Urban Development

Experts Weigh in on Decision to Move California to VMT as Metric for Impacts

In a significant effort to shift from sprawl toward incentivizing low-carbon transportation options, California is revising the way it measures traffic impacts of development projects under its Environmental Quality Act.

April 29, 2016 - The Planning Report

Bhaji Bazaar

Op-Ed: Habitat III Should Consider Food Systems

The UN's Habitat III conference will be held in October of this year. Thomas Forster argues that urban areas are being considered in isolation, without enough attention to rural areas and food systems.

April 29, 2016 - Citiscope

Historic London

Friday Eye Candy: Historic London Visualized

Historic London collects panoramic views of modern London streets with historic photos transposed over them. Most of the views date from the first two decades of the 20th century.

April 29, 2016 - Historic London

Phoenix is Crane City

Op-Ed: Investing in Cities Could Cure 'Short-Termism'

Bruce Katz argues that federal investment in urban areas fosters a public/private ecosystem that can prioritize long-term thinking, minimizing the "short-termism" endemic to corporations and governments acting alone.

April 28, 2016 - Brookings

Seattle Introduces New Urban Park Prototype

Seattle's 12th Avenue park offers a prototype for future urban parks. It is compact, doesn't require buying a lot of costly land, and can accommodate neighborhood scale events and programs

April 28, 2016 - Crosscut

Facadism

Esoteric No More: Facadism Explained

Facadism is a critical concept for evaluating projects that rehabilitate, renovate, or redevelop historic structures—but it's often considered too esoteric for conversation. It's time we all got on the same page.

April 28, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bromo Seltzer Tower Baltimore

Visions of Revitalization Compete in Baltimore

A grassroots housing plan in Baltimore would keep control over neighborhood revitalization, and its benefits, in communities.

April 27, 2016 - The Nation

Calle Ocho, Little Havana

Bringing Pedestrian Life Back to Little Havana

Planners have set their sights on the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami with the goal of turning the area's car-centric Calle Ocho into a ped-friendly Main Street.

April 27, 2016 - CityLab

Portland Pearl District Streetcar

PBS Takes on Urban Planning, Good and Bad, with '10 Towns' Special

Beginning with the first U.S. planned urban development, St. Augustine, Fla., and ending with one of Portland's newest neighborhoods, the Pearl District, host Geoffrey Baer takes us through ten developments that left their mark, for better or worse.

April 27, 2016 - PBS

Port Authority Bus Terminal

Resistance Rising Against Port Authority's Manhattan Bus Terminal Plans

Nicole Gelinas writes a column that deliberately establishes an urban vs. suburban conflict over the issue of a $10 billion proposal to build a new Port Authority bus terminal on Manhattan's West Side.

April 27, 2016 - New York Post

Woman on Transit

How Planning Fails to Make Women-Friendly Urban Places

Planning decisions overwhelmingly don't address women's needs, according to an article in The Huffington Post.

April 27, 2016 - The Huffington Post

Detroit

Real Estate Prices Booming in Downtown Detroit

As downtown real estate prices soar, similar to other cities in the United States, it's possible to see signs of recovery around Detroit. Other parts of the city, however, are not seeing the same changes.

April 26, 2016 - The Detroit Free Press

Office Park

High Tech Embraces Suburban-Style Office Park Thinking

Critics claim tech companies such as Apple and Google are guilty of repeating past mistakes of urban development by creating suburban campuses that isolate themselves from the surrounding community.

April 26, 2016 - Collectors Weekly

How Austin Renters Are Resisting Displacement

Rapid development in Austin, TX has severely impacted rental housing, including mobile home parks, which are a source of low-income housing.

April 26, 2016 - The Austin Chronicle

Low Water Ohio River

Louisville Gearing Up to Tackle its Urban Heat Island Problem

Louisville has the ignominious distinction of having the largest heat island effect of any of the largest cities in the United States. A new study from the Urban Climate Lab at Georgia Tech suggests ideas for lowering the heat in the city.

April 25, 2016 - The Courier-Journal

Charlotte Housing Development

Battle Lines Drawn Over Density in Charlotte

The Charlotte Observer recently described the landscape of proposed apartment developments in the city of Charlotte.

April 25, 2016 - The Charlotte Observer

Seattle KeyARena

Seattle's Preemptive Strike for an NBA Arena Up for Debate

With the prospects of an NBA team bolting for Seattle not looking great anytime in the near future, the Seattle City Council is debating a proposal that has been in the works since 2012.

April 25, 2016 - The Seattle Times

Mansion

Barriers to Integration Come Down Slowly in Wealthy, White Suburban Enclaves

Beware of possible code words like "character" and "flavor" when it comes to community resistance to multifamily housing or increased density. Case in point, Garden City, Long Island.

April 25, 2016 - The New York Times

Robert Moses

Contest: Create a Game Based on the Life and Times of Robert Moses

The so-called Robert Moses Cup invites the gaming- and planning-inclined to design a game capturing the essence of Robert Moses.

April 25, 2016 - Grist

Washington D.C. Row Houses

What the Growth of D.C. Looked Like From Space

A history of growth and expansion is visible to the naked eye with photos covering a wide breadth of the planet and just a few short years.

April 24, 2016 - The Washington Post

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.