Urban Development
Detroit Redevelopment Boom Expected for 2016
An in-depth look at some of the high-profile properties slated for redevelopment in Detroit in 2016 provides inspiration for some of the properties that still need solutions.
Charlotte Grows Weary of the Bland Cookie-Cutter Apartment Buildings
Designers and architects in Charlotte, North Carolina are asking the city to raise the bar when approving new apartment buildings to prevent more of the repetitive wood-frame design that has swept the city.
New York City's Skyline Evolves With Tall, Skinny Towers
For better or for worse, the tall, skinny towers that have helped to remake New York’s iconic skyline appear to be growing in popularity among developers.
Funding Revitalization in the Post-Redevelopment Era
A Los Angeles City Councilmember discusses his instructive quest to cobble together funding for the revitalization of his district after the termination of community redevelopment agencies.
Rowhouses Have an Ally in Philadelphia
An important source of housing affordable to wide ranges of incomes has a new, well-funded ally in Philadelphia—the Healthy Rowhouse Project is hoping to make a big impact in 2016.
CEQA Abuse 'Choking' Good Development, Study Finds
A study of CEQA litigation revealed widespread abuse that experts say undermines California's environmental sustainability goals.
Portland Updating Regulations for Infill in Single-Family Residential Neighborhoods
Portland is tackling a critical but often controversial issue: how to regulate infill development in residential neighborhoods when growth is pushing landowners and developers to build bigger and denser.
Endangered Places in 2015: Texas Dancehalls
Dancehalls—places for small-town Texans to gather for community—are struggling to survive in a changing Texas.
Best Practices for Downtown Revitalization
Downtown revitalization comes in all shapes and sizes. A new, free guidebook from Smart Growth America offers advice for making revitalization work.
Visualizing Global Urban Growth Through 2030
Geographer Duncan Smith mapped the predicted trajectory of worldwide urban growth from 1950 through 2030. Concentric circles of different shades show where and when growth was (or will be) the most dramatic.
St. Louis' Multi-Family Market Ready for Takeoff
Permits to rehab existing multi-family buildings have skyrocketed in St. Louis.
Anchorage Considers Densification
In a city of sprawling surface parking, increased density may help close a serious affordable housing gap as Anchorage, Alaska, seeks ways to make development more affordable.
Which Fears Are Blocking Solutions in Your City?
A former planning commissioner recalls often being surprised at the passion and anger displayed toward small changes around the city of San Francisco, and attempted to get to the nature of the fear driving the opposition.
16 Case Studies of Workforce Housing Protection
A new report from the Urban Land Institute responds to what it argues is a housing crisis among lower- and middle-income workers.
Los Angeles to Redesign Its 'Worst Public Space'
Josh Stephens reports on the Pershing Square Renew Design Challenge, an effort to redo one of the "world's worst squares and plazas." The new Pershing Square may hearken back to the years before its misguided 1992 redesign.
Jakarta's Titantic 25-Mile Seawall
Indonesia's capital, population 10 million, is slowly sinking below sea level. To protect itself and drive the economy, the city is building a 25-mile bird-shaped seawall, to be topped with luxury development.
Philadelphia Attempts Urban Intervention to Fix Its 'Most Boring Street'
Surrounded on all sides by glassy, modern towers, Philly's West Market Street has lacked the sort of attractions that have brought downtown workers to neighboring streets.
Help Has Arrived for Dallas' Aging Arts District
With sidewalks in disrepair and shabby looking trees, Dallas has turned to planning and design firm NBBJ to create a new master plan for its Arts District.
Toward a Better Understanding of Supply and Demand
A housing market analyst finds that traditional models do a poor job of measuring supply and demand, which makes it very difficult to know how much supply is needed to meet demand.
Paris Launches EcoDistrict on Train Station Site
After a decade of development, Paris' first EcoDistrict launched this year. Built in place of a disused train station, the district features offices, housing, and amenities built around clean and green principles.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
