Urban Development
Pittsburgh Approves with Development Plans for 28-Acre Civic Area Site
A large mixed-use development plan for Pittsburgh's former Civic Area site now has full approval from the city.
Part Two: Should MoMA Tout Tactical Urbanism(s) as a Solution to Uneven Growth?
The second and final post about MoMa's exhibit, "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities."
Will Upzoning Destroy the Beaux Arts Legacy of Midtown Manhattan?
A development proposal for a 1,450 glass skyscraper adjacent to Grand Central Station prompted the Architectural Record to wonder whether New York is chipping away the "Beaux Arts heart" of Manhattan.
Residents Disillusioned with the Planning Process in Los Angeles' Chinatown
Sharon McNary reports on a proposed development in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles that predates, and could thus avoid, the guidelines put forward by one of the most progressive plans in the city—the Cornfield Arroyo Specific Plan.
Fast Train To Big D
Many citizens in independent-minded Texas may not like the idea of spending $10 billion on high speed rail. Backers in Dallas, though, have begun to dream up big plans for a station area to serve Texas Central Railway.
Dallas' New Suburban Developments Have an Urban Feel
Looking for evidence of the resurgence of suburban developments? Look no farther than the suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth, says a recent column in the Dallas Morning News.
Criticism of St. Louis' Riverfront Stadium Plans
A lesson for other cities as well: As long as cities give absurd subsidies to pro sports teams, pro sports teams will continue to expect absurd subsidies from cities. Case in point: St. Louis and the NFL's Rams.
Op-Ed: New York's Affordable Housing More Corrupt than Helpful
A columnist takes the recent scandal involving disgraced former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as a particularly heinous example of how far astray affordable housing policy is from its intended goal.
Op-Ed: The Cleveland Clinic Chooses Sprawl over Healthy Communities
A scathing critique of the land use, development, and transportation decisions of the Cleveland Clinic calls out the medical center for neglecting its role in the prioritizing healthy communities.
Urban Design for the Commitment-Phobe in All of Us
On the new Plan.Place blog, the author describes the ways that small-scale, temporary projects can have a widespread, lasting impact on the way that our communities evolve and change.
Where Have All the Anti-Tech Protestors Gone?
In San Francisco at this time last year, Google bus protestors and Ellis Act rage were making the news everyday. The City seems a little more...adjusted these days.
What is a 'Placemaker' (Besides an Overused Buzzword)?
Placemaking is an overused term and under-comprehended subcategory of the urban design and planning fields. Howard Blackson explains what it means and how it has evolved in his own career.
Better Design and a 'Level of Service' for the Blind
Scott Schafer pens a column inspired by watching a visually impaired woman navigate a busy corner of Minneapolis. The question raised by the column: How can we improve level of service for the blind?
Reading Cities Cover to Cover, and Why
Chuck Wolfe underscores the importance of a holistic view of urban places, referencing themes of common experience, aesthetics, feelings of happiness, safety, or security—a basic narrative of the city that often goes beyond first impressions.
Control of Farmland—City Style
Farm land ownership matters on the edges of metropolitan areas, where farmers can find lucrative markets for their products and yet, with ever escalating land prices, face daunting odds in securing land to grow on or even to get started.
Renters Predominate in Low-Cost and High-Cost Cities
A report by New York University’s Furman Center found that renters made up the majority of households in nine of the 11 largest cities in the U.S. in 2013, up from five in 2006. The demand is straining the supply of rental housing.
Better Bridges: Good for People and for Birds
In a California town, birds are dying, something Daniel Ebuehi attributes in large part to faulty design.
Midwest Earthquakes Are Redrawing the Risk Map
Setting aside the debate about fracking's responsibility for swarms of earthquakes in states like Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, seismic experts are recognizing a need to rethink building safety.
Proposed Dallas High Speed Rail Station Hopes to Attract Game-Changing TOD
The Dallas Business Journal provides in depth coverage on the current planning efforts behind two proposed high-speed rail station locations in Dallas.
Asian Cities are the World's Safest
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its Safe Cities Index 2015, finding that Asian cities lead the world in several measures of security.
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
