Urban Development

Austin Race map

Does New Urbanism Have a Racial Problem?

In two parts, NPR's City Project examines Austin's premier mixed-use urban village built on the 700-acre site of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport which relocated in 1999. Part 2 is about racial tensions that have surfaced in the community.

February 16, 2015 - NPR

Bakersfield Turns to Crowdfunding for Downtown Revitalization Plans

Here's an experiment worth watching: Bakerfield's Downtown Business Development Corporation (DBDC) has launched a crowdfunding website in the hopes of seeing its urban design plans come to fruition.

February 14, 2015 - Indiegogo

The Cubs Remaking Wrigleyville as the 'Disney World of Baseball'

A Chicago Tribune article reveals some of the behind-the-scenes moves made by the Chicago Cubs to control more of the commercial interests in a neighborhood already famously devoted to its team.

February 14, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Pittsburgh Approves with Development Plans for 28-Acre Civic Area Site

A large mixed-use development plan for Pittsburgh's former Civic Area site now has full approval from the city.

February 13, 2015 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pop Up Plaza in Louisville

Part Two: Should MoMA Tout Tactical Urbanism(s) as a Solution to Uneven Growth?

The second and final post about MoMa's exhibit, "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities."

February 13, 2015 - Mike Lydon

Will Upzoning Destroy the Beaux Arts Legacy of Midtown Manhattan?

A development proposal for a 1,450 glass skyscraper adjacent to Grand Central Station prompted the Architectural Record to wonder whether New York is chipping away the "Beaux Arts heart" of Manhattan.

February 13, 2015 - Architectural Record

Residents Disillusioned with the Planning Process in Los Angeles' Chinatown

Sharon McNary reports on a proposed development in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles that predates, and could thus avoid, the guidelines put forward by one of the most progressive plans in the city—the Cornfield Arroyo Specific Plan.

February 13, 2015 - KPCC

Japan High Speed Rail

Fast Train To Big D

Many citizens in independent-minded Texas may not like the idea of spending $10 billion on high speed rail. Backers in Dallas, though, have begun to dream up big plans for a station area to serve Texas Central Railway.

February 13, 2015 - Dallas Morning News

Dallas' New Suburban Developments Have an Urban Feel

Looking for evidence of the resurgence of suburban developments? Look no farther than the suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth, says a recent column in the Dallas Morning News.

February 12, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

Criticism of St. Louis' Riverfront Stadium Plans

A lesson for other cities as well: As long as cities give absurd subsidies to pro sports teams, pro sports teams will continue to expect absurd subsidies from cities. Case in point: St. Louis and the NFL's Rams.

February 12, 2015 - Vox

Op-Ed: New York's Affordable Housing More Corrupt than Helpful

A columnist takes the recent scandal involving disgraced former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as a particularly heinous example of how far astray affordable housing policy is from its intended goal.

February 12, 2015 - Real Clear Policy

Op-Ed: The Cleveland Clinic Chooses Sprawl over Healthy Communities

A scathing critique of the land use, development, and transportation decisions of the Cleveland Clinic calls out the medical center for neglecting its role in the prioritizing healthy communities.

February 12, 2015 - RustWire

Urban Design for the Commitment-Phobe in All of Us

On the new Plan.Place blog, the author describes the ways that small-scale, temporary projects can have a widespread, lasting impact on the way that our communities evolve and change.

February 12, 2015 - Plan.Place

Where Have All the Anti-Tech Protestors Gone?

In San Francisco at this time last year, Google bus protestors and Ellis Act rage were making the news everyday. The City seems a little more...adjusted these days.

February 11, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

City Planners

What is a 'Placemaker' (Besides an Overused Buzzword)?

Placemaking is an overused term and under-comprehended subcategory of the urban design and planning fields. Howard Blackson explains what it means and how it has evolved in his own career.

February 11, 2015 - UrbDeZine

Better Design and a 'Level of Service' for the Blind

Scott Schafer pens a column inspired by watching a visually impaired woman navigate a busy corner of Minneapolis. The question raised by the column: How can we improve level of service for the blind?

February 11, 2015 - Streets.MN

Dublin Skyline

Reading Cities Cover to Cover, and Why

Chuck Wolfe underscores the importance of a holistic view of urban places, referencing themes of common experience, aesthetics, feelings of happiness, safety, or security—a basic narrative of the city that often goes beyond first impressions.

February 11, 2015 - The Huffington Post

Control of Farmland—City Style

Farm land ownership matters on the edges of metropolitan areas, where farmers can find lucrative markets for their products and yet, with ever escalating land prices, face daunting odds in securing land to grow on or even to get started.

February 11, 2015 - Rooflines

Renters Predominate in Low-Cost and High-Cost Cities

A report by New York University’s Furman Center found that renters made up the majority of households in nine of the 11 largest cities in the U.S. in 2013, up from five in 2006. The demand is straining the supply of rental housing.

February 10, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Better Bridges: Good for People and for Birds

In a California town, birds are dying, something Daniel Ebuehi attributes in large part to faulty design.

February 10, 2015 - UrbDeZine

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.