Urban Development

Scattered-site rental management is something nonprofits have long found to be a challenge. But there are ways of pulling it off, and those who have done it tell Shelterforce how, and why it’s worth it.

June 9, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

With "guys in suits" having replaced the "artists, weirdos and blue-collar families" that surrounded Adam Davidson while growing up in the Village in the 1970s, he wonders if mom-and-pop shops can survive the neighborhood's extreme gentrification.

June 8, 2012 - The New York Times

Geoff Dyer points out why the difference between the typical strip mall and the multi-way boulevard may be more subtle than you think.

June 8, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Say what you will about the gentrification of Brownstone Brooklyn, but there's no question that Everett and Evelyn Ortner's regard for the neighborhood's historical treasures had a significant influence on its evolution over the past 50 years.

June 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Yesterday, New York City's Planning Commission voted nearly unanimously to support a slightly reduced version of New York University's controversial expansion plans for two superblocks in Greenwich Village, reports Tom Stoelker.

June 7, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Chinese developers recently completed their controversial replication of the Austrian village of Hallstatt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reports Molly Oswaks.

June 7, 2012 - Gizmodo

John Yung traces Cincinnati's dramatic comeback over the last decade, and gives credit to the Center City Plan developed in 2002 by HR&A and Cooper, Robertson & Partners for laying the groundwork for the city's subsequent revitalization.

June 6, 2012 - UrbanCincy

Key to the upswing in the Brooklyn rental market was the failure of the last wave of building condominiums - providing a ready supply that only needed to be converted to rentals. The sale of a Williamsburg building set a record outside of Manhattan.

June 5, 2012 - The New York Times - Business Day

Hazel Borys argues that "the payback of livable places really can’t be calculated in dollars, or pounds of fat or carbon, or even hours. The payback of place is passion."

June 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Matt Shaw updates the status of New York's efforts to catch up with the global rise in super-tall residential skyscrapers.

June 4, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Stalled for years by the recession, Sam Allen looks at the prospects for the revival of ambitious plans to remake L.A.'s Grand Avenue.

June 4, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Thomas Kaplan and Danny Hakim report on the collapse of New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's $4 billion plan to create the country’s largest convention center and a casino in Queens.

June 4, 2012 - The New York Times

Add this one to the "This is how they spend my tax dollars?!" file. Scott Huler exposes a ploy by legislators from 20 coastal North Carolina counties to outlaw effectively measuring and predicting the potential rise in sea level.

June 4, 2012 - Scientific American Plugged In Blog

It used to be that visibility was the most important factor in siting a business. This may no longer be the case, argues Kevin Klinkenberg, as smartphones make location irrelevant.

June 2, 2012 - New Urbanism Blog

Planned as intensely for the two weeks this summer when the world's attention will be focused on the XXX Olympiad as the decades following the end of the last race, Anthony Faiola examines whether London's Olympics provide a model for future hosts.

June 2, 2012 - The Washington Post

As Philadelphia seeks to shift the basis of its property tax system, Catherine Lucey and Jan Ransom report on legislation to be introduced by two City Councilmen that could provide property tax relief to long-time residents of gentrifying areas.

June 1, 2012 - philly.com

While raw density numbers are sure to pick a fight, discussing character-based building typologies one neighborhood at a time may help find common ground.

June 1, 2012 - PlaceShakers

A new development intending to jump-start downtown Newark's renewal, and designed by Richard Meier, is banking on the stimulating powers of an unlikely economic engine - teachers.

May 31, 2012 - Fast Company

Daniel Denvir's article will have you thinking twice about whether your elected officials should be dedicating public resources to support the newest mega-project in your city as he explores "Great Moments in the History of Boondoggles."

May 31, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Lisa W. Foderaro reports on a new deal that enables adaptive reuse of historic structures and commercial development at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and ends a long-simmering dispute.

May 30, 2012 - New York Times