Urban Development

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

St. Petersburg's Pier

St. Petersburg's Pier Has a New Look

A $50 million project will replace the now demolished inverted pyramid pier off the coast of St. Petersburg.

April 24, 2016 - The Architect's Newspaper

New York Development to Combine Manufacturing and Residential Once Again

The city of New York has made zoning change to allow an "experiment" on the Queens waterfront that mixes residential and manufacturing uses on the same site.

April 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Expected Budget Cuts Hurt Port Modernization Prospects in Anchorage

The Alaska Legislature snubbed the Port of Anchorage due to a huge state budget shortfall. The port handles 90 percent of the state's freight and is a vital national security facility.

April 23, 2016 - Alaska Public Media

Eviction

Oakland Approves 90-Day Moratorium on Evictions

Taking steps to prevent Oakland from becoming the next San Francisco, the East Bay city passed a 90-day moratorium on certain kinds of evictions.

April 22, 2016 - The Guardian

Blight Demolition

Treasury Department Announces $1 Billion for 'Hardest Hit Fund'

A $1 billion funding allocation from the Treasury Department to the Hardest Hit Fund is the fifth since 2010.

April 22, 2016 - CityLab

Habitat Restoration

New Community Plan to Remake Canada's Capital of Sprawl

Abbotsford is the fifth-largest city in British Columbia by population but the largest by land size. The city's most recent community plan is designed to accommodate new growth without sprawling any farther.

April 21, 2016 - Vancouver Sun

Artists Plan a Mini Golf Course to Teach About Zoning and Gentrification

An art installation called "The Back 9" is planned for Los Angeles' Skid Row to tackle the issues of gentrification, zoning, and back room deals for development rights.

April 21, 2016 - CityLab

A Special Place for Ugly Buildings

A paradoxical encomium of sorts for the benefits of ugly buildings to the experience of cities.

April 21, 2016 - The Star

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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.