Urban Development

The U.S.'s Priciest Megamansions

From a private art wing with steel doors that drop from the ceiling to a 70-foot saltwater swimming pool, these homes have it all -- for around $50 million.

January 17, 2006 - The Wall Street Journal

Shanghai 400, L.A. 46

The number of skyscrapers to be built in each city hints at the complexities of different development patterns.

January 17, 2006 - Los Angeles Downtown News

Los Angeles Undergoes Transformation To Central, Public City

Harold Meyerson argues that thanks to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, transportation and land use in the City of Angels now focuses on the public sector, not the private realm, as the Mayor takes on a strong central identity heretofore lacking.

January 17, 2006 - The Washington Post

The Drawback of Skywalks

They seemed like a good idea at the time, but planners now find skywalks drain life from the streetscape below.

January 16, 2006 - Associated Press

Has Las Vegas Become Too Hot For Even Big Developers?

A noted builder backs down in Las Vegas as construction costs wipe out margins. Is it smart business, or the start of something bigger?

January 13, 2006 - The Slatin Report

New Orlean's Massive And Controversial Teardown Effort

The fight over what, where and when to build -- or demolish -- in New Orleans gets muddier by the day.

January 12, 2006 - The Slatin Report

Is New Urbanism Elitist?

Mary Newsom, a Knight Fellow and editor for the Charlotte Observer, responds to criticism that New Urbanism is elitist.

January 11, 2006 - The Naked City

The New Suburbia...Or Whatever It's Called

How Nassau County, New York, is trying to reinvent its "old suburb" status and serve as a model for suburban evolution.

January 11, 2006 - The New York Times

Traverse City’s New Economy Rises On Old Brownfields

Grants, loans, and expertise propel a coastal community, building on considerable funding from Michigan's brownfield redevelopment program.

January 10, 2006 - Michigan Land Use Institute

How the Suburbs Made Us Rich

Without the Suburbs, our parents and grandparents would have paid rent most of their lives, and the equity that so much of the American Dream depends on would simply not have developed, suggests Wendell Cox.

January 9, 2006 - Demographia / PA Township News

New Orleans Begins Demolition of the Lower 9th Ward

The City of New Orleans has started bulldozing buildings in the Lower 9th Ward -- many still containing unidentified remains -- without informing homeowners.

January 7, 2006 - CommonDreams

The Power of Infilltration

Planning Magazine examines how cities are encouraging multifamily projects and higher densities.

January 5, 2006 - Planning Magazine

Schools Curb Energy Costs By Building Green

School officials in Oregon are learning a thing or two from a prototype uber-green classroom near Salem, which uses a large skylight and other technologies to enhance and regulate the natural light coming into the space.

January 5, 2006 - The Oregonian

The Negative Side Of Brownfield Development

Is the government's focus on brownfield development a distraction from other toxic sites that are more dangerous, but have less commercial appeal?

January 3, 2006 - The Boston Globe

Downtown Los Angeles' $10 Billion Renaissance

Depsite having the most concentrated population of the homeless in the western US, $10 billion in investment is transforming gritty downtown Los Angeles into a "Manhattan of the West Coast."

January 3, 2006 - The Washington Post

World Trade Center Redevelopment to Have Residential Component

With a decisive win in his re-election, Mayor Bloomberg spoke to his priorities for his final term as chief of the the US's largest city in his second inaugural address on New Year's Day: Affordable housing and the World Trade Center.

January 3, 2006 - The New York Times

The Transformation of the San Francisc's Transbay Terminal

Will San Francisco finally get its train station? Plans are underway to create the "Grand Central Terminal of the West" from the underused Transbay Terminal.

January 2, 2006 - New York Times (Real Estate)

Land Use Regulations and Housing Prices

A new report from Harvard shows that Boston's housing affordability crisis is created fundamentally by regulation.

January 2, 2006 - The Boston Globe

Far West Texas -- The Next Chic Locale?

From a huge investment by Amazon.com's founder to a fake Prada store, something is brewing in Far West Texas.

December 31, 2005 - The Texas Observer

Dirt Roads As Commuter Corridors

Washington, D.C. suburbs are growing so fast that the roads haven’t caught up.

December 28, 2005 - The Washington Post

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.

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.