Urban Development

Fruit Belt, Buffalo

Google Maps' Digital Erasure Highlights Issues of Community Identity in Buffalo, NY

In the face of displacement and gentrification, residents of the Fruit Belt neighborhood of Buffalo, NY point to tech-giant Google's map service as one among many possible causes.

April 23, 2019 - OneZero via Medium

Chicago Lake Michigan Trees

Urban Forestry Managers Need Better Climate Change Data, Report Says

Results of a new survey suggest that there are benefits to be reaped from a focus on climate change.

April 23, 2019 - CityLab

Waste Stream

Striving for a Zero-Waste Future

A number of U.S. cities have set ambitious zero-waste goals, but reaching targets has been challenging. Turning waste into a viable commodity is one strategy to get materials out of the waste stream.

April 23, 2019 - Next City

California Water Pipeline

Cities Win the Water Reallocation Game, Study Shows

A new study says that huge amounts of water are moved from rural areas to cities to support rapidly growing urban populations.

April 23, 2019 - The Straits Times

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Bike Path Plan Leaves Some Locals Unhappy

Change was slow to come to a neighborhood in Cleveland, but not everyone is pleased with what a new riverside bike path will bring with it.

April 23, 2019 - Cleveland.com

Coney Island

NYC Targets Buildings for Massive Emissions Reduction Effort

Last week, the New York City Council approved some of the most substantial climate change legislation to date by a city in the United States—call it the local example of the Green New Deal.

April 22, 2019 - Huffington Post

Cleveland Heights

Tax Abatements for Residential Projects Under the Microscope

The Cleveland City Council is considering legislation that would launch a process of re-examining the city's tax abatement program.

April 22, 2019 - ideastream

Nashville Tennessee

A Boom in Nashville, but Fast Growth Could Bring Problems

Nashville has a great deal going for it, but rising housing costs and gentrification could take it down a darker path.

April 22, 2019 - The Guardian

Daly City

The History of Alternative Suburbs

A new book about unconventional suburbs challenges the perception that these were socially and racially homogenous places.

April 22, 2019 - CityLab

The Vessel

Who's to Blame for Gentrification? Planners, Apparently

Capital City casts planners as lackeys, serving the forces of capitalism.

April 22, 2019 - Josh Stephens

Seattle Brick Loft

Apartment Units Fill Fastest in Seattle

Demand for housing in and around Seattle is way up—so much so that the region led the entire country in the number of apartments it has filled so far this year.

April 21, 2019 - The Seattle Times

Uptown San Diego

Middle-Income Density Bonus Working Toward Approval in San Diego

The San Diego City Council's Land Use and Housing Commission approved a density bonus program to provide incentives for developers to build middle- and low-income housing.

April 21, 2019 - The San Diego Union Tribune

Down Payment

Housing Starts Hit Two-Year Low

Housing starts and permits are slowing nationwide. The current pace of construction would have been considered a trough in pre-recession economic cycles.

April 20, 2019 - Marketwatch

New Transit Center Coming to Cincinnati's Northside Neighborhood

The Cincinnati City Council this week approved zoning change to allow for the construction of a transit center at the second busiest bus transit hub in the city.

April 19, 2019 - CityBeat

A Sci-Fi Novel About an Urban Planners and a War Over Gentrification

The Municipalists, a new novel by Seth Fried, will definitely appeal to fiction-reading urban planners.

April 19, 2019 - CityLab

Hyperloop One

Eminent Domain Concerns Raised Over Missouri's Hyperloop Plans

Critics are pointing to a discrepancy between the plan and the reality in terms of how much private property must be acquired through eminent domain to make the state of Missouri's Hyperloop dreams come true.

April 18, 2019 - The Kansas City Star

Columbus Ohio

New Spending, Planning Approved to Address Affordable Housing Crisis in Columbus

Columbus approved an emergency allotment of capital improvement bond funding for housing, and the launch of an affordable housing strategy process.

April 18, 2019 - WCBE

Metrorail

New Tool Puts Miami Development Opportunities on the Map

There's plenty of vacant or underutilized land to be found in Miami-Dade County, if you know where and how to look.

April 18, 2019 - Miami Herald

Chicago, Illinois

Lincoln Yards Mega-Development Clears Final Legislative Hurdle

A Chicago City Council vote to approve tax increment financing for the massive Lincoln Yards redevelopment proposal scored a surprising reversal and a big win for outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with an assist from Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot.

April 17, 2019 - Politico

Gentrification Protest

An Alphabetical Compendium of the Gentrification Blame Game

When it comes to identifying and repairing the underlying causes of gentrification, there's plenty of blame to go around.

April 17, 2019 - City Observatory

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.