Urban Development

San Francisco's planning and permitting process has become so complicated and expensive that former advocates of preservation are now fighting back against the city's historic preservation efforts.

January 3, 2012 - The New York Times

Walmart stores -- once vilified by cities for their impact on local smaller retailers -- are now getting the red carpet treatment from some urban cities. Walmart has adapted its store design, and cities need the tax revenue from large retailers.

January 3, 2012 - Shopping Centers Today

Curbed offers it's eclectic selection of the "best, worst, and ...showiest of things that happened in Los Angeles real estate, architecture, and neighborhoods this year."

January 2, 2012 - Curbed Los Angeles

Will Doig takes us through some of the biggest projects to look out for across the nation this year, proving that cities are neither as cash-strapped nor as unimaginative as we perhaps thought.

January 2, 2012 - Salon

University Place, Washington is a small town struggling through the recession. With its credit rating recently downgraded and labeled a "negative outlook," the town is facing new challenges as it tries to emerge from the hole.

January 1, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Chuck Wolfe analyzes his 2011 articles which appeared on Planetizen and in other sources, and derives his urbanist trends to watch for in 2012.

December 31, 2011 - myurbanist

Call it megachurch fatigue: A proposed Sufism Reoriented sanctuary is just one of an increasing number of religious developments facing no shortage of community backlash in northern California.

December 31, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Curbed offers its eclectic selection of the most deserving people, places and things in the real estate architecture, and neighborhood universes of New York City.

December 30, 2011 - Curbed

The State Supreme Court struck down redevelopment. Now it's up to the political players in California to strike a deal to bring it back. Can they do it? And what will the state's price be?

December 30, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Steep and sudden price reductions are being felt in real estate markets in Shanghai and across China. Indicators suggest that the 'biggest bubble of the century' may have just burst.

December 30, 2011 - Foreign Affairs

Shrinkage -- the term long associated with rust belt cities like Detroit and Cleveland that saw their heydays 60 years ago and have been in decline since -- is now being applied to Phoenix and other fast-growing areas of the Southwest and Sun Belt.

December 29, 2011 - National Public Radio - Morning Edition

Madrid Río, a six-mile long park in the heart of Madrid, replaces the blight left over from a highway that once disconnected neighborhoods and reclaims a neglected waterfront.

December 29, 2011 - The New York Times

Adjacent to the U.S. Embassy, a five-star Marriott hotel designed to withstand bombings may serve as a "security bubble" once opened in February 2013.

December 28, 2011 - NPR

Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.

December 28, 2011 - Salon.com

Five years after Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, Brazil passed the "Clean City Law", banning all visual pollution around the city, both citizens and businesses are thankful.

December 28, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

The NYT chief art critic, Michael Kimmelman, reviews Madrid's almost complete six-mile long park, Madrid Rio, that is having a transformative effect on the city. The park was made possible by the under-grounding of the M-30 ring road.

December 28, 2011 - The New York Times

What's in a name? For some of New York City's buildings, a brand that reflects history, mood, and even geography. Joanne Kaufman takes us through the naming process for some of the city's newest buildings, and what they might mean to buyers.

December 27, 2011 - The New York Times

New legislation by the Maharashtra State Governments would allow private land owners to apply for city boundary expansions as a tool to ease congestion.

December 27, 2011 - Hindustan Times

Can Honduras develop it's own Hong Kong by enabling free market "startup cities"? The sleepy city of Trujillo is selected for the country's first experiment.

December 25, 2011 - The Economist

Tom Miller, author of "Urban Billion," discusses the pitfalls and shortcomings of a too-quickly urbanizing Beijing in this interview with David Pierson.

December 24, 2011 - Los Angeles Times