Urban Development

Los Angeles Smog

A History of Non-Planning (and its Contemporary Effects)

An article by Woodbury University Professor Anthony Fontenot examines the effects of a history of opposition to planning as a centralized arm of the state, and proposes a way forward.

January 13, 2015 - Places Journal

New Guide Provides Advice for Successful Regional Planning

Transportation for America has released "The Innovative MPO"—a guidebook of sorts that provides lessons in successful regional planning.

January 13, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Boston transit station

Study: For Transit Proximity, Think Beyond a Half-Mile

A recent study suggests that people consider transit proximity to be more flexible than planners often allow.

January 13, 2015 - CityLab

East River

Never Built: The 1912 Plan to Expand Manhattan, Fill the East River

The blogosphere caught wind of a plan from 1912 that would have completely altered the geography of New York City as we know it. Make no little plans, indeed.

January 13, 2015 - Gothamist

Report: 2014 the 'Tallest Year Ever' for New Skyscrapers

The heights of the building envelope saw unprecedented expansion in 2014.

January 13, 2015 - Dezeen

In Support of the Trinity Toll Road in Dallas

The Trinity Toll Road project in Dallas is one of the most controversial ongoing infrastructure and highway projects in the country. A Dallas Morning News columnist suggests the project's opponents should act like adults.

January 12, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

San Diego Bay, Historic

The Rise of the Development Agreement

The evolution of the development agreement reveals how its proliferation as a land use tool is a symptom of a larger struggle between increasingly complicated land use regulations, the public’s conflicting goals, and developers’ desire for certainty

January 11, 2015 - Reuben Duarte

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City's Plan to Attract and Retain Millennials

The Oklahoma Gazette takes an in-depth look at the city's efforts to attract and retain millennials.

January 11, 2015 - Oklahoma Gazette

A First Look at Riverfront Stadium Proposal for St. Louis

Reports that the St. Louis Rams intend to move back to Los Angeles mobilized an effort by state and city leadership to keep the team in St. Louis.

January 10, 2015 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

SF Cable Cars

Milken Institute Ranks 2014's 'Best Performing Cities'

The Milken's Institute report ranked San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City at the top of the performance index for the first time in the list's 15-year history.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

Brainstorm: What Are the Creative Uses of a Roofless Building?

Becky McCray recently posed the question: "What can you do with a roofless building?"

January 9, 2015 - Pagosa Daily Post

Friday Funny: Critics Skewer High-Rise-with-a-Mouth in San Francisco

Kriston Capps shares the creative work of a couple of arm-chair architecture critics who took to Photoshop to express their opinions about the Snøhetta-designed tower proposed for One Van Ness in San Francisco.

January 9, 2015 - CityLab

Mapping Chicago's Current Wave of Transit Oriented Development Projects

Patrick Sisson reports on the fruits of a 2013 effort by the city of Chicago to codify transit oriented development.

January 8, 2015 - Curbed Chicago

Dallas Task Force to Find Preservation Solutions

After a high-profile demolition claimed a 129-year-old building in Dallas, preservationists are getting a seat at the table in the form of a newly formed task force.

January 8, 2015 - The Dallas Morning News

A Dissenting Take on the Nicollet Mall Planning Process

While many are excited about the prospect of James Corner Field Operations redesigning the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, one commenter sees some of the worst dynamics of top-down planning at work.

January 8, 2015 - Streets MN

New York's Applied Sciences Campuses and 'Metropolitan Revolution'

As its most recent entry in a new series of "Metropolitan Revolution Blog Series," Brookings examines the recent proliferation of applied sciences campuses in New York City.

January 8, 2015 - Brookings

Denver International Airport

'Aerotropolis' Plans Taking Off for Denver International Airport

Denver has plans to create an "aerotropolis" in the vast plain surrounding Denver International Airport.

January 7, 2015 - The Denver Post

Would Building in Hot Markets Help Housing Affordability?

As people move back into the cities, and rental housing demand goes up, it's been an interesting time for people wrestling with the problems of highly unaffordable areas to live.

January 6, 2015 - Rooflines

Report: Arlington, Virginia Is Millennial Town U.S.A.

RealtyTrac recently released an analysis of fair market rents and median home prices in more than 500 U.S. counties. Among the findings of the report: the real estate markets with the highest share of millennial population.

January 5, 2015 - Fusion

Downtown Phoenix Skyline

Cities Growing Faster than Suburbs (But Not by Much)

Eliot Brown, commercial real estate reporter for The Wall Street Journal, writes on urban trends largely influenced by firms seeking to attract the brightest young workers with decidedly urban preferences. Mid-size and large cities are prospering.

January 5, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

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.

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.