Urban Development
Minister Reins in Mumbai's Haphazard Development Controls; Will the City's Skyline Suffer?
The chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra (home to Mumbai) is pushing to rationalize the region's density controls, which had been prone to abuse by developers. Some fear the controls will result in more homogenous designs.
The Urban Diary as a City-Dweller's Tool
Chuck Wolfe champions the 'urban diary' tool as a universal means to understand the city around us.
Accounting for Latent Travel Demand
Planners must anticipate how people would respond to new options, such as better walking, cycling and public transit services. This requires imagination.
Official's Embrace of Gentrification Causes Stir in Detroit
Speaking at an event this week, Detroit's economic development czar was unabashed in his support of gentrification for the troubled city. The subject is a sore one for a city that still recalls the rampant black displacement of the 1940s and ’50s.
'Civic San Diego' Provides City with Redevelopment Afterlife
Since the state's 400+ redevelopment agencies were killed in 2012, cities across California have struggled to manage unfinished projects and support development in distressed neighborhoods. Civic San Diego may provides a model for life after death.
Bike Sharing Prepares to Get its World Rocked
The evolution of today's infrastructure-intensive bike sharing systems has been a hard-fought learning process; alas, the current paradigm is about to get turned on its head, and it's happening – surprise - this week in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Will Compact Development Define America's Next Era of Land Use?
'America 2013', a report released this week by the Urban Land Institute, presents the results of a nationwide survey on housing, transportation, and community preferences. Demographic trends indicate a continued demand for city living.
The Promise of China's Eurocentricism
Can we transform China’s Eurocentric towns from architectural caricatures into urban catalysts, and from one-dimensional exports, into reflective antidotes to the unequivocal and rapacious sprawl that continues to ravage its urban landscape?
Identifying the 'Sabermetrics' of Urbanism
Can successful places be driven by key metrics in the same way Billy Beane assembled the 2002 Oakland As? Guest Shaker Michael Hathorne proposes a little Moneyball for cities.
Crowdfunded Development Gets Boost from New Securities Laws
In the U.S., investment in private development has long been limited to wealthy individuals; making the type of crowdfunding that raised $239 million from 3,100 people for a skyscraper in Bogota difficult. New securities laws should change that.
Development Done Well Is a Community Affair
Crowdsourcing is a great tool for locating potholes and taking surveys – but can it inspire an underdeveloped neighborhood to come together as a community? A developer in Salt Lake City is motivating residents to use DIY techniques in placemaking.
Changing the Water in the Fish Tank
David Foster Wallace's commencement speech, now a viral video, misses an essential truth.
London's Recovery Cleaves a Divided Britain
Giant construction cranes once again dot London's skyline, signs of the British capital's "spring recovery". But with more cranes in the capital than the rest of the country combined, the unbalanced recovery is further diving "two-speed Britain".
In New York's Sky-High Residential Market, It's All About the Views
Robin Finn looks at New York's "Stratospherians", vertical lifestyle fans with deep pockets that are driving the city's residential tower construction, and prices, to new heights.
Are Developer Fees Responsible for Vancouver's High Housing Costs?
The Vancouver Sun looks at the fees that the city charges developers, such as the community amenity contribution, and finds them much higher than neighboring areas. Even though costs are higher, so are developer profits.
Breaking the Glass Apple: Arguing for Architectural Complexity in New York
With recent developments in Astor Place, Hudson Yards, and Midtown East, Fred A. Bernstein sees a danger in New York City becoming just another a homogenous city of glass facades like Shanghai or Dubai.
Why Some Say China Isn't Urbanizing Fast Enough
Though China's cities have been growing exponentially, some argue it isn't urbanizing fast enough. Fearing Latin American-style slums, leaders have restricted migration. They're now being urged to ease controls to maximize agglomeration effects.
Better Block Goes Small Town
From Dallas to Denver, Las Vegas to Oklahoma City... and now tiny North Adams, Mass. The wildly successful Better Block model has primarily spawned projects in large urban areas, but small towns are starting to pay attention.
Dream of Suburban D.C. Light Rail a Nightmare to Local Residents
At an open house organized to update the public on plans to build a 16-mile light rail line linking spurs of D.C.'s subway system in suburban Maryland, planners' visions of smart growth where seen as a developer-driven nightmare by local residents.
As Other Cities Boost TOD, Chicago Falters
A new study of transit-oriented growth in America's most transit-served cities reveals that Chicago lags way behind its peers. The area's enduring pattern of sprawling development is blamed.
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.
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
Sarasota County Government
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
