Urban Development

Gentrification

Gentrification as Public Health Risk

Research around the United States has found gentrification to produce public health risks. Will lessons from Oakland and New York City be enough for a rapidly gentrifying city like St. Louis to escape poor public health outcomes?

May 5, 2014 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Back from the Dead? California Legislature Reconsiders Redevelopment

Via competing bills, California's Legislature is holding a surprisingly quiet debate on what redevelopment was for in the first place and what aspects of it may be worth reviving.

May 4, 2014 - California Planning & Development Report

Hollywood Park Development: End of an Era in Inglewood

The Hollywood Park horseracing track in Inglewood, California, follows the path of racetracks in Sam Mateo and Queens that have recently given way to large housing developments.

May 2, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

Southampton Street

Lessons in Planning from the Future Long Island

Andy Freleng recently answered a series of questions about life on Long Island, and its future, from his perspective as chief planner of Suffolk County.

May 1, 2014 - The Foggiest Idea

The Texas Miracle: Looking Beyond the Impressive Growth Numbers

Texas is booming—its growth in people and jobs puts it in a league of its own. But another set of growth data pales by comparison: Infrastructure, particularly in the water and transportation needed to accommodate the growth, is woefully lacking.

April 30, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S. News

Quiz: How Many Stories Constitute a 'Residential Tower'?

Sure, it's a subjective question. Where I live, it's anything taller than four stories, at least in the local media's eyes. But from a real estate perspective, there really is a minimum number, and they are being built in record numbers in the U.S.

April 29, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S. News

The Health of Cities Depends on Place-Based Development More than Big Projects

Cities take a physical form that either supports or is stressful to people outside of a moving vehicle or building. Witold Rybczynski, in his critique of New Urbanism, forgets that lesson.

April 28, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

Downtown Dallas' Comeback Story

Downtown Dallas provides another example of the redemptive power of adaptive reuse. With the number of empty buildings declining every year and more ambitious projects on the way, is it safe to say Downtown Dallas is all the way back?

April 28, 2014 - Dallas Morning News

The Hudson Yards 'Quantified Community' Experiment

Undergirding the massive mix of uses and investments called Hudson Yards is an ambitious plan to gather and analyze data provided by the 65,000 people a day who make use of the facility.

April 28, 2014 - FastCompany Exist

The Grotao Community Center

Interdisciplinarity and the Equitable City

On Urban-Think Tank, a design firm working at the intersection of architecture and urbanism to further environmental justice.

April 28, 2014 - Anna Bergren Miller

Curitiba Skyline

Ecocity versus Duplicity

If certain elements of masterplanning are not carefully chosen—and their impacts not carefully explained to final decision makers—then there runs great risk that the cities we design from scratch perform worse than the cities we already have.

April 28, 2014 - Ian Sacs

Riverfront Revitalization Rolls On in Pittsburgh

A recent article revisits the accomplishments of the Pittsburgh over the past 15 years in revitalizing the waterfronts of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers.

April 27, 2014 - Pittsburgh Magazine

Washington D.C. COnstruction

Watch D.C.'s Surface Parking Lots and Unoccupied Buildings Disappear

The Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District recently released its State of Downtown report. Downtown D.C.'s transformation over the last two decades has created an incredible revenue generator for the city.

April 27, 2014 - The Washington Post

Bill to Revise Developments of Regional Impact Process Stalls in Florida

After opposition from environmental groups and the Florida Association of Counties, SB 372 by Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) will have to try again next year.

April 25, 2014 - The Florida Current

Happy Ending for Controversial Development Proposal in Philadelphia

Once a developer provokes the ire of the community surrounding a proposed development and the word NIMBY gets bandied about, chances for a mutually beneficial solution are slim to none. Not so with the One Riverside project in Philadelphia.

April 24, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Charrettes

Engage; Don’t Rage: Use a Design Charrette to Negotiate Your Next Development Proposal

Despite the investments required of a design charrette, Robert Freedman makes the case that the process can save time and money on complex projects by way of three primary benefits.

April 24, 2014 - Robert Freedman

'A Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles' Elevates Public Health Among Planning Priorities

Available for public comment until May 13, Los Angeles is considering a new Health and Wellness Element for its General Plan, called “A Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles.” It’s an ambitious document for a large and diverse city.

April 23, 2014 - KCET

Dallas Working to Streamline Approval Process for Sidewalk Cafés

A City Council committee got its first look at a proposed revision of the streetscape licensing process by which restaurants and cafés can acquire sidewalk seating. Councilmembers sent the plan back the drawing board again.

April 22, 2014 - Dallas Observer

Golden State Warriors Drop Pier 30-32 Arena Plans

In what is surely a victory for opponents of waterfront development along the Embarcadero corridor in San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors have purchased a new site farther south, near AT&T Park and the UCSF Mission Bay campus, for a new arena.

April 22, 2014 - SF Weekly

Seattle’s Capitol Hill Light Rail Attracting TOD Attention

Sound Transit released a request for qualifications to build a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use TOD at the forthcoming Capitol Hill light rail station. Fourteen interested developers responded.

April 22, 2014 - Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

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.