Urban Development

Atlanta BeltLine

Artists and Property Owners Sue Atlanta Over Mural Regulations

A federal lawsuit alleges that the city of Atlanta is overstepping its bounds by threatening the removal of murals and other art located on private property.

June 5, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

San Francisco Houses

Report: Demand, Not Market-Rate Supply, Drives Housing Prices in San Francisco

The Urban Institute takes a detailed look at San Francisco's real estate market, where most home sales top $1 million, revealing that old units are far more likely to attract top dollar.

June 5, 2017 - Urban Institute

PCH Santa Monica

Op-Ed: Slow Growth Fails the Paris Accords Too

Many local leaders spoke strongly against President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, but local land use and transportation policies still sorely lack any consideration of climate impact.

June 5, 2017 - Santa Monica Next

High Line with Denari

'The New Urban Crisis' and the High Line

A PBS NewsHour two-fer: an interview of urbanologist Richard Florida conducted in a walking tour of New York's famed High Line in the gentrifying West Chelsea neighborhood, a fitting backdrop for his new book, "The New Urban Crisis."

June 5, 2017 - PBS NewsHour

Los Angeles Downtown River

Climate Change Will Be Worse for Big Cities

Blame it on the urban heat island effect.

June 4, 2017 - KPCC

Glass Buildings

Dallas Skyline Gaining a Striking New High Rise

Not since 1987 has a taller building been added to the Dallas skyline than a planned 48-story tower that could be complete in two years.

June 4, 2017 - The Dallas News

Parking Meter

Residence in Chicago's TODs Come With a Major Caveat: No Parking Permits

One big idea behind transit oriented residential developments is that residents will be liberated from their cars. New developments in Chicago are making sure residents won't be parking on streets to get the best of both worlds.

June 4, 2017 - DNAinfo Chicago

Rural Schoolhouse

Explained: The Many Definitions of Rural

Wisconsin provides a case study in the varied methods for defining rural, and why that matters. "Rural is not simple to define, perhaps because the real question is rural for what purpose?"

June 3, 2017 - WisContext

Washington D.C.

RFK Memorial and Redevelopment Plan Proposed for Old Stadium Site

RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. lost its last tenant in late 2015, and now D.C. leaders have a new plan for the site.

June 3, 2017 - The Washington Post

Ontario

New Report Plans Toronto at Kid Scale

Toronto has released draft urban design guidelines that put families with children at the center of the city.

June 2, 2017 - Next City

Downtown, now

Sign of the Times: Developers Deconverting Condos Back to Apartments in Chicago

In the 1970s and 1980s, condo conversions were all the rage in Chicago. In 2017, however, developers are scooping up multi-family buildings en masse and "deconverting" condo units into apartments.

June 2, 2017 - Crain's Chicago Business

Infill Comes to Atlanta's Single-Family Neighborhoods

The Atlanta metropolitan area is facing an estimated 2.5 million new residents by 2040. Some current residents are surprised at some of the neighborhoods accommodating that growth.

June 2, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Joe Louis Memorial

Mayor Duggan Lays Out Eight Principles for Detroit's Redevelopment

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan made a splash this week by pronouncing a vision to create a Detroit that is 'one city for all of us.'

June 1, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Green Line

Commercial Developers Favoring Transit Access

While the debates around transit-oriented residential development continue, commercial TOD is picking up speed. Offices with nearby transited to fetch much higher rents than their car-only counterparts.

June 1, 2017 - The New York Times

Brooklyn Bridge

Learning from New York

"Manhattanization," a pejorative term coined in San Francisco half a century ago by opponents of tall buildings, needs to be rethought, writes San Francisco Chronicle's Native Son columnist, Carl Nolte, upon return from a weekend trip to New York.

June 1, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Chicago Argriculture

Only High Cost Premiums Can Make Urban Farming Pencil Out

Throwing cold water on the latest "techno-optimism" for indoor, urban agriculture.

June 1, 2017 - City Observatory

Shanghai

Fixation On City Skylines Detracts From City Streets

City life happens at street level. But some of our most iconic images of cities are focused hundreds, or even thousands, of feet in the air. Our streetscapes are the worse off for it.

May 31, 2017 - Common Edge

France

Beuvron-en-Auge: 15th Century Town Planning Stands the Test of Time

Another reason European placemaking has North American applications: it wasn't always perfect. Hazel Borys looks to simple town planning lessons from a village in Normandy.

May 31, 2017 - PlaceShakers

Bollards

Saving Lives: Including Sidewalk Bollards in Street Design

Countless lives were likely saved by a strategically placed bollard on W. 45th Ave. which stopped a motorist who had driven three blocks on city sidewalks, mowing-down as many pedestrians as possible, from entering the Times Square pedestrian plaza.

May 31, 2017 - The New York Times

Gentrification

Who's To Blame For Gentrification?

Journalist Peter Markowitz has written a provocative, and profoundly disingenuous, analysis of the causes and effects of gentrification in American cities. He sows division at a time that requires collaboration, writes Josh Stephens.

May 31, 2017 - California Planning & Development Report

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.