Urban Development
Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts Explained
With the dissolution of California Redevelopment Agencies in 2011, those looking to spur economic development have struggled to find alternative tools that create investment in communities where such investments don't flow naturally.
U.S. EPA Provides Guidance for Infill Development in Distressed Communities
Not every city is benefitting from downtown revitalization in the same way, so the U.S. EPA has released a new report offering strategies for in fill development in "distressed" communities.
What is Urban Decay? (And Why the Answer Matters)
The ambiguous definition of 'urban decay' dilutes the argument for requiring this less-well-known environmental study.
Is Gentrification on Tap at Philadelphia's Pop-Up Beer Gardens?
Danya Henninger reports on the local controversy over a pop-up beer garden in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze.
Op-Ed Decries Santa Monica's Airbnb Ban
By exiling short-term renters, the coastal city of Santa Monica shifts its housing burden onto neighboring areas. That burden, according to this op-ed, contradicts the city's sustainability commitment and further limits scarce residential options.
More McMansions: Upscaling Suburbia
According to this article, the market forces behind large home construction are alive and well. In a process of suburban gentrification, developers purchase older, smaller homes and build "McMansions" in their place.
Census Data: Growth Trends Favor Sunbelt Cities
Although city growth continues to outpace the suburbs, the nation's three largest cities are experiencing a growth slowdown. Sunbelt cities like Austin and Orlando are picking up the slack.
Why New York Barely Taxes Its Billionaires
If taxed at an average rate, the buyer of One57's $100.5 million penthouse should have paid $1.3 million in property taxes. Instead, the property was assessed at $17,000. Here's why.
San Francisco Giants Development Plans Will Compete at the Ballot Box
Approval for a 28-acre, mixed-use development just south of AT&T Park in San Francisco will appear on the ballot in November. Also appearing on the ballot: a much smaller project, with a larger share of affordable housing.
Sign Code Update: Finding the Sweet Spot
A case study in integrating form-based and street graphic approaches into the sign code, provided by the city of Lacey, Washington.
Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan Wrestles With Urban Growth
As increasing density and increasing housing costs raise temperatures all over Seattle, residents and planners are engaging in a comprehensive plan that will determine how the city grows over the next 20 years.
Controversial Bill to Create Transit Corridor Development Authority in Connecticut
Eminent domain is just one of the powers that would be granted the new Transit Corridor Development Authority, per House Bill 6851. The controversial bill is pitting the state's governor against opponents that argue in favor of local power.
Land Bank Achieves Initial Success in Erie County, New York
The former steel town of Lackawanna, in Erie County, New York, is the latest beneficiary of the growing reach of land banks.
Doubts Raised About OneNYC's Energy Efficiency Goals
Following the April announcement of Mayor de Blasio's OneNYC plan (an update to the Bloomberg Administration's PlaNYC), critics are poking holes in the energy efficiency goals included in the new plan.
San Francisco's Proposed Housing Moratorium Is a Bad Idea
After San Francisco Supervisors reject housing moratorium, proponents vow ballot initiative. But a moratorium is the wrong solution to the problem and would likely lead to continued price increases, condo conversions, and Ellis Act evictions.
Breathe Easier: Six Ways to Improve Air Quality for People on Bicycles
On the Plan.Place blog, planner Jenny Koch describes how planners and bicyclists can make it easier to breathe on a bicycle, by reducing the risks posed by traffic-related air pollutants.
City Living Without the Racket
Planners can use building codes and design review to protect city apartments from internal and external sources of noise.
The Plaza: What Makes a Community Living Room?
The Plaza can behave as the community living room. Why is this so hard to get right in post-WWII U.S.?
The Code Change That Could Enable Mid-Rise Construction in Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. must wrap up its consideration of the 2015 International Building Code by July. Adoption of the IBC could enable new types of density in the nation's capital.
Lawsuit Takes Issue With Bond Financing for NFL Stadium Plan in St. Louis
A lawsuit filed by Missouri state legislators finds fault with a plan to extend bond funding from the city's last NFL stadium project to help finance a new $985 million stadium located north of downtown along the city's waterfront.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
