Urban Development
Builders John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, hit hard by the downturn, is meeting consumer price points by creating compact home designs instead of the 4,700 sq. ft. homes that were their bread and butter.
The Wall St. Journal
The 2005 Supreme Court decision on Kelo v. New London was a landmark in eminent domain law, paving the way for Pfizer to develop there. Four years later, Pfizer is pulling up stakes.
The Hartford Courant
Urban time shares get a boost as Hilton gets in on the action. A new NYC property is gaining attention and, surprisingly enough, selling units.
The New York Times
Developers and locals in Las Vegas are pinning hopes onto the new CityCenter development to bring walkability to the desert city.
MSNBC
A former Beirut resident returns to the Lebanese city to find a vibrant and emerging tourist destination, but with many of the quirks of a developing country.
The Guardian
Blog post
This past Saturday, I had the honour of joining a group of invited urbanists and sustainability experts, in a special dialogue put on by The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, and Vancouver's Simon Fraser University. Among other things, the event was to launch a new partnership between these two innovative organizations around research and curriculum for sustainable urbanism.
Kaid Benfield reads ULI's latest 'Emerging Trends' report, and finds, amidst the doom and gloom, significant support for infill and smart growth.
NRDC Blog
Chinese officials have decided to expand Beijing's Central Business District, clearing out nearly four square kilometers with 10,000 homes on it in the process.
The Infrastructurist
An ex-pat American returns home to Milwaukee, and is overwhelmed by the extensive auto-oriented infrastructure needed to support the U.S. lifestyle, very different from his life in Almeria, Spain.
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Put the chief planners of seven of North America's most progressive cities in a room and ask about their challenges, they inevitably point to the overriding role of the political leaders they serve. Expanding public open space also was raised.
S.F. Streetsblog
<em>Cool Town Studios</em> offers this list of 19 development types for the creative class.
Cool Town Studios
Cities across the globe are rediscovering their waterfronts. As this piece from <em>Places</em> discusses, revitalization of these former industrial areas includes more than just green space.
Places
Jakarta, Indonesia is the world's sixth most populated metropolitan area, and it's on track to move up in ranks within the next decade. Some planners are trying to figure out how to guide this developing megacity onto a sustainable path.
The City Fix
An exhibit currently at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. explains how the architecture and design of parking lots evolved, and why. Meanwhile, the Parking Show of Shows conference takes place nearby with a different take.
The Washington Post
What's this? The Wall Street Journal's 'car guy' - the reporter who writes about cars and roads, is .....without a car? As difficult as it may be to believe, Joseph White is now a carless urbanite in DC. Here is his first column in his new lifestyle.
The Wall Street Journal
While a number of mega retail developers crashed and burned during the recession, some smaller developers have thrived.
Retail Traffic Magazine
Growth is at a standstill in most western boomtowns, but not in well-planned, thriving South Jordan, UT. An expedited permitting process and good planning are given credit as catalysts for growth.
Desert News
Developer Bart Blatstein reimagined an old brewery in the outskirts of Philadelphia into an adapted Italian piazza. Locals worried it would be be too theme park-y, but community leaders are pleased with the results.
The New York Times
The Canadian Urban Institute presented its yearly 'Brownie' awards last week, honoring the best brownfield redevelopment projects in the nation.
Daily Commercial News and Construction Record
<em>The Architect's Newspaper</em> reports on the first demolition of a historic building on the Walter Gropius-designed Michael Reese hospital campus in Chicago, the proposed site of now-ditched plans for an Olympic Village.
The Architect's Newspaper
