Urban Development

Ticky tacky

Report: Sprawl Affecting Farmers in Greater Washington Region

According to a recent report, the self-sufficiency of agriculture in the Washington, D.C. region is declining. Encroachment from suburban sprawl, driven by a region-wide housing crunch, is one causal factor.

February 22, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Contest: Design a Logo for New York's Privately-Owned Public Spaces

New York City is holding a competition for a distinctive logo to clearly demarcate all of its 550 privately-owned public spaces.

February 22, 2019 - AM New York

Ontario, Canada

Controversy Erupts Over Sidewalk Labs Development Plans in Toronto

Sidewalk Labs, the subsidiary company of Google parent company Alphabet, has designs for development potential far beyond the Quayside neighborhood where it's partnering with Waterfront Toronto to test new smart city technology.

February 22, 2019 - Toronto Star

Suburban Lawns

When Analyzing Suburbs, Definitions Matter

The definitions of suburban chosen by researchers tend to fall into three categories—and each has a significant impact and the results of academic inquiry.

February 22, 2019 - Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago's Largest-Ever Tax Increment Financing District Approved for Lincoln Yards Development

The new TIF is expected to generate $900 million. Opponents wanted to wait until a new mayor is elected to decide on the TIF.

February 21, 2019 - Chicago Sun-Times

Washington

Seattle Sustains Record Development Boom

In the past ten years, Downtown Seattle has built more housing than all of San Francisco.

February 21, 2019 - Seattle Times

Robert Moses

The Robert Moses Nexus to Amazon's Cancellation of Queens HQ2

Last week, Amazon abruptly canceled its decision to invest about $2.5 billion and bring 25,000 high-paying jobs to Queens. A scholar blames their abrupt decision on an arcane state bureaucracy tasked with preventing Robert Moses-like takings.

February 21, 2019 - Politico Magazine

Downtown Philadelphia

Philadelphia Sees Record Housing Production

An influx of millennials is driving population and housing growth in the Center City neighborhood.

February 21, 2019 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly.com

2008 Election

Obama Presidential Center Dealt Legal Setback

There are more than a few reasons to think that the Obama Presidential Center won't go the way of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which gave up and decamped for Los Angeles.

February 21, 2019 - Chicago Tribune

The Stitch

Keeping the Dream Alive of a Downtown Freeway Cap in Atlanta

Advocates and experts are still working to further the idea of capping a Downtown freeway connector in Atlanta—a project called "The Stitch."

February 21, 2019 - Curbed Atlanta

Orenco Station

Oregon to Consider New Densities for Transit Adjacent Neighborhoods

The Oregon Legislature is already considering one of the most sweeping and ambitious statewide land use reform bills in the country. A new bill would allow even more density around transit stations.

February 20, 2019 - Willamette Week

Historic Produce Terminal Strip District

Major Street Redesign Coming to Pittsburgh's Historic Strip District

Five blocks in Pittsburgh's Historic Produce Terminal Strip District will gain wider sidewalks, public spaces, and traffic calming according to a recently released final design concept.

February 20, 2019 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

San Antonio, Texas, Riverwalk, Evening

San Antonio's Draft Climate Plan Receives Relatively Warm Reception

The public had its first chance to weigh in on a draft climate plan released in January, sending signals about the political viability of climate change action in the state of Texas.

February 20, 2019 - San Antonio Express-News

Rental Construction

Explained: The Common Look of the Contemporary Mid-Rise Apartment Building

Last week's urbanism social media landscape was dominated by discussion of an article that digs into the historical and technical origins of the contemporary mid-rise apartment building type.

February 19, 2019 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Manhattan, New York City, New York

Manhattan Rezonings Pose Tough Challenges for Planners

The New York City Department of Planning kicked off a rezoning process for the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo earlier this month. Planning and development challenges abound.

February 18, 2019 - Crain's New York Business

Ohio River

Form at the Forefront of Zoning Code Rewrite in Covington, Kentucky

The city of Covington is conducting public hearings to gather feedback on at the outset of an 18-month process of rewriting its zoning code.

February 18, 2019 - City of Covington

Minneapolis Celebration

Development, Population Growth Reshaping Downtown Minneapolis

Thousands of news residents and apartment units, along with almost a billion dollars of development investments, arrived in Downtown Minneapolis in 2017.

February 17, 2019 - Star Tribune

Long Island City

Post-Mortem: Why Amazon Canceled the Queens HQ2

New York City and State offered up nearly $3 billion in incentives to lure Amazon and its 25,000 high-paying jobs to Queens only to see the tech company cancel their plans after local opposition materialized. Was their retreat too hasty?

February 17, 2019 - The New York Times

Construction Cranes

Another Approach to Affordable Housing

A new approach to affordable housing attempts to overcome the traditional approaches of supply-side economics and government-funded investments and extractions.

February 17, 2019 - City Observatory

Snowy Residential Neighborhood

Making Historic Preservation a Local Concern

The city of Portland wants more local control when it comes to determining matters of historic preservation.

February 16, 2019 - The Oregonian

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.