Urban Development

Boston, Co-Working

Which Tech Giant is Best Suited to Understand Cities?

The company that best understands what drives city residents’ decisions is best suited to untangle persistent urban problems.

June 17, 2019 - Lev Kushner

San Diego Trolley

Mayor Wants to Eliminate Height Limits Near Transit in San Diego

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has proposed his latest in a series of pro-development policy proposals.

June 16, 2019 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Street Design

Op-Ed: Good Design Isn't Just for Downtowns

Richard Driehaus attests to the importance of intentional, context-oriented design on the neighborhood level.

June 16, 2019 - Crain's Chicago Business

Amazon HQ2

Report Details the Many Risks of Climate Change Facing Queens

The Regional Plan Association recently released a report targeting the climate risks associated with the older housing stock in Central Queens, New York City.

June 16, 2019 - QNS

Young Apartment Residents

World's Largest Co-Living Development Coming to San Jose

The communal living opportunity for San Jose residents was made possible by the creation of an entirely new designation in the city's zoning code.

June 15, 2019 - CityLab

Visitation Valley Greenway

A Route Through the City, S.F. Crosstown Trail Opens

After five years of planning, a San Francisco trail now runs across the city linking neighborhoods and greenspaces.

June 15, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Jose, California

For Lack of Free Parking, Downtown San Jose Loses a Grocery Store

Why isn't there a place for a major grocery store brand in the downtown of one of the most economically active cities in the country?

June 14, 2019 - The Mercury News

San Francisco Construction

The Housing 'Migration Chain' That Results From Upzoning

A new working paper adds another perspective to the debate about easing zoning regulations to address the affordable housing crisis.

June 14, 2019 - CityLab

East Village

East Village Rezoning Falls Short on Affordable Housing

Enacted in 2008, a partial rezone of Manhattan's East Village and Lower East Side failed to deliver on affordable housing projections, falling short by 45 percent.

June 14, 2019 - Curbed New York

Staten Island

Watch: Sea Walls and the Future of Resilience

Vox and Curbed provide multi-media coverage of a Staten Island sea wall project as an example of the necessity of resilient infrastructure, and the shortcomings of our ability to predict the needs of the built environments in changed climates.

June 14, 2019 - Curbed New York

Southside Chicago

Many Contender Sites for Chicago Casino

The decision about where to locate a new casino project depends on competing goals—to maximize revenues or bring jobs and development to neighborhoods that need them.

June 13, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

Arlington County, Virginia

Amazon Donates $3 Million for Housing in Northern Virginia

The online retail giant also donated funding for educational programs at a nearby university and a nearby community college.

June 13, 2019 - The Washington Post

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Advocating for Upzoning in Two of New York's Wealthiest Neighborhoods

The New York City Department of City Planning is expected, very soon, to release a rezoning proposal for the neighborhoods of SoHo and NoHo in New York City.

June 13, 2019 - Medium

London

Around the Globe, Urban Diversity Is Alive and Well

It might feel like the world is shrinking as globalization expands, but many cities still have their individual characters and qualities.

June 12, 2019 - Bloomberg

Seattle Multi-Family and Downtown

Doubt Cast on Induced Demand for Housing

Applied to roads, the theory of induced demand says new construction only brings out more users. But can something similar be said of housing? According to this research, the likely answer is no.

June 12, 2019 - City Observatory

Inland Empire, California

The Small City Leading the New Era of Redevelopment in California

La Verne is the first city in Los Angeles County, and one of the first in the state, to implement an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, designed to generate a source of funding to replace the loss of redevelopment funds during the recession.

June 12, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Adams Morgan District

The Case for Upzoning

The parallel crises of pollution and housing affordability require denser zoning of land uses, otherwise known as upzoning, according to this article.

June 12, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Accessory Dwelling Unit

ADU Reform Moves Forward in Seattle

A sweeping reform of Seattle's current accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules is currently underway. Proposed legislation sets the stage for an ADU boom to potentially match Vancouver and Portland.

June 11, 2019 - The Urbanist

Golden Gate

The Generational Warfare of Our Times

If action isn’t taken to address the major issues the nation faces today, younger people will be contending with a lifetime of hardship. But older generations seem mostly to be looking the other way.

June 10, 2019 - Slate

Golf Course

What Seattle Learned From Studying its Public Golf Courses

Seattle recently completed a strategic business plan for its city-owned municipal golf courses. The first recommendation of the report: "commit to golf as a recreational program offered by the City on par with other recreational offerings."

June 9, 2019 - Seattle Times

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.