Urban Development
Updated: Two Cities Emerge as Front Runners for Amazon's HQ2
According to leaked information, Northern Virginia, Dallas, and New York City were in the lead in the competition to land the location of the second Amazon headquarters. Now sources report the company will split the HQ2 footprint between two cities.
Peter Calthorpe's Self-Driving Car Dissent
The founder of New Urbanism takes his autonomous vehicle skepticism, and ideas for other solutions to congestion, to the pages of the New York Times.
A History of State-Mandated Upzonings in the Pacific Northwest
Past examples of state and provincial governments preempting the land use authority of local governments present several lessons on how to do state-mandated upzoning effectively.
A Phoenix Suburb Wrestles With How Urban to Become
The city of Avondale approved a walkable, urban vision for its City Center Plan in 2008, but those grand ambitions haven't yet recovered from the Great Recession.
Anti-Displacement Policies Recommended for Austin
Faced growing housing costs and limited funding and resources for struggling homeowners and renters, the city of Austin has ramped up efforts to identify and lobby for housing policy changes.
Walmart Planning a 'Town Center' Concept, with its Stores as the Anchor
A Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas will be a testing ground for a new planning concept in the works at the massive retailer.
Zoning Changes Proposed to Respond to Gentrification Concerns in Philadelphia
The rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Point Breeze could get a new zoning map if recently proposed legislation is approved.
Seattle's Hotel Boom Could Go Bust
Seattle has added 2,550 hotel rooms since the beginning of 2017, with another 3,000 on the way by 2021.
Revisiting Wisconsin's Foxconn Deal, Now Called a 'Boondoggle'
Wisconsin taxpayer will be paying the bill for the deal to bring Foxconn to Racine "for decades, if not generations, to come."
'The Hop' Streetcar Opens to the Public Today in Milwaukee
The Hop will deliver new transit service on the east side of downtown Milwaukee. The Hop comes also serves big development expectations from local officials.
Tech's Expanding Footprint
A new report from CBRE identifies the extent of the tech industry's expanding footprint in the United States, and where it might be headed next.
Judge: Pittsburgh Can't Hide Amazon HQ2 Offer From the Public
City and county officials have already appealed a decision that would require them to release the details of a proposal designed to entice Amazon into locating its second headquarters in Pittsburgh.
The Street-Level Consequences of Zoning
Modern zoning practices separated uses, claiming this was a better way to organize American cities. However, the social, cultural, and urban design outcomes drastically changed the world we live in.
Measuring the Effect of Blight Remediation Programs
Tulane researchers received major funding support from the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of blight remediation on youth and family violence.
TEDx: How Will Autonomous Vehicles Transform Cities?
Nico Larco presents a TEDx Talk on the impacts AVs will have on cities, including impacts on land use, land valuation, and the environment. AVs are more than just a transportation issue, and planners need to prepare for the coming changes.
Somerville Launches 'Urban Lab' for Innovation
The city seeks to incubate creative ideas in the public interest.
First Phase of Rail Park in Philadelphia Points to More Good Things to Come
A visit to the park highlights the creative reuse and design that is transforming an old railway into a vibrant public space.
Seattle Homes Selling Below Asking Price for the First Time in Years
There are signs of normalcy in the Seattle region's housing market.
Jeff Speck’s Step-by-Step Guide to Making Better Urban Places
The new Walkable City Rules by Jeff Speck is an excellent book that can help your city become more hospitable to humans. Urban thinker Kaid Benfield reviews.
Op-Ed: Utopian Thinking Poses Continued Dangers for Urbanists
Charles Wolfe calls attention to similarities between contemporary urbanism and yesterday's debunked utopias. The two may differ in substance, but both tend toward a certain level of dogma that isn't necessarily helpful on the ground.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
