Urban Development

Dan Rosenfeld looks at two recent projects in L.A. that incorporate public art components and finds that "investments in public art may provide the highest financial returns of any funds committed to an aspect of a transit project."

May 29, 2012 - Urban Land

Christopher Hume surveys Toronto's "mid-rise crisis" and asks why the city has made it nearly impossible to build "the urban residential form par excellence."

May 29, 2012 - Toronto Star

The sale of distressed mortgages is far less publicized than talk of the market for foreclosed properties. But these loans are being actively traded—in 2011 this activity included 149,000 loans which translates to roughly $26 billion in trades.

May 27, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

As libraries and and post offices are replaced by private development while streets and sidewalks lack funding, what can be done to enliven the public realm?

May 27, 2012 - PlaceShakers

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, Christopher B. Leinberger summarizes a new report he's co-authored for the Brookings Institution that demonstrates the correlation between walkability and real estate value.

May 26, 2012 - The New York Times

The Grid solicited ideas from some of Toronto's smartest people for how to make the city better, no matter what the cost or feasibility. David Topping and Katie Underwood deliver the inventive results.

May 24, 2012 - The Grid

At a packed, May 17 meeting in Oakland, filled with transit advocates, tea-partiers, and builders, leaders of the two regional planning agencies selected "Plan Bay Area" as the blueprint to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions 17% by 2035.

May 24, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

John Wildermuth discusses San Francisco's bounce back from a tremendous slowdown in new housing construction last year.

May 23, 2012 - City Insider

The financial crises faced by many municipalities has them searching for ever more creative means to bolster city budgets. As a result, non-profit institutions are increasingly being asked to complete payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements.

May 23, 2012 - Inside Higher Ed

Bridget Moriarity profiles a public-private partnership that is working to bring increased density and walkability deep in the heart of Texas.

May 23, 2012 - Next American City

Matt Brian explores the incredible lengths retail property owners and local authorities are going to lure Apple Stores to their areas.

May 21, 2012 - The Next Web

With several sporting events of national notice taking place in downtown Los Angeles, last weekend provided a prime platform to showcase the resurgence of the area. However, big-ticket events are just one of the many forces re-energizing downtown.

May 21, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Michael Kimmelman ventures to Colombia's reborn second city to explore what new buildings and infrastructure have brought to the city's residents, what it has not, and what remains to be done.

May 20, 2012 - The New York Times

Ten years after publishing of The Rise of the Creative Class, the prominent city-booster says high-rises are “vertical suburbs” and we need “urban environments that stir the spirit.”

May 19, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

In search of cheap rent and an urban experience with some bona fide street cred, young people are making the move out to the Rust Belt, Will Doig reports.

May 17, 2012 - Salon

In the first edition of a new series, Richard Florida introduces us to the inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and artists, designers and musicians invested in the bottom-up effort to revive Detroit.

May 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Josh Stephens muses on the modern state of an erstwhile global capital that has kept its aesthetic charms, but lost its anima.

May 16, 2012 - Next American City

Alan G. Brake celebrates the Queen City's utilization of public space, place making, and mixed-use development to build its competitive advantage, despite America's "deep-seated anti-urban streak."

May 15, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.

May 15, 2012 - Abhijeet Chavan

Christopher Hawthorne begins a series exploring the ways in which L.A. is utilizing its boulevards to try on "a post-suburban identity for the first time", with a look at Atlantic Boulevard, a major north-south spine.

May 14, 2012 - Los Angeles Times