Urban Development

Why We Need a Better Definition for NIMBY

It's possible that the ill effects of NIMBY obstructionism are enabled by a lack of understanding about how and why NIMBYism works.

February 10, 2016 - CityLab

Portland Food Carts

Food Carts Could Make Way for High Rises in Portland

Several big stories, all rolled into one, are emerging in Portland. Changes in zoning have paved the way for high-rises that are proposed for the existing location of the city's famous food stalls.

February 9, 2016 - The Oregonian

Seattle Public Art

Waking Up to Seattle's New Density

Census data shows that Seattle jumped Baltimore to become the country's tenth most densely populated city. Is Seattle on the cusp of a changing of the guard when it comes to density and population growth?

February 9, 2016 - The Seattle Times

Strip Mall

The Impossible 'Dream Cities'

A book review of the newly released book, "Dream Cities," by Wade Graham.

February 9, 2016 - The New York Times

St. Louis Finally Has a Developer for Long-Sought Redevelopment Project

The St. Louis City Council recently approved the initial steps for 1,800 acres of Maryland Heights floodplain. Plenty of hurdles remain, such as coming up with the money the developer wants to see the project through.

February 8, 2016 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sidewalk Shed Scaffolding

New York City's Sidewalk Shed Epidemic

A 1980 law protecting pedestrians from falling debris has spawned a labyrinth of sidewalk sheds: the covered walkways that often support scaffolding. Many of these "temporary" structures linger for years.

February 8, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

Seattle C.A.P.

A Closer Look at the Ambitious Plans to Cap I-5 in Downtown Seattle

Patano Studio Architecture is doing double duty as advocate and concept designer for an idea called Seattle C.A.P.

February 6, 2016 - Next City

D.C.'s Record Construction Pace Credited for Easing Rents

Washington, D.C. joins Denver and Seattle as locations credited with slowing the rising cost of housing by building an abundant new supply of residential units.

February 5, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Edward Jones Dome

St. Louis Looks for Solutions to Stadium Debt in the NFL's Wake

The city, county, and state that the NFL's Rams once called home will continue to pay debt for the financing of the Edward Jones Dome. What other option to they have?

February 5, 2016 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Cortright: Oregon Legislation Would Make Housing Affordability Worse

Inclusionary zoning and weakened urban growth boundaries are not effective tools for reducing the price of housing. Joe Cortright of City Observatory suggests ending parking requirements instead.

February 4, 2016 - City Observatory

Detroit Gets Another Round of Property Tax Reductions

In an effort to bring relief to homeowners, the city will reduce property taxes on 95 percent of the city's residential properties.

February 4, 2016 - The Detroit News

Main Street

Preserving Main Street in Large Developments

The Terraces, a mixed-use project in Charlottesville, Virginia, adopts a design that reflects its historic downtown surroundings. Oliver Kuttner, the developer, says that "breaking up" large buildings can make them more palatable on street level.

February 4, 2016 - Market Urbanism

Los Angeles' Contentious 'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Explained

The soul of planning in Los Angeles will be up for vote in the citywide election that will occur on the same day as the U.S. presidential election.

February 3, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

San Francisco Homeless

Homeless Are No Longer 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind' in Booming Cities

One of the sad contradictions of the revival of core urban areas has been the clash between waves of investment and affluence with large populations of homelessness. Many cities are still coming to terms with the issue, much less solving it.

February 3, 2016 - The Wall Street Journal

Video game door

What If Gordon Freeman Was a Civil Engineer?

The video game INFRA trades your typical Russian ultra-nationalists and Nazi zombies for a city on the verge of ruin. The protagonist, an engineer, is tasked with the seemingly mundane tasks that will bring the place back to life.

February 3, 2016 - CityLab

Little Free Library

Op-Ed: Sharing Cities We Can Trust

Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman launch a withering critique of the sharing economy as we know it, and envision "sharing cities" built around technologies that put community before commerce.

February 3, 2016 - The Boston Globe

Big Development Investments Expected to Follow New Detroit Red Wings Arena

Developers are predicting that the new $627.5 million arena to house the Detroit Red Wings, paid for with both private and public money, will spur another $596 million of investment in the neighborhood.

February 2, 2016 - Detroit Free Press

Filling in the 'Missing Middle': No New Wheels, Please

A new crop of developers are delivering fine-grained urbanism. Ben Brown checks into their boot camp and provides an update on the movement.

February 2, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Havana

Everyone Wants a Piece of Havana—Can Cuba Keep Up?

Cuba and its capital city of Havana are experiencing several, simultaneous revolutions. The opportunity for residents is also an opportunity for developers and architects, as well as a challenge for planners.

February 2, 2016 - The Guardian Cities

How to Beat Extreme Heat

Louisville, Kentucky has recently been named the "most rapidly growing urban heat island" in the U.S., but what led to this title? Jeff Byles traces how cities are becoming increasingly warm through a number of different factors, including economic.

February 1, 2016 - Doggerel

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.