Urban Development

South Park City

Friday Funny: South Park Gentrification Spoof Could Be Anytown, USA

The most shocking thing about the recent episode of South Park, "The City Part of Town," was that it took Cartman and company so long to poke fun at the effects of gentrification.

October 9, 2015 - Fusion

London Skyline

How to Reimagine the Skyscraper (and Why)

An essay identifies imperatives for a new theory of tall, dense construction, and begins to sketch out a theory that will reconcile the skyscraper with contemporary business ideals.

October 8, 2015 - Medium

High Line with Denari

On the Perpetual Crisis of American Cities

A long and ranging article in the New Yorker surveys non-fiction, art, and other manifestations of intellectualism for insight into the plight of the city—to always be cast in some manner of morality tale.

October 8, 2015 - The New Yorker

City Action on Climate Change

Can cities be at the forefront of tackling climate change? According to forthcoming research by Arup and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, cities play a crucial role in addressing this pressing issue.

October 8, 2015 - Doggerel

Suburbia

Pushing Back Against the Idea that Cities Can Become Full

The perception that a city has reached its maximum population and nobody else should be allowed in, or nothing should be allowed to change, is limiting the potential of our cities and increasing housing inequality.

October 8, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

A Flood Zone Real Estate Boom in Post-Sandy New York

Has New York done enough to continue to build new high-end buildings in flood zones around the city?

October 7, 2015 - New York Magazine

Report Grades California's Rail Stations on Neighborhood Service

A report by Next 10 takes the form of a scorecard for six light and heavy rail networks. Rail that serves existing urbanized areas scored the highest.

October 7, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Coding for Character: Doing Away With the Zoned Out Nature of Cities

What's keeping the historic parts of your city or town from staying up-to-date and well-loved? Usually, the laws.

October 6, 2015 - PlaceShakers

Chattanooga's Unique Approach to Innovation Districts

Bruce Katz says something special is going on in Chattanooga—where a uniquely situated innovation district is setting an example for more traditional approaches to the concept.

October 5, 2015 - Brookings Institution

New Jersey Golf Course Gives Way to Sprawl

Once upon a time, golf courses were a popular component of development plans. Much more common now: single-family detached housing on the former site of a golf course.

October 5, 2015 - The Record

More Americans Living Next Door to Fire Danger

A summer of drought and devastating fires has demonstrated the dangers of allowing residential developments to sprawl ever farther into wild, natural environments.

October 5, 2015 - CityLab

Bloomingdale Trail

Substance, Style, and the Success of the 606

The Bloomingdale Trail, the star attraction of the 606 in Chicago, has been compared to NYC's High Line. But with its restrained design and focus on high-use activity, it is nothing like it, and, in certain ways, it's even better.

October 5, 2015 - Mark Hough

Seattle Waterfront Condos

Seattle's Struggle to Build Affordable Housing

The Emerald City's affordable housing difficulties mirror those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others: too much demand and too few resources.

October 3, 2015 - Crosscut

King County, Sound Transit Announce $83 Million for Transit Oriented Development

A new regional transit oriented development initiative in Seattle will focus on affordable housing and walkable communities. The Executive's Transit Station Housing and Development Initiative will partner King County and Sound Transit.

October 2, 2015 - The Urbanist

Planning for the 'Big One'—In Salt Lake City

Many people outside of Salt Lake City might not realize that the city's proximity to the Wasatch Fault puts it at risk for an earthquake likely in the range of 7.1 on the Richter scale.

October 1, 2015 - Next City

Health by Design: Findings from ULI

A new ULI report finds that innovation in placemaking is about the inter-relatedness of health and the built environment.

October 1, 2015 - ULI San Francisco Blog

Op-Ed: Maryland Should Support Baltimore with Money, Not Bulldozers

A response to the conventional thinking about demolitions as the antidote to blighted, vacant properties and the negative effects that follow.

October 1, 2015 - The Baltimore Sun

Grand Central Terminal Owner Files $1.1 Billion Suit Against One Vanderbilt

A $1.1 billion lawsuit challenges the approval of plans for One Vanderbilt, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, on the grounds that it circumvented the purchase of air rights from the adjacent Grand Central Terminal.

October 1, 2015 - The New York Times

Chicago Approves Big Expansion of TOD Ordinance

Ten times more land in Chicago is now designated for transit oriented development—affording new development reduced parking requirements, density bonuses for affordable housing, and new strength for the city's Pedestrian Street design regulations.

September 30, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

North Dakota

Ghost Towns Remain After Rush to Build in North Dakota Oil Boom

Bloomberg details the sudden, catastrophic decline of the real estate market in North Dakota following the oil bust of the last year. Municipalities and investors are on the hook for thousands of new and approved building units.

September 30, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

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.