Urban Development

Toronto Regent Park

Canada Is Looking Better and Better

Alan Mallach unpacks a remarkable project currently underway in Toronto, suggesting that sometimes higher, rather than lower, density may be the best way to go.

April 3, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

'Supply-Side' Arguments, and Why Geography, Scale, and Migration Matter

When it comes to housing, supply and demand isn’t as simple as it seems (or as simple as some boosters would like us to think), and a supply-side strategy will not work in every context to address affordability, including in hot neighborhoods.

April 2, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Austin Updates Small-Lot Amnesty Program

The city of Austin has approved land use regulation changes on one of those traditional hot button planning issues: small-lot developments.

March 31, 2016 - Curbed Austin

Connecting the Dots Between Governance and Placemaking

Seattle's beloved Pike Place offers a case study in how careful governance builds the foundation for flourishing places.

March 30, 2016 - Brookings

Chicago El

Open Data Tool Boosts TOD in Chicago

A "TOD Calculator" developed by a Chicago non-profit promises to deliver quantifiable, digestible data on the community impacts of transit-oriented development.

March 30, 2016 - Data-Smart City Solutions

Parking

Parking Requirements and Housing Prices: More Questions Than Answers in Portland

The city of Portland is considering an expansion of parking requirements in Northwest Portland, much to the chagrin of advocates who predict the new requirements will make housing more expensive.

March 30, 2016 - Bike Portland

Philadelphia Italian market

The Great Debate: How to Attract Investment in Neglected Urban Areas

With the key assumption that more of Philadelphia needs to see the benefits of the recent wave of investment that has come to the city's urban core, politicians at varying levels of government are considering multiple policy options.

March 30, 2016 - Philadelphia

Saving Coastal Cities from Climate Change

A new whitepaper outlines solutions for improving the resiliency and sustainability of coastal cities around the world—using Red Hook, Brooklyn as a case study.

March 29, 2016 - BASF Corporation

Benchmarks: Places on the Move Measure Up

All Planetizen readers should read the full 200-page Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2016 Benchmarking Report. If you haven't taken the time yet, Hazel Borys shares some of the best bits.

March 29, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Millennials

Peak Millennial: Looking Past the Numbers

Two articles look at millennials, cities, and the future. "Peak Millennial" refers to the numbers of millennials moving to and from cities. Grist's Ben Adler looks at why urban millennials are moving to suburbs, and what can be done to address it.

March 29, 2016 - Grist

A Detroit Design School Seeks a Seat at the Table

Academic institutions can play a major role in enriching the communities they operate in. Amy Deines, interim dean of the College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Technological University in Detroit, discusses the city and school's trajectory.

March 28, 2016 - Doggerel

New Housing Program Lowers Construction Hurdles in Cleveland

A unique partnership is making it easier to construct and own a home in the Cleveland neighborhood of Ohio City, located in Cleveland..

March 26, 2016 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

End of the Mall

How To: Makeovers for Struggling Malls

Lean Urbanism recently released a "lean" guide to sprawl repair—focusing on how to bring struggling shopping malls back to life.

March 26, 2016 - Lean Urbanism

Chicago Mayor Emanuel Announces Park Plans to a Skeptical Audience

In a much-hyped address earlier this week. Mayor Rahm Emanuel chose the title "Building on Burnham" to describe his survey of the Chicago's ongoing and future plans to develop parks and open space.

March 25, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Atlanta BeltLine

On Atlanta's BeltLine and 21st-Century Infrastructure

In an interview, Atlanta BeltLine visionary Ryan Gravel discusses the ongoing project and how it fits an emerging, multidisciplinary understanding of what good infrastructure can be.

March 24, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Detroit Street Art

Backers Still Optimistic on Detroit Placemaking

After three years, an ambitious placemaking plan for downtown Detroit has delivered results, but not as quickly as its architects hoped.

March 24, 2016 - Crain's Detroit Business

Four-Lane Freeway

Reports of 'Mega-Commutes' Greatly Exaggerated

No one is denying that many Americans endure long, arduous commutes. But the data does not verify reports that "mega-commutes" are on the rise.

March 24, 2016 - City Observatory

Chicago Spire

Chicago's Never Built Skyscraper—Now a Hole in the Ground and a Pile of Dirt

The high-water marks showing where the last boom broke under the pressure of the Great Recession are still visible in cities all over the country. The Chicago Tribune recently checked on a particularly poignant example in Chicago.

March 24, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Anchorage Updates Land Use Plan Map

After 34 years the Municipality of Anchorage is updating its land use plan map, a companion piece to its comprehensive plan adopted in 2001. The land use plan map sets the stage for future growth and development in this Northern City of 301,000.

March 23, 2016 - Alaska Public Media

Trinity Toll Road 'Dream Team' Disappoints in Dallas

Dallas reached another milestone in its years-long battle over a proposal to build a toll road through a park along the Trinity River on the edge of downtown. The latest version of the proposal so far hasn't cleared any controversies.

March 22, 2016 - The Dallas Morning News

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.