Urban Development

From warehouse to art studio to luxury loft: the SoHo model of industrial-zone gentrification has become familiar around the world. A team of New York-based designers developed a proposal for spreading the benefits of economic growth in these areas.

February 21, 2017 - Soft City

A UN conference in Quito Ecuador in October 2016 looked at housing the world’s growing urban population. The Conference resulted in a document and film advocating a more organic and disorderly urban form.

February 21, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Many households spend more than they can afford on housing and transportation, but the latest International Housing Affordability Survey is wrong to recommend sprawl as the best solution. Real solutions must reduce both housing and transport costs.

February 21, 2017 - Todd Litman

The city of Austin is looking for ways to keep all eyes on the state capitol building.

February 20, 2017 - Austin Monitor

The vacant lot program at the Cook County Land Bank Authority recently kicked into high gear—offering a huge number of vacant lots for sale, located around 27 neighborhoods and suburbs in the Chicago region.

February 20, 2017 - Crain's Chicago Business

Urbanist Jane Jacobs' support for mixed use development has long been seen as the best urban design strategy, but this vision assumed that the retail space under housing could be rented. What if that is no longer the case?

February 19, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

The citizen-driven campaign has garnered support from City Council.

February 17, 2017 - The Denver Post

Los Angeles has approved new rules aimed at increasing accountability in the planning process—and at preempting a more severe approach promised by an upcoming ballot measure.

February 17, 2017 - KPCC

The Atlanta Braves are decamping for the suburbs this spring.

February 15, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A proposal by the Greater Des Moines Partnership is the latest bid redevelopment idea transforming downtown Des Moines.

February 14, 2017 - Business Record

A public service announcement on behalf of renters priced out of the housing market: "Talk to your friends about zoning."

February 14, 2017 - Slate

A new design process will take an initial step toward unleashing the unrealized potential of Irishtown Bend—located along the Cuyahoga River in the heart of Cleveland.

February 13, 2017 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

The city of St. Louis is in the midst of an intense political debate—with mayoral consequences—on the subject of development incentives, which critics say just help the rich get richer.

February 13, 2017 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A symbol of urbanist affluence is getting its first reality check. 2017 has not been kind to brock and mortar retailers.

February 13, 2017 - Bloomberg

This research shows that renters in high-cost cities can be just as prone to NIMBYism as homeowners, even as they theoretically support more housing. This is housing supply's collective action problem.

February 13, 2017 - Joint Center for Housing Studies

An in-depth look into the political controversies stirred up in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain as a result of a proposed, density-adding zoning plan.

February 12, 2017 - The Boston Globe

Fans of Disney theme parks and fans of Star Wars had a big week.

February 10, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

Designed for a different era, Willis Tower's pedestrian-phobic base is in line for a complete overhaul. The goal is to open the immense tower to the street.

February 7, 2017 - Chicago Sun-Times

School vouchers might expand educational choice and thus make city life more appealing to middle-class families—but the most appealing versions of a voucher system are also the most costly.

February 7, 2017 - Michael Lewyn

Atlanta's quickly growing region means many communities are seeking to incorporate. Several controversial processes, however, have compelled the state to reform the incorporation process.

February 6, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution