Urban Development
Cyber Monday: A Placemaker's Case for Character-Rich Retail
As the shopping season begins, can the satisfaction associated with little shops cause us to be resilient and spend a little less? Maybe we should ease up on our zoning restrictions, and at least make it possible.
To Understand New York's Needs, Think Beyond Manhattan
When most people think of New York City, says CUNY planning professor and activist Tom Angotti, they think of Manhattan. This excessive focus on a narrow slice of the greater New York metropolitan area needs to be reconsidered.
South Park Neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles Partners for Greener Alleys
The South Park BID and LA Sustainability Collaborative came together to organize the "Green Alleys in South Park Visioning Report," with plans to connect its next steps in sustainable action to city, development, and third-party projects.
Study: Walkable Neighborhoods Lower Risk of Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
Researchers continue to verify the health benefits of walkable neighborhoods. Most recently researchers at Kansas University found benefits that communities can use to ensure the quality of life of aging residents.
Connecting the Dots between Architecture and Real Estate
Architecture and real estate often fail to recognize their inexorable connections. A new website draws out the themes linking the two fields.
Renewing the Idea of a Linear City
A Treehugger column picks up on the historic idea of the "Linear City" as a counter point to the current pressures to build up in cities around the world.
Emerging Trends Report: Urbanization is the 'New Normal'
The Toronto Star picks up on the Urban Land Institute's Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, finding the trend of urbanization in Canada to reflect the trend in the United States.
A Dissenting Take on Smart Cities from Rem Koolhaas
A post on the European Commission website provides an edited transcript of a presentation by Rem Koolhaas in which the starchitect and author offers a scathing take on the ill effects of smart cities.
Cincinnati Hopes to Stay on a Roll with New Development Director Oscar Bedolla
Cincinnati recently hired Oscar Bedolla as its new trade and development director. Bedolla will play a key role in facilitating development in a city hoping to maintain its current upswing.
Key to Good Planning? Coordination
Coordination is required to get urban planning projects from concept to construction, according to Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau.
Critic: Improve Lighting to Improve Dallas Walkability
Architecture Critic Mark Lamster sets aside the complex issues of lane configurations and traffic calming to focus on a key aspect of walkability: proper lighting.
Review: Smithsonian South Mall Master Plan
Writing for The Dirt, Jared Green takes a critical eye to the proposed master plan for the Smithsonian's South Mall campus, designed by high-profile Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
What Can Vancouver Teach Melbourne?
Melbourne has topped numerous global lists for its quality of life, but it certainly has room to improve. Former Vancouver Planning Director Brent Toderian sees lessons from his hometown for the world class city down under.
Crowdfunding Civic Spaces
Although crowdfunding initially developed to support artists and entrepreneurs, crowdfunding sites are funding a growing number of public space projects.
Pop-Up Park Shifts Planning Attitudes in San Diego
The short-term Quartyard pop-up park in San Diego's East Village reflects the changing attitudes of the oft conservative San Diego Planning Department.
Inglewood Mayor Rebrands a City Once Known for Crime
James Butts is committed to turning Inglewood around, with economic investment and property development now on the rise.
Reflections on Urban Public Art
Ken Lum, Professor in the School of Design, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn IUR Faculty Fellow, writes about the promise—and pitfalls—of urban public art today.
Land for Vehicles or People?
Automobile-oriented planning requires that cities devote signifiant amounts of space to roads and parking—under many conditions each vehicle requires more land than is devoted to housing per capita.
Selling Urbanism: Don’t be an Aristarchus
As urban planners, we must not only innovate, but make our innovations count in the marketplace of ideas. We must make the benefits of livability easily understood, with a clear path for making them happen. Scott Doyon encourages rooted innovation.
Whole Foods Moving into a Food Desert in Chicago's Englewood Neighborhood
Why would Whole Foods—a company colloquially known as "Whole Paycheck" and as a staple of wealthy neighborhoods—open an 18,000-square-foot location in one of the most impoverished parts of Chicago?
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
