Urban Development

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

High-Speed Rail

More Fallout From Downsizing California High-Speed Rail

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial warns that San Francisco must find funds, intended to come from the state's ambitious rail project, to extend the Caltrain commuter rail line to the SalesForce Transit Center.

February 16, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Golden Gate Bridge Traffic

New Report on San Francisco Transportation Trends: Driving on the Rise

The city is seeing more transit use and biking, but driving and congestion are also on the rise.

February 15, 2019 - Curbed San Francisco

Nuevo Development Santa Clara

Plans for an 'Urban Town' in the Silicon Valley

The Nuevo development will bring close to 900 homes and apartments along with commercial and outdoor space to a location near a Caltrain station.

February 15, 2019 - The Mercury News

Seattle Downtown

Post-Recession Migration Patterns of Younger and Older Americans

New census data shows that millennials and seniors are migrating less, a result of the Great Recession and its economic impacts. For those who are moving, cities in the Sun Belt have been primary destinations.

February 15, 2019 - Brookings

Ontario, Canada

Allowing, and Permitting, Rooming Houses Could Solve Multiple Problems at Once

Abuses by landlords and poor living conditions are common in illegal rooming houses around Toronto. Activists want to make them easier to build, and regulate, to add affordable housing options for low-income residents.

February 15, 2019 - The Star

Vancouver Street

Vancouver's Ride-Hail-Free Mobility Landscape

While ride-hailing is on the horizon for the Canadian city, the experience so far without the mode provides useful insight into its effects on regional mobility.

February 14, 2019 - Slate

New York Basement Apartment

Pilot Program Will Legalize Basement Apartments in East New York

One approach to easing New York City's housing crisis: legalize and incentivize the construction of basement apartments.

February 14, 2019 - Curbed New York

Amazon HQ2

Amazon Calls the Whole New York Thing Off

The AmazonHQ2 circus is packing up and moving to another city.

February 14, 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.