visit last month, have spurred conversations about Havana's future. Its public spaces are worn, but they're busy and well-designed.

Canada Is Looking Better and Better
Alan Mallach unpacks a remarkable project currently underway in Toronto, suggesting that sometimes higher, rather than lower, density may be the best way to go.
'Supply-Side' Arguments, and Why Geography, Scale, and Migration Matter
When it comes to housing, supply and demand isn’t as simple as it seems (or as simple as some boosters would like us to think), and a supply-side strategy will not work in every context to address affordability, including in hot neighborhoods.
Austin Updates Small-Lot Amnesty Program
The city of Austin has approved land use regulation changes on one of those traditional hot button planning issues: small-lot developments.
Connecting the Dots Between Governance and Placemaking
Seattle's beloved Pike Place offers a case study in how careful governance builds the foundation for flourishing places.

Open Data Tool Boosts TOD in Chicago
A "TOD Calculator" developed by a Chicago non-profit promises to deliver quantifiable, digestible data on the community impacts of transit-oriented development.

Parking Requirements and Housing Prices: More Questions Than Answers in Portland
The city of Portland is considering an expansion of parking requirements in Northwest Portland, much to the chagrin of advocates who predict the new requirements will make housing more expensive.

The Great Debate: How to Attract Investment in Neglected Urban Areas
With the key assumption that more of Philadelphia needs to see the benefits of the recent wave of investment that has come to the city's urban core, politicians at varying levels of government are considering multiple policy options.
Pagination
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)