Urban Development
Denver's Building Boom Happening on the Fringes
According to a Denver Post article, the Denver metropolitan area has 31,000 homes in the development pipeline. All but 2,600 of those homes would be built in suburban counties surrounding Denver.
Obama Administration Would End Tax-Exempt Bonds for Sports Stadiums
Ending the use of tax-exempt bonds to finance the construction of pro sports facilities has high level support from President Obama's 2016 draft budget, but it's too early to tell if the proposed ban on such financing mechanisms will be approved.
Arlington's Market-Rate Affordable Housing will Disappear by 2020
Planners have undertaken the task of protecting market-rate affordable housing in Arlington County. The need for action was made clear in an Affordable Housing Study recently released to inform the preparation of a new Affordable Housing Master Plan.
Finding the Right Mix of Uses for Former Industrial Sites
The Philadelphia City Council is tinkering with a novel land use created by its 2012 Zoning Code update to help guide mixed use development on former industrial sites.
The Keys to Virginia's Urban Revitalization: Live/Work/Play
An op-ed makes the case for the benefits of mixed-use development in Virginia, namely the creation of 24/7 environments for living, working, and playing.

The Four Phases of New Urbanism
Robert Steuteville discusses the slow, phased emergence of the New Urbanism. We are only partway through a change that will take generations. We are now immersed in the revitalization of cities. More phases will come.
Business, Government, and Infrastructure in Brazil
With one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Brazil is at the cusp of major change. Arup's Gustavo Ferreria discusses the role that public-private partnerships are playing in modernizing and expanding the country's infrastructure systems.
Los Angeles' Plan to Minimize Displacement During Urban Revitalization
Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund an "Innovation Delivery Team" in Los Angeles to approach the challenge of revitalizing urban neighborhoods while also creating improvements for existing populations.

How a Philadelphia Mayoral Candidate Influenced U.S. Public Housing
Former HUD counsel and current Philadelphia mayoral contender Nelson Diaz laid the groundwork for "entrepreneurial" approaches to public housing. Whether the resulting projects were effective is up for debate.

A Deep Dive into Suburban Retrofits
An interview with Ellen Dunham-Jones, co-author of "Retrofitting Suburbia," and Hazel Borys.

How Ancient and Modern Cities Compare (and Why Planners Should Care)
A new scholarly paper argues that ancient and modern cities can be usefully analyzed in a comparative perspective. But what you do with the comps depends on how much you value similarities versus differences in urban form.

A Call for Reimagined Schoolyards
In recent years, tactical urbanism has helped reinvent many streets and sidewalks in center cities, creating new public spaces. But many spaces remain untouched. Anuj Gupta argues that reinvented schoolyards can be the next great public spaces.
The Impressive Story of Florida's 15-Year-Old Citizen Planner
Dylan Gentile, a 15-year-old resident of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, offers inspiration in the form of proactive, positive engagement with the built environment, and already an impressive resume of accomplishments.
A Case for Putting Kids First
Instead of "Bikers First!" or "Creative Class First!" James Siegel, president of Kaboom!, proposes an alternative for cities: "Kids First!"

On the Benefits of Compact Development
The environmental think tank environmental Sustainable Prosperity has created a handy infographic describing the benefits of dense urban development compared to sprawl.
Exploring the Planning History of Downtown Oakland
Oakland, as the urban counterpart to San Francisco in the Bay Area, is on a lot of people's radar as a place to improve on some of the lessons of recent waves of urbanization. What planning precedents shaped the city on the other side of the Bay?
'Center for Opportunity Urbanism' Think Tank Launched in Houston
A new think tank to promote suburban growth has been established in Houston by arguably the media's highest-profile supporters of suburban growth.
We're All Complicit in Change—Now What?
Be a citizen, not just a consumer.
Palo Alto Stalls on Controversial Measure to Cap Commercial Development
In some places, it might be hard to imagine even considering a cap on the development of commercial development. Palo Alto, home to Stanford University and a hot bed of California's tech industry, did just that in City Council earlier this week.

Op-Ed: Terrorism Fears Cloud Los Angeles Stadium Debate
With as many as a half-dozen groups vying to develop an NFL stadium in Los Angeles, things were bound to get ugly. And they did. A report warns of a possible terrorist attack at one stadium site. The report's publisher? Backers of a rival stadium.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions