Urban Development

Milwaukee Road Depot

Before and After: Behind a Minneapolis Redevelopment Project

In 1997, Milwaukee Road Depot in central Minneapolis was filled with parking lots and little else. Today, it's a mix of shops, housing, offices, and entertainment venues.

April 25, 2018 - MinnPost

Balicasag Island, Philippines

Can 'Ocean Cities' Become the Societies of the Future?

Futuristic, eco-friendly cities can be greener and more eco-friendly, thanks to better use of natural resources.

April 25, 2018 - Kayla Matthews

Southern California

Los Angeles: Focus on Urban Design (Not Just Urban Planning)

By embracing timeless principles of urban placemaking, we can create walkable transit villages and make room for housing at every socioeconomic level. First we have to re-invigorate high quality urban design.

April 25, 2018 - Gerhard Mayer

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte Takes a Step Forward on Affordable Housing Promises

The city of Charlotte has a funding gap to make up if it wants to keep its promises about how much affordable housing to build or maintain in the short term.

April 25, 2018 - The Charlotte Observer

Los Angeles Harbor Freeway

California Has 8 of the 10 Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

Despite ever-stricter air-quality regulations and dropping emissions, the American Lung Association once again finds the state to have some of the worst air in the nation.

April 24, 2018 - USA Today

Philadelphia

Growth Centers on Philadelphia's Downtown, But Poverty Persists Elsewhere

An opinion piece points out the inequities of growth in contemporary Philadelphia.

April 24, 2018 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

California

Four Interest Groups Contributed to the California Transit-Housing Bill's Defeat

Two journalists discuss what led to the defeat of the SB 827, the controversial bill which garnered national attention and lots of in-state opposition from groups that one would think would support the effort to address the state's housing crisis.

April 24, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

San Francisco Bay

How SB 827 'Cleaved the California Environmental Movement'

Even before the bill was defeated, it exposed a major generational divide between anti-development environmentalists and their pro-density, pro-housing heirs.

April 23, 2018 - San Francisco Magazine

LA Ciclavia

Public Space Arms Race

Battles for inclusion and exclusion in the life of the city more often end in stand-offs than in skirmishes.

April 23, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

BART Train

BART's Transit-Oriented Development Bill Sets Disturbing Precedent, Says APA

AB 2923, which would allow the Bay Area Rapid Transit District to rezone their properties near stations for transit-oriented development, passed its first committee. The California chapter of APA objects to the preemption of local land use authority.

April 23, 2018 - California Chapter of American Planning Association

Texas

Dallas Housing Proposal Aims for Equity, Finally

Not only does the plan promise more affordable housing, it’s also supposed to deliver “access to more upwardly mobile communities."

April 23, 2018 - Next City

New York Public Library

Friday Eye Candy: Tour New York City in 1911

Witness the public realm of yesteryear.

April 20, 2018 - ViewingNYC

Empty Train

Mapping the Decline of the New York City Subway

A writer weaves a "decade by decade" story, complete with diagrams, of how not to manage a public transit system.

April 19, 2018 - CityLab

Toronto

Nokia Launches $1.5 Billion 'Smart Cities' Initiative in Canada

The new program offers cities access to $2 billion CAD in financing as well as a network of technical support.

April 19, 2018 - Smart Cities Dive

Seattle Freeway Park

Seattle Plans Remodel of World’s First Freeway Cap Park

The Brutalist design by a famed landscape architect will be preserved, but not without better visibility and improved lighting.

April 19, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

California State Capital

California's 'Aggressive' Housing Bill Dies Quickly, Not Quietly, in Committee

SB 827, the controversial housing bill proposed by State Senator Scott Wiener, had a very brief run in the California State Legislature.

April 18, 2018 - Curbed LA

Texas Downtown

Where Big Money Gets Spent on Apartment Construction

Between 2000 and 2016, developers spent more than $10 billion on apartment construction in more than half of the country's largest cities.

April 18, 2018 - Dallas News

Dallas skyline

Dallas Breaks Ground on Yet Another Downtown Park

Pacific Plaza will the fourth park built in the center of the city in the last decade, and there are still plans for three more.

April 18, 2018 - Dallas Morning News

Home For Sale Signs

No Two Property Taxes Are Alike

The annual "50-State Property Tax Comparison Study" is available examines the imbalances across jurisdictions, and even within jurisdictions, when it comes to property taxes.

April 17, 2018 - At Lincoln House

Short-Term Rentals

New York City Council Wants More Funding to Go After Airbnb Scofflaws

New York rules have rules about short-term rentals are supposed to work. That doesn't mean everyone is following them.

April 17, 2018 - Crain's New York Business

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.