Urban Development

Los Angeles Protected Bike Lane

Less Paint, More Barriers, Make for Better Urban Cycling

New research from the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico sheds light on how to make cities safer for cyclists and other road users and refutes some assumptions about bike safety, such as "safety-in-numbers."

June 3, 2019 - CU Denver Today

Des Moines, Iowa

New Zoning Code Aims to Remove Red Tape in Des Moines

The city of Des Moines is hoping to update its zoning code for the first time since 1965.

June 3, 2019 - Des Moines Register

Major League Soccer

Soccer Stadium Development Opposition Grows to a Neighborhood-Level Movement

Displacement concerns surrounding stadium plans for the FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer team have grown into a citywide call for development approvals reform.

June 3, 2019 - WVXU Cincinnati

Twitter Headquarters

Evaluating the 2011 'Twitter Tax Break' Along San Francisco's Troubled Market Street

The 2011 "Twitter tax break" was controversial at the time, and remains so to this day. New offices and employees have filled the corridor of Market Street where the tax break is in effect, but massive challenges persist.

June 2, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Apartment Construction

Seven Ideas for Tackling the Housing Crisis

One expert's take on the housing crisis and which policy solutions might best counter it.

June 2, 2019 - Vox

Manhattan Retail

Op-Ed: SoHo and NoHo Need a Zoning Overhaul

Two SoHo residents argue that outdated zoning holds the Manhattan neighborhoods back, requiring special permits or variances for many current residential and commercial uses.

June 2, 2019 - Crain's Business New York

Minneapolis Minnesota

YIMBYs Leading the Pro-Density Fight

Minneapolis has become an inspiration to other cities about how to successfully challenge NIMBY factions that oppose density and zoning reform.

June 1, 2019 - Grist

Irrigiation Channel

Water Situation Changes for Sprawling Phoenix-Area Development, Delayed by the Recession

The Phoenix metropolitan area is growing again, but the water supply isn't. Many development plans derailed by the Great Recession won't find it easy to start where they left off.

June 1, 2019 - Arizona Republic

Car Bike Lane

Using Gas Tax Revenue to Remove Traffic Lanes Adds to Road Diet Debate

Reducing the number of traffic lanes to improve bike and pedestrian safety can be inherently controversial when auto travel times are increased, and it can upset motorists further when they learn gas taxes are funding those safety improvements.

May 31, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Seaside Entrance

New Urbanism and Jacobs: A Tangled Disconnect

New Urbanism was in part born of the criticisms of 20th century planning principles popularized by Jane Jacobs, but Jacobs infamously derided the new school of thought.

May 31, 2019 - Fanis Grammenos

South Philadelphia Gentrification

One Response to Gentrification: Banning Bay Windows and Balconies

Neighborhoods in Philadelphia are undergoing rapid, unprecedented change. Proposed legislation would ban the architectural signifiers of that change.

May 31, 2019 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

New York Subway

Why New York's Transportation Infrastructure Costs So Much

It's been remarked upon before. Infrastructure in New York City is a cost nightmare compared to other global cities. Accountability is lacking, Josh Barro writes, but MTA also suffers from an "institutional lack of power."

May 31, 2019 - Intelligencer - New York Magazine

Gentrify Occupy

Watch: 'Revitalization Without Gentrification'

Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns sits down for an interview with Derek Avery, "a community-conscious real-estate developer based in Dallas, TX."

May 31, 2019 - Strong Towns

Oakland Architecture in Music Video

Does Oakland Have a Future as a Public City?

The city is experiencing significant growth and development, but it has a complicated history of booms and lags and its civic future is uncertain.

May 30, 2019 - Places Journal

McMAnsion

Zoning Changes Would Mean More Granny Flats and Fewer McMansions in Seattle

Is this a two-birds-with-one-stone situation?

May 30, 2019 - The Seattle Times

Building Trades

Research: Financial Practices Partly Responsible for the Rental Affordability Crisis

Zoning and the economy aren't the only factors in neighborhood change—financial regulations and policies, sometimes seemingly unrelated, also have an effect.

May 30, 2019 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Summer

Public Drinking Could Be Allowed in Another City Not Named Las Vegas or New Orleans

Covington, Kentucky, located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, is considering a new entertainment district that would allow drinkers to carry open alcoholic beverages in public during special events.

May 29, 2019 - The River City News

New York Diner

Nighthawks No More: N.Y.C. Diners Face an Uncertain Future

Diners are part of social and cultural landscape of New York City, but many are closing as owners contend with increasing development pressures.

May 29, 2019 - The New York Times

Nightlife in Tel Aviv

Nevertheless, the Youthful Preference for Urban Living Persisted

A forthcoming study, to be published by the Journal of Regional Science, finds the urban preferences of younger generations growing over the past three decades.

May 29, 2019 - CityLab

New York City Rooftop

Creating Suburban Exclusivity in the City

City life is being sold as a convenient version of the suburbs, with similar amenities minus the time-consuming commute.

May 28, 2019 - The New York 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.