Urban Development

With good land hard to find, developers are cashing in: on strangely configured sites. Think of a trapezoidal house, a 35-foot-wide golfer's retreat and a 'cow's face' plot.

March 19, 2006 - Wall Street Journal / Real Estate Journal

In the Rockies, developers and oil and natural gas companies are vying for access to the same land -- but what could be the consequences for local communities?

March 19, 2006 - The Chicago Tribune

A plan to spruce up D.C.'s Anacostia River has some residents anxious. Slated for a grand renewal project... the area stands at the juncture of poverty and opportunity.

March 18, 2006 - Grist Magazine

Previously congested with pedestrian and shopping malls, the downtown is enjoying new development after reintroduction of the street grid.

March 18, 2006 - The Raleigh-Durham Independent Weekly

The council names the top 10 tall building projects completed during 2005. Only one (Bloomberg Tower in New York) of the top 10 is in the US.

March 17, 2006 - The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Studies

Los Angeles' downtown lofts used to be low-rent, bohemian spaces. A lot more than the rent has changed. Now there are "demi-lofts and soft lofts, new-construction lofts, condo lofts and townhouse lofts."

March 17, 2006 - Los Angeles Times, West Magazine

Music giant EMI may sell the famous Capital Records building in Hollywood to a housing developer. Converting landmark corporate buildings to housing has become a trend in Southern California.

March 16, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

There has been little to equal the speed and extent of the development of the Chinese city of Chongqing, which is growing so rapidly, a population equivalent to that of Luxembourg is added each year.

March 16, 2006 - The Guardian Unlimited

While research has yet to conclusively prove a link between neighborhood design and childhood obesity, studies do show that urban design considerations can facilitate healthy child outcomes.

March 15, 2006 - The Future of Children (Princeton-Brookings)

It's not okay for government to evict property owners in the name of "over-reaching redevelopment," a Los Angeles Times editorial warns.

March 14, 2006 - Abhijeet Chavan

With few restrictions imposed by land use plans, northeast Los Angeles has been like the Wild West for developers. That may be about to change.

March 13, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

Although more expensive, replacing a critical yet obsolete viaduct with a tunnel would leave the most room for development.

March 11, 2006 - Seattle Weekly

How to emulate The Donald.

March 10, 2006 - The Dallas Observer

India's Supreme Court has approved the controversial sale of prime government-owned land in the heart of the financial capital, Mumbai.

March 9, 2006 - BBC News

Washington Post columnist Roger K. Lewis argues that antiquated zoning laws, often written by lawyers instead of planners or designers, need an extensive makeover.

March 8, 2006 - The Washington Post

Property rights advocates clash with those who seek to preserve open space over some of Los Angeles last undeveloped land.

March 8, 2006 - The Los Angeles Times

Since the 1970s, city officials in Lowell, Massachusetts, have been open minded to redevelopment strategies. Today, their patient efforts are paying off as condominium and apartment construction is helping to reinvent this former great textile city.

March 7, 2006 - The Boston Globe

A suburban Rochester town halts demolitions of older homes to be replaced with large 'McMansions'.

March 7, 2006 - Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

A developer finds an innovative space solution to create Boise's fourth tallest building.

March 7, 2006 - The Idaho Statesman

New legislation would more strictly enforce planning regulations governing public buildings and parks, regulations now often ignored by planners and developers.

March 6, 2006 - David Gest