Urban Development

Exurbs Black and White

More Common Ground Sought for the 'Future of Suburbia'

A review of the recent "Future of Suburbia" event held at the Center for Advanced Urbanism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

June 15, 2016 - Architect

Tax

Comparing Property Tax Rates for 100 U.S. Cities

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has released its annual comparison of property tax rates around the country, adding new wrinkles of analysis for this year's edition.

June 14, 2016 - At Lincoln House

Hudson Yards Towers

State Bill Could Spread the Supertall Buildings Around New York

A package of bills making their way through the New York State Legislature could usher in an era of new height in parts of New York City.

June 14, 2016 - New York Magazine

Lake Perris

Why It Makes Sense for Developers to Go to the Ballot Box in California

It may seem understandable for developers to resort to the ballot box after encountering difficulty with a planning commission or city council, but in California it makes sense even for cities like Moreno Valley that are friendly to new development.

June 14, 2016 - The New York Times

Downtown Las Vegas

Las Vegas to Consider New 30-Year Downtown Master Plan

The Las Vegas City Council will consider a new Downtown Las Vegas Master Plan this week.

June 13, 2016 - KSNV

Family Parking

Are Families Important in the 'New City'?

U.S. cities leave a lot to be desired for raising a family. However, is it really a worthwhile goal to make cities family friendly? Marin Gertler, a San Diego architect ponders the question after a recent visit to New York City.

June 13, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Charlotte Lynx

Are Ride-Hailing Services Complementing or Competing with Rail Transit?

A news report on Charlotte's Lynx Blue Line looks at whether ride-hailing services are complementing rail transit by providing vital first mile-last mile service or whether customers are forgoing the transit trip entirely. Ridership has been falling.

June 13, 2016 - The Charlotte Observer

Martin Luther King Jr

Photos: 60 Streets Called Martin Luther King

A photo series documents some of the many different U.S. streets named to honor MLK.

June 12, 2016 - CityLab

Losses Compounding for Preservationists in New York

The Architect's Newspaper reports on the potentially outsized implications of a recent decision by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission.

June 12, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

Gateway Tower

Planetizen Week in Review: June 10, 2016

A two-minute-and-thirty-five-second tour of the news and events from the week in planning.

June 10, 2016 - Planetizen

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

With a Budget Deficit to Fix—What Should The GCRTA Do About the 'Ghost Train'?

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's Waterfront rail line carries 400 riders a day. As the authority struggles to fill a $7 million budgetary gap, is it time to finally bury the unused line?

June 10, 2016 - Tim Kovach

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

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.