Urban Development

Atlanta Civic Center

Atlanta Launching Affordable Housing Development Program for City-Owned Land

The Atlanta Department of City Planning has identified 877 acres of land on 490 parcels for potential affordable housing development.

April 30, 2021 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Houston, Construction

Watch: Debunking Myths About Houston's Lack of Zoning

A video published last week by City Beautiful reveals the myths and misconceptions of Houston's land use regulation system.

April 29, 2021 - City Beautiful

Oil field and houses in Signal Hill, California

Your Not-So-Friendly Neighborhood Oil Well

Much of California's oil and gas extraction takes place in residential neighborhoods, posing significant health risks to entire communities.

April 29, 2021 - Yale Environment 360

Waldorf-Astoria

Special Permits Could Be Required for Hotel Development in New York City

Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing ahead with a controversial approval step for hotel development, despite the warnings of city budget office staff about the long-term consequences of the move.

April 29, 2021 - The New York Times

Uber Sidecar Lyft

Study: Ride-Sharing Increases Urban Congestion

New research shows that ride sharing contributes to increased congestion and decreased transit ridership.

April 28, 2021 - MIT News

Downtown Detroit

How Easy Is it to Repurpose Offices into Apartments?

Adaptive reuse is a hot concept, but regulatory and financial hurdles have made it slow to catch on in practice.

April 28, 2021 - Slate

Vacant Lot

Unpermitted RV Park Faces Code Enforcement Pressure in Oakland

A controversy over the unpermitted use of RVs for shelter on an otherwise empty lot in West Oakland reveals a confluence of Bay Area housing crises.

April 28, 2021 - The Mercury News

Aerial view of Atlanta BeltLine greenway with multistory buildings one ither side

Suburban Renters Flocked to Atlanta During the Pandemic

The city's comparatively affordable rents and low unemployment rate have attracted new residents during a year when many big cities saw their population growth slow.

April 28, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Garbage truck and garbage collector

New York City Battles a Garbage Crisis

Last year's budget cuts have led to mounting complaints as the city's sanitation department falls behind on collections and rodent complaints surge.

April 28, 2021 - Bloomberg

Portland Condo High-Rise

Housing Vouchers Prove an Effective Tool Against Homelessness

The Biden administration plans to expand the federal housing voucher program, which currently provides rental assistance to 2.3 million U.S. households.

April 27, 2021 - Next City

Masks and Home Sales

Checking in With the Wild Pandemic-Era Housing Market

Bidding wars, TikToks, and disparate impacts—every day there's more evidence that the pandemic has only worsened the nation's housing affordability crisis.

April 27, 2021 - Slate

Buffalo Bayou Park

Houston Residents Want to Build Pocket Parks on City-Owned Lots

In a park-poor neighborhood, vacant lots provide an untapped opportunity for small-scale parks.

April 26, 2021 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Stoplight and lights

Hong Kong Parking Plan Denounced as 'Wasteful'

Hong Kong's leaders want to build more parking for the growing number of private vehicles, but transportation experts suggest parking management could be a faster and more affordable solution.

April 26, 2021 - Transit Jam

Streetcar

'Transit-Oriented Communities' Would Take Advantage of Bus System Changes in New Orleans

Transit planning is land use planning and land use planning is transit planning.

April 26, 2021 - Mass Transit

Freeway Cap Park

Take a Look at Midtown Atlanta's Proposed Freeway Cap Park

Inspiration for the cause of putting a 25-acre park on top of a 14-lane freeway.

April 26, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Washington, D.C. Street

Curb Space Management Finally Getting a Good Look

Cities are beginning to recognize that effective curb management is an important part of reducing congestion and ensuring equitable use of public space.

April 23, 2021 - Governing

Public Housing

New York Residents Support Affordable Housing, Survey Says

Contrary to the dominant narrative about the negative perceptions of affordable housing projects among the public, a recent survey reveals widespread support for affordable housing in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region.

April 23, 2021 - Regional Plan Association

New York Development

Opinion: Zoning Reform Is a Social Justice Issue

Far from an obscure, wonky local issue, zoning reform has the potential to advance social justice in American cities.

April 22, 2021 - The New York Times

New York City

Cities as a Climate Change Solution

With the urban exodus hysteria of the early pandemic in the rearview mirror, urban apologists are staking high ground on urban soil.

April 22, 2021 - Bloomberg Green+CityLab

Columbus Ohio

Ohio Economists: Relax Zoning to Lower Housing Costs

A panel of Ohio economists make the case for more multi-family housing and businesses in single-family neighborhoods.

April 22, 2021 - Ohio Capital Journal

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.