Urban Development

Seattle Waterfront Condos

Seattle's Struggle to Build Affordable Housing

The Emerald City's affordable housing difficulties mirror those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others: too much demand and too few resources.

October 3, 2015 - Crosscut

King County, Sound Transit Announce $83 Million for Transit Oriented Development

A new regional transit oriented development initiative in Seattle will focus on affordable housing and walkable communities. The Executive's Transit Station Housing and Development Initiative will partner King County and Sound Transit.

October 2, 2015 - The Urbanist

Planning for the 'Big One'—In Salt Lake City

Many people outside of Salt Lake City might not realize that the city's proximity to the Wasatch Fault puts it at risk for an earthquake likely in the range of 7.1 on the Richter scale.

October 1, 2015 - Next City

Health by Design: Findings from ULI

A new ULI report finds that innovation in placemaking is about the inter-relatedness of health and the built environment.

October 1, 2015 - ULI San Francisco Blog

Op-Ed: Maryland Should Support Baltimore with Money, Not Bulldozers

A response to the conventional thinking about demolitions as the antidote to blighted, vacant properties and the negative effects that follow.

October 1, 2015 - The Baltimore Sun

Grand Central Terminal Owner Files $1.1 Billion Suit Against One Vanderbilt

A $1.1 billion lawsuit challenges the approval of plans for One Vanderbilt, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal, on the grounds that it circumvented the purchase of air rights from the adjacent Grand Central Terminal.

October 1, 2015 - The New York Times

Chicago Approves Big Expansion of TOD Ordinance

Ten times more land in Chicago is now designated for transit oriented development—affording new development reduced parking requirements, density bonuses for affordable housing, and new strength for the city's Pedestrian Street design regulations.

September 30, 2015 - Chi.Streetsblog

North Dakota

Ghost Towns Remain After Rush to Build in North Dakota Oil Boom

Bloomberg details the sudden, catastrophic decline of the real estate market in North Dakota following the oil bust of the last year. Municipalities and investors are on the hook for thousands of new and approved building units.

September 30, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

San Francisco Houses

Density Bonuses Proposed to Spur Affordable Housing in San Francisco

Mayor Ed Lee this week proposed a density bonus policy that would help the city build approximately 16,000 new units of housing, including 5,000 affordable units along select transit corridors.

September 30, 2015 - The San Francisco Chronicle

New York City Construction

Can Reduced Parking Requirements Generate Too Much Development Competition?

A new argument has appeared in the ongoing debate about parking requirements. A university in a college town objected to reduced parking requirements on the grounds that it would make the city too attractive to developers.

September 30, 2015 - CityLab

Closed Beach

The Dangers of Dumb Luck for Hurricane-Zone Transplants

The relative calm of the last decade may be luring hundreds of thousands of new coastal residents into a false sense of comfort.

September 29, 2015 - Five Thirty Eight

Coit Tower

Beyond the Big One: Real Recovery in San Francisco

What does it mean to be a Chief Resilience Officer for one America's largest cities? Doggerel spoke to Patrick Otellini, Chief Resilient Officer for San Francisco, to find out what it takes to make a truly resilient city.

September 29, 2015 - Doggerel

Montville, Connecticut

How Chinese Immigrants Are Urbanizing a Connecticut Suburb

Next City provides a case study in the urbanization of suburbs—in this case the result of a large influx of Chinese immigrants.

September 28, 2015 - Next City

The Shard London

Skyscrapers as the Enemy of Cities

An op-ed in The Globe and Mail expresses animosity for the wave of skyscraper construction in old world cities like London.

September 26, 2015 - The Globe and Mail

No Luxury Condos

Report: There's a Right Way to Do Inclusionary Zoning

A new study from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy makes the case for well-timed, thoughtful use of inclusionary zoning as a tool to support diverse, affordable communities.

September 24, 2015 - At Lincoln House

Thoughts on the Dynamic Cities Sector

After spending more than a decade in government and real estate development, Brian Swett recently joined Arup in the role of Director of Cities and Sustainable Real Estate in the Americas. We asked for his thoughts on urban expansion and development.

September 24, 2015 - Doggerel

Baltimore Crabs

South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan to Pave Way for Sports and Entertainment District

The Baltimore Planning Commission will soon consider the South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan, which lays out a 20-year agenda to support a wave of entertainment development coming to the neighborhood.

September 24, 2015 - The Baltimore Sun

Brooklyn Bridge

Attention Media: Neighborhoods Existed Before Gentrification

On the media's responsibility for narratives that enable displacement, rather than inclusion.

September 24, 2015 - Grist

Seaside Entrance

Thoughts on Seaside at 35

Seaside, Florida: what’s possible when vision, tradition, creativity, adaptation, and, yes, time converge in ways that allow for careful study and consideration.

September 24, 2015 - PlaceShakers

The Outsized Benefits of Transforming Parking Lots to TOD

Chicago's sale of three city-owned parking lots demonstrates how selling underused land for the purposes of transit-oriented development can benefit people and government.

September 23, 2015 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

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.