Urban Development

Report Finds Tremendous Economic Benefits From Indy's Cultural Trail

A $63 million investment to build the Cultural Trail in Indianapolis has returned $1 billion in increased property value and other economic benefits since 2008.

August 25, 2015 - The Indianapolis Star

Atlanta's Midtown Achieving 'Tech Hub' Status

Companies looking for creative class cache have begun to locate in Atlanta's Midtown and spilling over into neighboring districts.

August 25, 2015 - Upstart Business Journal

Federal Bill Would Enable Waterfront Community Resilience Planning

A bill proposed in the U.S. Senate provides a model for how the federal government could support resilience planning in waterfront and coastal communities.

August 25, 2015 - APA Policy News

Agritpopia

Building a Better Suburb

Suburbs are changing. Instead of "green lawns, sprawling backyards, and lots of parking for cars," now there are "agri-hoods."

August 24, 2015 - Huffington Post Canada

Santa Monica Route 66

Santa Monica Nixes Mixed-Use Development in Favor of Suburban-Style Office Park

A hotly contested development in the coastal enclave of Santa Monica, CA—soon to be blessed with light rail access to the rest of the region—has produced less-than-ambitious results.

August 23, 2015 - Santa Monica Next

St. Louis NFL Stadium Plans Clear Initial Funding Hurdle

A proposal to build a new NFL stadium in St. Louis received its first clearance for tax credits—$15 million from the Missouri Development Finance Board. Additional requests for $17.5 million will follow in 2016 and 2017.

August 23, 2015 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

HUD Grants $24 Million for Community Development Pool in North St. Louis

The federal government offered to $24 million to create a loan pool in struggling areas of North St. Louis County—most infamously displayed to the country over the past year in the intense racial conflicts centering around Ferguson.

August 22, 2015 - St. Louis County

Should Architects Be Citizen Scientists?

Can self-contained urban food systems exist in the core of our cities? Architect Darrick Borowski of New York based firm ARExA developed a model to determine just that.

August 21, 2015 - Doggerel

Another McMansion

Why the McMansion Isn't Really Back

Joe Cortright criticizes reports linking high median new home sizes to a renewed demand for McMansions. The market for single-family homes, he argues, locks out buyers of modest means. Only the well-off are buying.

August 21, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

De Blasio Could Open the Times Square Pedestrian Plaza to Cars

Exotic street performers in the plaza have caused Mayor Bill de Blasio to reconsider his initial opposition to street plazas. Unlike his police commissioner and the governor, de Blasio has yet to make a decision on the removal of Times Square plaza.

August 21, 2015 - The New York Times N.Y. / Region

From the Ashes of a Freeway—a New Neighborhood Rising in Providence

A part of the city of Providence once lobotomized by the I-95 freeway is ready to be born anew as LINK, with three projects already in the works and 19 acres of developable land.

August 20, 2015 - The New York Times

One Way

America's Streets: Two Ways to Urban Regeneration

Dr. William (Billy) Riggs guest blogs about his new research in Journal of Planning Education & Research. Dr. Riggs is Assistant Professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo focusing on quantitative community analysis and urban planning policies.

August 20, 2015 - JPER

Texas Drought

A State of Thirst

In the middle of a population boom, Texas is looking across state lines for more water. The U.S. Supreme Court said no the first time; does that mean it will say no again?

August 19, 2015 - Katharine Jose

Baltimore's Big Idea: Schools as the Center of Neighborhood Transformation

The city of Baltimore is taking a new approach to an old idea: that schools should be the center of neighborhoods.

August 19, 2015 - The Baltimore Sun

Los Angeles Freeway

Next Steps for the City of Freeways

It is difficult to imagine a time when Los Angeles' freeways symbolized access, efficiency, and modernity. Now that the city's love affair with freeways is nearly spent, what future do we envision for them?

August 19, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Visiting Urban Parks Makes People Healthier...but Wealthier?

Recent studies show that urban parks are healthy in surprising ways in addition to physical and emotional health, writes Jeff Caldwell of Litchfield Landscape Elements.

August 19, 2015 - UrbDeZine

TIF Shifts to the Suburbs in Minnesota

A common and sometimes controversial funding mechanism is growing in popularity in suburban Minnesota, even as its use in the urban core decreases.

August 17, 2015 - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Density Bonuses Proposed in High-Demand San Francisco Neighborhoods

The San Francisco Planning Department is proposing new densities in certain neighborhoods in exchange for building new units for low- and middle-income residents.

August 17, 2015 - San Francisco Business Times

Billboards Still a Thorn in the Side of Cities

Cities around the world have continued to implement drastic measures in reaction to a proliferation of billboards.

August 17, 2015 - The Guardian

Strong Housing Market a Lesson in Contrasts to the Slumping Oil Industry

Houston's housing market is chugging along, although one of the area's key industries is struggling.

August 16, 2015 - Houston Chronicle

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.