Urban Development

Denver Union STation TOD

Battling the Ugly: Denver Contemplates an Effective Design Review Process

As Denver booms, planners and architects discuss the good and the bad of imposing design guidelines on new construction.

November 12, 2015 - The Denver Post

Downtown Dallas

A Parking Kerfuffle in Downtown Dallas

The big, contentious question of contemporary downtowns is under consideration in Dallas: Is there too much parking or not enough parking?

November 11, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

Commercial Linkage Fee Approved—Seattle Moving Forward with Affordable Housing Agenda

The Seattle City Council recently took the first legislative step in the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) process.

November 11, 2015 - The Urbanist

Boston Seaport

Something's Missing in Boston's Reinvented Seaport

Boston would hardly seem capable of resembling "Anytown, USA" but that might be precisely what's happening in the Seaport neighborhood of the city's waterfront.

November 11, 2015 - The Boston Globe

Detroit Vacant

Detroit Receives Funding for Another Demolition Push

A recent influx of money to Detroit for demolitions of abandoned properties brings the city's total to $107 million. That money has established Detroit as the country's proving ground for the idea that demolitions stabilize struggling neighborhoods.

November 10, 2015 - Detroit Free Press

Fund Clean Energy - Stop HRL Coal Fired power station - withdraw federal grant

Report: Cutting Urban Emissions Could Save $17 Trillion

Research from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate recommends an emissions reduction program that might pay off big in the long term. Inter-city exchange and transit planning are key strategies.

November 10, 2015 - Urban Land Magazine

High Line park NYC - Manhattan - New York City

Landscape Architecture Unites Impact and Design

In a field that seems divided between aesthetes and the activists, landscape architects may be closest to reconciling the two trends.

November 10, 2015 - The Architect's Newspaper

Eminent Domain in 2015

The dust is still settling from Kelo v. New London, a 2005 Supreme Court Case allowing for expansive powers of eminent domain. A book released this year chronicles the effects of the landmark court case.

November 9, 2015 - The Federalist

Making Plans Deliver on Promises in the San Fernando Valley

The Warner Center 2035 Plan was designed to bring growth to Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. If the opening of a $350-million Westfield Village in September is any indication, it’s succeeding.

November 7, 2015 - The Planning Report

The Hazards of Predicting the Future of Cities

City planners should be wary of any predictions that downplay the unknowability of the future by projecting present conditions onto it.

November 5, 2015 - Thriving Cities Blog

Mexico City from the air

A Growing Mexico City Faces Infrastructural Hurdles

As Mexico City continues to add population, issues of sprawl, inequality, and water infrastructure remain challenges in the growing megalopolis.

November 5, 2015 - Inverse

Transit Oriented Development

4 Principles for Making Transit Oriented Development Work

Many communities that want more transit oriented development are still struggling to build the political will and the financing mechanisms necessary to deliver. Here are four ideas about how to make TOD happen.

November 5, 2015 - The City Fix

Brooklyn Community Board Rejects Upzoning Proposal

The latest chapter in the ongoing supply vs. demand chronicles takes place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, where a community board came down firmly in opposition to new density in their neighborhood.

November 4, 2015 - DNAInfo

Oakland

5 Big Ideas for Oakland

People are looking for ideas in the Bay Area. Across the water from the calcified world of San Francisco, Oakland offers the flexibility and energy to build an equitable and dynamic resource that benefits the entire region.

November 4, 2015 - SPUR Urbanist

The Curious Case of New Jersey

New Jersey is either completely lacking a proper city, or one, big, giant city—depending on who you ask. One researcher believes its unique variety of urban sprawl offers lessons for the shaping of more holistic communities.

November 4, 2015 - MIT Industrial Liaison Program

Neighborhood Polarization in a Canadian City

In Canadian cities, rising income inequality has been reflected in neighborhood polarization. The experience of Hamilton, Ontario, has been typical. Here, inner-city decline is now giving way to gentrification, displacing poverty to the suburbs.

November 4, 2015 - Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership

Subway

Street Harassment: An Issue for Planners?

Women and men experience public spaces differently. It is all too common for women to experience street harassment when in public spaces. Nina Flores explores the ways that this issue is being combatted in the online public realm.

November 3, 2015 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

Track the Cycles of New York's Skyscraper Habit

Much has been made of New York's current boom in high-rise construction. A new interactive feature by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat allows for some historic perspective on the city's penchant for building skyward.

November 3, 2015 - CityLab

The Recently Opened Manayunk Bridge in Philadelphia Is a Big Deal

As a symbol of a changing economy and a changing city, the rails-to-trails conversion of the Manayunk Bridge in Philadelphia bears close scrutiny.

November 3, 2015 - Plan Philly

Residential Construction Still Riding a Tax-Break Surge in NYC

Big investments in residential building in New York City indicate the strength of the city's economy, according to an article in Crain's New York Business.

November 2, 2015 - Crain's Business New York

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.