Urban Development

Current planning models places housing affordability and preservation fundamentally at odds with one another. We must be willing to re-evaluate our processes if we are to truly move forward.

August 4, 2015 - Reuben Duarte

Paterson, New Jersey's diverse immigrant population holds the potential to revive the city's declining economy. Writer Jeff Byles documents key resources the city has and how similar postindustrial cities have harnessed community-driven planning.

August 3, 2015 - Doggerel

Toronto, Tokyo, and Helsinki may have little in common, but they all top Metropolis Magazine's list of the world's most liveable cities, as named by an expert panel of designers and urbanists. Eight runnners-up were named in a variety of categories.

August 3, 2015 - Metropolis Magazine

Can a neighborhood still call itself Chinatown when everyone living there is wealthy and white? Beset by rapid gentrification, longtime residents of D.C.'s Chinatown fight to keep their homes.

August 3, 2015 - The Washington Post

China's capital city is already one of the largest in the world, but it's about to get a whole lot bigger. As the Chinese population continues to migrate from rural to urban areas, the Chinese government is planning for megacity of 130 million.

August 2, 2015 - New York Times

While the vast majority of cities saw an increase—or no decrease—in neighborhood inequality since 1990, nearly 30 regions became more equal. But paper equality can be problematic when the rich simply up and left town.

August 1, 2015 - Urban Institute

This piece from the Vancouver Sun advocates using land value capture taxes to fund transit and related improvements. Such a tax would target speculation, the author writes, rather than productive activity.

August 1, 2015 - The Vancouver Sun

Haiti's weak government and heavy foreign aid presence has led some to refer to it as the "Republic of NGOs." Satellite explored how this dynamic plays out in the small city of Fort-Liberté, which has been shaken by recent protests over electricity.

July 31, 2015 - Satellite Magazine

An unflinching op-ed begs a rethinking of narratives that cheer the "Triumph of the City." In the contemporary city, the argument goes, only the rich are better off from urbanization.

July 31, 2015 - Citymetric

Not since 1963 have so many construction permits been issued. In fact, permits issued in the month of June alone exceeded the average annual total over the past two decades.

July 30, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

An Atlanta City Councilmember and local advocates are pushing for the city to join the ranks of cities that have allowed tiny houses as a solution to housing challenges.

July 30, 2015 - Atlanta Magazine

It's been a while since 2008, and a new crop of homeowners is colonizing the far-flung exurbs. Mostly foreclosed and even abandoned last time around, the exurbs are still a risky buy.

July 30, 2015 - Bloomberg Business

Pittsburgh's Riverlife recently hired Vivien Li from the Boston Harbor Association. Li's career trajectory helpfully informs the kinds of decisions that drive good waterfront planning.

July 29, 2015 - Pittsburg Post-Gazette

Margaret Dewar of the University of Michigan blogs about her new article in Journal of Planning Education and Research, which investigates reuse of abandoned property in Detroit and Flint. You can download the article free until August 31, 2015.

July 29, 2015 - JPER

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an update of the city's 2013 transit oriented development ordinance. The new version of the ordinance would have a sweeping effect on the land uses around transit stations in Chicago.

July 28, 2015 - Metropolitan Planning Council - The Connector

The Arlington County, Virginia downtown district of Rosslyn will provide the region's latest case study of a commercial district leveraging land use regulations to activate a dormant nightlife.

July 28, 2015 - The Washington Post

Public and private interests have emerged to revitalize the Queens neighborhood, an inter-modal hub ten miles east of Midtown Manhattan.

July 28, 2015 - New York Times (Real Estate)

Chicago has recently opened some of the most exciting urban landscapes we have seen in a while. And, as with New York and other cities, landscape architects are leading the charge.

July 28, 2015 - Mark Hough

For urbanization in China's cities to be truly human-centered, pedestrianization plans must be thoroughly considered.

July 27, 2015 - The City Fix

To preserve views, zoning rules from 2006 require adequate distance between residential towers of a certain height. As developers chafe against the restriction, residents still worry they'll be left facing a wall.

July 27, 2015 - The Seattle Times