Urban Development

High Line park NYC - Manhattan - New York City

Study: How Beauty Is a Boon for Cities

Richard Florida discusses a study finding a range of connections between a city or neighborhood's aesthetic appeal and its economic health.

May 22, 2019 - CityLab

Trump Campaign

Political Fireworks as HUD Secretary Carson Testifies to Congress

U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson testified before the Financial Services Committee yesterday. The media had plenty to report after the hearing.

May 22, 2019 - Vox

Columbus, Ohio

Report: Many More Apartments Needed in and Around Columbus

New apartments aren't rising as fast as the population, and rents, in central Ohio.

May 21, 2019 - The Columbus Dispatch

New York Apartments

Shared-Equity Homeownership: A Primer

Alternative models of homeownership involving shared equity may be able to offset the urban housing crunch. They include the subjects of this discussion: community land trusts and housing co-ops.

May 21, 2019 - CityLab

City Fog

Asthma and Planning

Re-evaluating the role of planning in creating, and reversing, disturbing public health outcomes, like asthma rates among African-Americans in Philadelphia.

May 21, 2019 - Next City

Sprawl

The Wonderful World of Vicious Circles

Government's pro-sprawl and anti-density policies often create problems that justify more of the same.

May 20, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Homeless Cars

Ban on Living and Sleeping in Vehicles Approved in San Diego

A recently reinstated ordinance prohibits people from living out of their cars. The city says it wants to people to use "safe parking lots" where other services are available.

May 20, 2019 - CBS News 8 (San Diego)

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Boring Company Gets Paid

Las Vegas is the first city to pay for the services of Elon Musk's Boring Company.

May 20, 2019 - The Guardian

Proposed Tower In San Jose Distracts From Good Urbanism

A group has proposed a monumental tower to advertise San Jose and Silicon Valley to the world. The city would be better off focusing on its streetscape rather than its skyline.

May 19, 2019 - California Planning & Development Report

Fair Park, Dallas

No Region Approves and Builds Apartments Like Dallas-Forth Worth

Apartments are abundant in the development pipeline of the Dallas-Forth Worth region—not just in the urban core, but in suburbs like Frisco, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch.

May 19, 2019 - The Dallas Morning News

Chicago Mayor

Evaluating the Planning and Development Record of Rahm Emanuel

Mayor Rahm Emanuel came into office in Chicago from the Obama White House. Before a new takes office mayor, on May 20, Curbed looked back at Emanuel's track record on matters related to planning.

May 19, 2019 - Curbed Chicago

Google bikes

Google Expanding its Presence in San Jose

Google has expanded its footprint in North San Jose to cover 1.27 million square feet. Local officials are saying that the company's acquisitions ensure the long-term financial stability of the city.

May 18, 2019 - The Mercury News

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mega-Project Trades Trail Funding for Extra Height

In Philadelphia, the Liberty on the River development will transform the Delaware River waterfront.

May 18, 2019 - PlanPhilly

Horse Farm

Support for Shrinking the Nation's Oldest Growth Boundary

Lexington, Kentucky's growth boundary survived a comprehensive plan update in 2019, after years of controversy. A housing crisis, a growing city, and a broken land use system are rearranging the political arithmetic behind the greenbelt.

May 18, 2019 - CityLab

Chicago Flooding

The Threat of Urban Flooding in Chicago

Chicago residents living in low-lying parts of the city dread the rainfall that too often brings flooding.

May 18, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

Interstate 4 - Florida

Environmentalists Urge Gov. Ron DeSantis to Veto Florida Toll Roads Bill

Florida has the distinction of having more toll roads than any other state. Environmentalists want Gov. DeSantis (R) to veto a bill that would build three new ones, adding over three hundred miles of asphalt through mostly rural, unpopulated areas.

May 17, 2019 - South Florida Sun Sentinel

Public Housing

The Potential Costs of the Trump Administration's Proposed Cuts to HUD Funding

Housing advocates blame the neglect of the federal government on the state of public housing in the United States. The Trump administration says government can't keep throwing money at the problems of public housing.

May 17, 2019 - NPR

Seattle Apartments

Choosing Incentives Over Mandates for Minimum Urban Densities

Washington's House Bill 1923 is one of a number of bills under consideration this year on the West Coast that attempts to leverage the power of the state for the sake of new development.

May 17, 2019 - The Urbanist

Wrigley Field

The Story of Ballparks Is the Story of American Cities

A new book looks at the evolution of American ballparks and the changes that have mirrored urbanism.

May 17, 2019 - Curbed

California

Breaking News: California's Transit Oriented Upzoning Bill Stuck in Limbo

Senate Bill 50, the closely watched upzoning bill proposed by State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), made it a lot further through the Legislature than the prior attempt, SB 827. Still, SB 50 will short of the finish line in 2019.

May 16, 2019 - Curbed San Francisco

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.