Urban Development
How Placemaking Lost its Way — And How it Can Get Back on Track
The term has often become diluted, getting attached to projects that don’t live up to its lofty aspirations.
Mess Might Just be the Secret Weapon That Planners Forgot
In “Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything” 43 writers from around the world sing the praises the gentle chaos that exemplifies a thriving metropolis.
Interactive, 3D Chicago Zoning Map Lets You Visualize Potential Development
A new tool creates a visual model of potential development on Chicago lots based on the property’s specific zoning regulations.
India’s Women-only ‘Pink Parks:’ Safe Refuge or Segregated Enclaves?
Women-only public spaces can provide safety and community, but critics argue they fail to address deeper structural problems.
Paradise Lost, Paradise Found: Planning for People Rather Than Cars in Hawai'i
With better planning Honolulu can become an active travel paradise. Replace car sewers with pedestrian promenades, and build urban villages where it is easy to get around without driving.
LA County Adopts First Heat Action Plan
LA County has adopted its first Heat Action Plan, a long-term, people-centered framework to reduce heat risks, protect public health, and adapt communities, homes, and public spaces to a hotter and more dangerous climate.
Battle Over $15 Billion in Data Centers Erupts in Rural Southern California County
Imperial County residents and local officials oppose two proposed data centers that would significantly impact natural resources.
January Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
New York and New Jersey enact new tenant protections, Brightline West announces an opening date, and could a Nevada law have killed tens of thousands of trees?
Missoula Approves Zoning Reform Emphasizing More Diverse Housing, Walkability
The city’s new zoning code, map, and development standards will guide more expansive housing options and improved walkability.
Tracing the Destruction of the Highway Baltimore Never Built
In “Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore,” historian Emily Lieb demonstrates how the mere threat of a highway project, combined with systemic redlining and predatory real estate practices, can dismantle a community just as effectively as physical construction can.
LA Metro Opposes TOD Law, Fearing Backlash to Transit Expansion
Metro wants an exemption from California’s new housing law, despite the law’s potential to increase ridership by putting more housing near transit stations.
AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
When AI stops talking and starts showing.
Publishing for Planners: A New Era for Island Press
As the legendary legacy publisher transitions into a new life phase, publisher Heather Boyer and senior editor Stacy Eisenstark reflect on the past and the future of creating books for planners.
Florida Lawmakers to Reconsider 2024 Law Blocking Local Resilience Efforts
Legislators are proposing changes to a bill that froze all local land use and building code changes, including those designed to reduce risks from flooding and hurricanes.
Planning Trends for 2026: States and Cities Take Initiative, Passenger Rail Gains Steam, and the Costs of AI Revealed
With federal funding for everything from transportation projects to housing assistance under threat, city and state governments are poised to take a stronger role in building strong, resilient local economies and public services.
Washington House Legalizes Corner Cafes, Bodegas Statewide
The near-unanimous vote allows commercial uses in residential areas in nearly every Washington neighborhood.
The Superstar Metro Argument... And Why It Fails
One argument against solving the housing shortage in large, expensive cities is that growth in those cities will drain people and wealth from declining areas. Data does not agree.
A Classic Revived, and More Important Than Ever
In “Livable Streets 2.0.” Donald Appleyard’s son, Bruce Appleyard, builds on his father’s seminal work and examines what it means today in an age of autonomous vehicles, modern policing technology, “20 is Plenty” and more.
Arizona Tightens Groundwater Restrictions to Rein in Agribusinesses
The state is creating an ‘active management area’ in the western part of the state, where agribusinesses including a Saudi alfalfa exporter have practically free rein over water supplies.
Arlington’s New Form-Based Zoning Designed to Guide a Cohesive Public Realm
Form-based zoning focuses on the design of buildings and how they interact with the public realm.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
