Urban Development

Santa Clara Residents Back Stadium Spending

Residents in Santa Clara, California have approved a measure that would direct $937 million in funding towards the creation of a stadium intended to lure the San Francisco 49ers football team.

June 9, 2010 - Sa Francisco Chronicle

The Extent of South Africa's World Cup Infrastructure

The Infrastructurist points to this infographic that outlines the expenditures and infrastructure projects that were built to accommodate the World Cup, beginning this Friday in South Africa.

June 9, 2010 - Infrastructurist

Ten Actions For Cities In Response To Gulf Spill

Grist's Jonathan Hiskes spoke with smart growth leaders to devise strategies that municipalities, as opposed to U.S. government, can take to lessen oil dependency - that are financially sustainable, not overly dependent on technology, and ready to go

June 8, 2010 - Grist

Are Planners Socialists for Trying To Encourage 'Livability'?

Conservative commentators criticize the Obama administration for supporting 'livability' programs, calling them social engineering. Neal Pierce argues that 'livability' is shorthand for a strategy that tackles a number of serious problems.

June 7, 2010 - Citiwire.net

TOD in Peril on Route 66

A planned extension of Los Angeles' Gold Line light rail out through the Route 66 towns of Azusa and Glendora was sold as a way to bring transit-oriented development to struggling towns. With the economy down, will it still work?

June 7, 2010 - Pasadena Star News

Green Urbanism's Affordability Problem

Nature writer David Oates embeds himself in green, urban Portland and finds much to like about the green city movement but also much room for improvement.

June 5, 2010 - Orion

Photographing a Decade of Change in New York City

More than 100 photographers were set out on the streets of New York as part of a six month project to document the changes the city has gone through over the past decade.

June 5, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

Free Courses to Improve Russia's Cities

To help change the pattern of development in Russian cities, free courses are being offered to local architects about solving the problems facing the countries growing urban areas.

June 4, 2010 - The Moscow Times

Countering Car-Orientation

Cities around the world are trying to undo decades of car-oriented planning. Lester Brown takes a look at the trend and finds some models for other global cities to follow.

June 3, 2010 - Grist

Cisco Helps Build "Instant Cities"

Cisco is contributing technology to Songdo City in South Korea, a brand new and complete city for a million people. China plans to build hundreds of these "cities-in-a-box" as a massive rural-to-urban migration occurs there.

June 3, 2010 - San Jose Mercury News

Federal Fortresses: How Much Building Security is Too Much?

Maureen McAvey, Executive Vice President with the Urban Land Institute, spoke recently to a congressional committee on the growing problem of federal buildings that are designed with myopic attention to security and ignore urban growth strategies.

June 3, 2010 - Maureen McAvey

Pint-Sized Apartments Hit So Cal

Manhattanites are no stranger to 350 sq ft apartments, but Southern Californians? Tiny apartments in Santa Monica are popular, increasing access to amenities in a very expensive market.

June 2, 2010 - Kansas City Star

Metropolises Aren't Sustainable

Famed architect Leon Krier says that "metropolitan development is a mistake and is unsustainable," calling for a more polycentric approach.

June 2, 2010 - The Urban Vision

Chilly Kazakhstan Building Indoor City

In the capital city of Astana, temperatures can drop to -40F. Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbayev says the city is fighting the cold by building an entirely indoor city, under a dome 2 kilometers across.

June 2, 2010 - The Telegraph

Amid a Slow Recovery, Frustration Grows in Haiti

Frustration and anger are rampant in Port-au-Prince, where recovery from the earthquake that thrashed the city in January has been slow and, by some local accounts, corrupt.

June 1, 2010 - The New York Times

Revamped Coney Island Opens

A new amusement and entertainment section has opened at New York City's Coney Island. Long suffering from disrepair and neglect, the new development marks a turnaround. But some locals still object.

May 31, 2010 - Yahoo News

Citizens Fight Cookie-Cutter Design in Birmingham

Residents of Birmingham, Alabama are rallying against a drive-through Chick-fil-A going up in their neighborhood, showing a growing awareness of the effect of development on the character of their community.

May 29, 2010 - The Birmingham News

Seattle's Backyard Cottages Encouraged

Don't call them granny flats or inlaw units! These are separate units that can only be built on lots of 4,000 sq. ft. minimum. Only 50 have been built or permitted since the trial began in 2006. The goal is to bring affordabllity to SFH neighborhoods

May 28, 2010 - USA Today

Looking Forward to the Future in Columbus

Like Daniel Burnham's famous Chicago plan, a bold plan for Columbus, Ohio has been proposed by the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. The plan, developed by consultant MSI Design, hearkens back to turn-of-the-century city plans that went unrealized.

May 27, 2010 - The Columbus Dispatch

In Reusing Infrastructure, D.C. Should Look to NYC

Columnist Roger K. Lewis says Washington D.C. has a lot to learn from New York City in terms of reusing old and outdated infrastructure.

May 27, 2010 - The Washington Post

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.