Urban Development

The Tenderloin

Safe At Home: Securing Affordable Housing in a Pandemic

An interview on the critical importance of securing quality affordable housing during the pandemic, coupled with the challenge of responding to the operational needs of ongoing development projects.

April 13, 2020 - The Planning Report

Wisconsin

Will the Coronavirus Spare Rural America?

Many counties throughout the nation have recorded no deaths from COVID-19. A perception exists that population density is responsible for the massive death toll in New York and New Jersey and that exurban and rural counties may be spared.

April 13, 2020 - The New York Times

Regional Transit

A New Ballot Measure Could Increase Caltrain's Funding by $108 Million Per Year

Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco county voters could see a ballot measure to fund an ambitious Caltrain plan with a one-eighth cent sales tax, amounting to more than $100 million dollars per year.

April 12, 2020 - The Mercury News

Los Angeles Grand Park

L.A. Department of City Planning Goes Remote

Los Angeles Department of City Planning Director Vince Bertoni shares the status of the planning department and the daily challenges of providing public-facing service and community meetings under social distancing orders.

April 9, 2020 - The Planning Report

New York Public Transit

Watch: 'Planning and Health in the Time of COVID-19'

Listen in as planners discuss the response of the profession to the coronavirus pandemic in California.

April 9, 2020 - APA California via YouTube

City Kids

Project For Public Spaces Launches Initiative to Improve Marketplaces Worldwide

Project for Public Spaces' Market Cities Initiative seeks to understand and addresses challenges faced by the public marketplaces to improve market infrastructure and promote healthy food systems in local communities.

April 9, 2020 - Project For Public Spaces

California Shelter-in-Place

Contrasting the Coronavirus Impact in the Bay Area to New York City

Early intervention, or population density? NPR reporters based in the Bay Area and New York City offer explanations as to why the two regions are seeing such a wide contrast in experiences during the coronavirus outbreak.

April 8, 2020 - NPR

Interbay Seattle

Seattle Interbay Industrial Plan Is Dead

Many elements of the plan for the Ballard-Interbay were never implemented, and its relevance as a planning document is over.

April 8, 2020 - The Urbanist

Social Distancing

Digital Design Review Approved in Seattle

Emergency legislation has cleared the way for a virtual design review process to keep the wheels of the development industry moving in one of the nation's fastest growing cities.

April 8, 2020 - The Urbanist

Stormwater Infrastructure

Resiliency Frameworks and Disaster Responses Pre-COVID

Los Angeles resilience officer Aaron Gross and Hitachi's Beverly Rider provide a point-in-time glimpse at the evolving notion of resilience and how governments, businesses, neighborhoods, and people prepare for, respond to, and recover from disaster.

April 7, 2020 - The Planning Report

Port

Shipping Delays Causing Construction Slowdown

Materials procured overseas are taking longer to arrive in the United States, and the delays are causing a ripple effect in the construction industry.

April 7, 2020 - The New York Times

Quayside, Toronto

Decision on Sidewalk Labs' Plan for Toronto Waterfront Delayed

The spread of the coronavirus has delayed one of the most closely watched planning projects in North America.

April 7, 2020 - Smart Cities World

Rally

The Coronavirus Pandemic Rejuvenates the Ecofascism Movement

Ecofascism, or the "promotion of authoritarian, facist [sic] ideologies for environmental good," is mistaken for virtue signaling as the coronavirus sweeps the globe.

April 7, 2020 - Grist

Brownstones

Stoops as a Respite in These Challenging Times

As New York City has shut down and people remain physically isolated, stoops provide spaces where residents can safely connect with others and the city itself.

April 5, 2020 - Curbed New York

Spanish Steps

How Coronavirus Has Transformed Italy's Urban Spaces

Italy has been hit hard by the pandemic, and slowing the spread of the virus has meant dramatic changes in urban life.

April 3, 2020 - The Conversation

Parking Space

New York Parking Is a Pricey but Valued Amenity

In a city where owning a car can be an expensive burden, off-street parking spaces are still highly desired commodities.

April 3, 2020 - The New York Times

Driving

In N.Y.C., Speeding Is Up as Pandemic Continues

Data shows that drivers are speeding on the city’s mostly deserted streets.

April 2, 2020 - StreetsBlog NYC

Coronavirus

Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing Promises Not Yet Fulfilled

The number of drive-through testing sites across the country is still low. With continued supply shortages, when and if the situation will change are unclear.

April 2, 2020 - Oregon Live

Short North

Fiscal Effects of the Pandemic Depend on Tax Structures

Cities that rely on sales and income tax revenues to fund vital local services can expect immediate fiscal consequences from the coronavirus pandemic.

April 2, 2020 - Brookings

Cherry Blossom Washington, D.C.

Urban Forestry Plans Obstructed by Urban Development Plans in D.C.

Growth and development are the biggest obstacles to Washington, D.C.'s plans to add more than 10,000 trees every year over the next 25 years.

April 2, 2020 - 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.