Urban Development

Plan Portsmouth

A Small Town's Game-Changing Approach to Mapping

Portsmoth, New Hampshire has created textured, 3D maps of its historic district to help illustrate development impacts during the approval process.

January 15, 2015 - Next City

Cleveland Aerial

Cleveland Skyscraper Design—with a Bridge at the 18th Floor—Raises Zoning Issues

A 54-story building currently under review in Cleveland would be city's the first skyscraper in a quarter-century—if it gains approval for some unique design components.

January 15, 2015 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Can Atlantic City Rebound as a Family-Friendly Destination?

An ambitious Florida real estate developer has a plan to remake Atlantic City into a family-friendly destination by investing $500 million of his own money.

January 15, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Philadelphia Italian market

Three Cities Where New Immigrants Revitalized Main Street

Fusion lists three cities as examples of new immigrants becoming the face of community businesses in neighborhoods needing a boost.

January 14, 2015 - Fusion

Boston Aerial

Boston Getting a 61-Story Addition to its Skyline

Signaling Boston's new role in the global real estate market, a new $750 million high-rise began construction this week.

January 14, 2015 - The Boston Globe

Bikeshare in Eugene Looking Like a Winner for 'ConnectOregon' Grants

Bike Portland reports that a state committee recommended a Eugene bikeshare system as a top priority for a new round of "ConnectOregon" grants.

January 14, 2015 - Bike Portland

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

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.

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.