Urban Development

Seattle, Washington

How Seattle Plans to Leverage Public Resources to Protect Arts and Culture

The Cultural Space Agency, proposed in Seattle, would be a new type of public development authority, a city agency with a mission to preserve and create arts and culture in the face of gentrification.

November 10, 2020 - Crosscut

Al Fresco Streets

Parametric Modeling for Planning in Uncertain Times

A new technology- and data-drive approach to planning could provide direction as society faces challenges of unprecedented scale.

November 10, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Election 2020

What Biden's Win Could Mean for Land Use, Transportation, and Climate

Campaign in poetry and govern in prose, the saying goes. Now that the reality of a Biden presidency is settling in, what does it mean for how the United States plans its future?

November 10, 2020 - James Brasuell

Freeway Construction

Cities Have Doubled in Size Globally in the Last 20 Years, Study Says

New research from China finds an incredible rate of urban expansion in North America and China.

November 9, 2020 - South China Morning Post

Winter Markets

Winter Is Coming—Capitalize on It

Outdoor dining programs have provided relief for local restaurants and retailers, while offering an oasis of social life for residents. The winter months will challenge that momentum, but creative, flexible approaches can save the day again.

November 9, 2020 - Andrew M. Manshel

CTA

New Approach to Capital Investment Expected in Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is readying a new capital investment plan that will spur the local economy and change the way the city apportions its infrastructure funding.

November 8, 2020 - Chicago Sun-Times

Outdoor Dining

Imagining the Curb Zones of the Not So Distant Future

Five panelists discussed the future of curbside parking and agree that there are technological and financial incentives to change priorities for these spaces.

November 6, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Stars and Stripes

2020 Election Results for Transportation and Land Use

Thinking beyond the presidency: Here's an Election Day 2020 roundup of election issues related to planning, urban design, and the built and natural environments.

November 4, 2020 - James Brasuell

Resilient Home

New Collaborations for Land Banks and Community Land Trusts

Land banks and community land trusts are finding new ways to work together in light of the ongoing housing affordability crisis and the new economic pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

November 4, 2020 - Land Lines

Montgomery County Public Transit

Big Tax Cut for Transit Oriented Housing Clears Executive Veto in Maryland

The Montgomery County Council wants a tax break for transit oriented development whether County Executive Marc Elrich likes it or not.

November 4, 2020 - Source of the Spring

Mega-Developments

Status Check: U.S. Mega Projects

Despite the economic uncertainty and reports of a massive upheaval in patterns of living and working in the United States, developers are continuing to spend billions of dollars on massive development projects all over the country.

November 3, 2020 - Smart Cities Dive

Lafayette Square

Two Presidential Candidates, Two Approaches to Housing Policy

The Biden and Trump campaigns are from different worlds on housing policy, according to this analysis.

November 3, 2020 - CityLimits

2020 Election

Coronavirus and the Future of Cities: A Final Pre-Election Tour of the Issues

This is Planetizen's seventh collection of articles on the subject of the future of cities in the wake of the pandemic, and how cities and communities are changing plans to respond to the many changes that world has experienced in 2020.

November 3, 2020 - James Brasuell

residential Neighborhood

Urban Link: UN Endorses a Uniform Measure for Urbanization

The Penn Institute for Urban Research's latest issue of Urban Link features Lewis Dijkstra writing on the Degree of Urbanisation, the first global definition of cities, towns and rural areas endorsed by the UN.

November 2, 2020 - Penn IUR Urban Link

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Five More Affluent NYC Neighborhoods to Upzone

In keeping with the goals of the Regional Plan Association's Fourth Regional Plan, New York City must continue its nascent trend of rezoning for more building capacity in affluent neighborhoods.

November 2, 2020 - Regional Plan Association

Foreclosure Sign

Real Estate Defaults Are Coming. Don’t Waste Them.

Here’s what the federal government should do to grab the opportunity to create affordable housing.

November 1, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Moody Bible Institute

Massive Residential Development Revealed in Chicago's Near North Side

New details have emerged on a project the Chicago Tribune is calling this one of Chicago's most ambitious development proposals in decades.

November 1, 2020 - Chicago Tribune

Redlining

Court Complaint Accuses Redfin's 'Minimum Price Policy' of Redlining Minority Neighborhoods

A bombshell investigation accuses an online real estate company of a contemporary form of redlining.

October 30, 2020 - National Fair Housing Alliance

Vancouver Car Free Robson

Vancouver's State-of-Art Climate Action Plan Incorporates Multiple Goals

The city of Vancouver's new Climate Emergency Action Plan incorporates a comprehensive scope of goals, including affordability, public health, and social equity, which can help build broad public support.

October 29, 2020 - City of Vancouver Climate Emergency Action Plan

Blight Demolition

$160 Million in Bond Funding for Demolitions on the Ballot in Detroit

Proposal N, on the ballot for Detroit voters next week, will provide $160 million in bond funding for demolitions and $90 million to mothball homes for future rehab, but, according to this opinion, it won't solve the city's blight challenges.

October 29, 2020 - Detroit Free Press

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.