Urban Development

Downtown Houston

Houston's Appetite for Luxury High Rises Slowing Amidst Oil Slump

The ups and downs of the oil market are having an effect on the future skyline of the city of Houston.

July 8, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

New York City Zoning Map

Reexamining the Origins of Zoning

According to Seymour Toll's 1969 book, New York City's 1916 zoning code was less a civic-minded project than an attempt to protect elite retail districts from the riff-raff. The ramifications for American zoning at large are significant.

July 7, 2016 - PlanPhilly

Toward Inclusive Redevelopment: When in Doubt, Bring People Together

It's hard to get urban redevelopment right. Headlines are dominated by rising costs, gentrification concerns, and not-in-my-backyard blockading. Let's talk about a way to work toward more inclusive redevelopment.

July 7, 2016 - Medium

NYC-crosswalk

Crowded NYC Sidewalks Force Commuters Into the Street

In the 1970s, the fear of getting mugged had some NYC pedestrians walking in the street. Nowadays, commuters are sharing space with cars for a very different reason: the sidewalks are too crowded.

July 7, 2016 - The New York Times

San Francisco Sprawl

The Real Reasons Affordable Housing Isn't Being Built in California

The policy tools used to address our nation's housing shortfall often seem to worsen the problem. But this is because they ignore the underlying infrastructure and financing to support growth.

July 7, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Criticism Over Special Parking Arrangements for New Atlanta Braves Stadium

Cobb County, Georgia recently approved the "Accessory Special Event Parking" ordinance to limit parking operations around the Atlanta Braves' new stadium.

July 7, 2016 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Boulder Colorado

Zoning as a Tool of Social and Economic Inequality

The New York Times devotes significant ink to an argument against the use of zoning laws as tools of anti-growth politics.

July 6, 2016 - The New York Times

Los Angeles Smog

The Disconnect Over Displacement in Los Angeles

A mixed-use development proposal in South L.A. highlights a blind spot of progressive urbanism—the gap between what checks all the boxes and what low-income communities really need.

July 6, 2016 - LA Streetsblog

Busy Downtown

New Data on the Shift to Cities

It's no secret that urban centers are doing better today than they were 30 years ago. New FHFA data on housing prices confirms the trend and suggests that a changing environment (as opposed to changing preferences) account for it.

July 6, 2016 - The Washington Post

Metro Subway Los Angeles

The Vision for a $120 Billion Public Transportation Revolution in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro's new Chief of Planning Therese McMillan joins the agency at a pivotal moment, as county voters will decide in November whether to approve a new, evergreen sales tax to fund future Metro public transportation expansion.

July 6, 2016 - The Planning Report

Roman Aqueduct

The Place of Water in Urban Design: An International Perspective

How cities around the world have approached thinking about how water management fits in to urban planning.

July 5, 2016 - The Planning Report

Community Meeting

The 3 Most Common Community Engagement Mistakes

Planners, like any other professionals, live in a kind of bubble. Those charged with dealing with the public run the risk of expecting too much from residents as they design community engagement activities. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

July 5, 2016 - Dave Biggs

Philadelphia Street

More Residents and Workers Using Fewer Parking Spaces in Philly's Center City

The findings of a report on changes occurring in Philadelphia Center City finds more residents and workers walking, biking, and taking transit. (Thankfully, they aren't all looking for parking every day.)

July 4, 2016 - PlanPhilly

Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale's South Beach Still Trying to Exit the 1970s

Most people agree that Fort Lauderdale's "South Beach" is in need of contemporary development investment, but so far it's been hard to deliver on any of the big ideas proposed for the area.

July 3, 2016 - Sun Sentinal

aerial view of downtown detroit showing lots of parking lots

20-Minute Neighborhoods In Detroit

If Detroit needs to be "rebuilt" or "reimagined," why not do so around a walkable, convenient ideal? A compact Motor City where essential goods and services are available within a 20-minute walk?

July 2, 2016 - Detroit Free Press

Sharks Arena

San Jose Sharks Invoke CEQA to Protect Arena Parking

Another "only-in-California" story.

July 1, 2016 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

memphis

Planetizen Week in Review: July 1, 2016

It will only take us two-and-a-half minutes to catch you up on the big planning news from the last week of June.

July 1, 2016 - Planetizen

Chattanooga

Chattanooga Approves New Form-Based Code for Downtown

Chattanooga is the latest city to apply the form-based code methodology to a specific area of the city, including downtown and adjacent neighborhoods.

June 30, 2016 - Times Free Press

Blue Origin

Florida Getting a New, Privately Funded Space Exploration Facility

Blue Origin, founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is constructing a massive facility for building rockets in another sign of the future of space exploration.

June 30, 2016 - GeekWire

Design Team Selected for the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA) will design the Obama Presidential Center—selected from a group of seven finalists.

June 30, 2016 - Obama Foundation

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.