Urban Development

Eliot Brown examines the global trend in skinny skyscrapers, as developers take advantage of technological advances and fatter wallets at the high end of the housing market to deliver stellar views.

November 20, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

In the latest entry in a series on informal urban livelihoods, Sally Roever of WIEGO provides insight into how planners can better understand, acknowledge and manage street vending through the development of appropriate policies and best practices.

November 20, 2012 - The Global Urbanist

Justin Gillis outlines some harsh criticisms of disaster response efforts that rebuild without rethinking – and how much it's costing taxpayers across the country.

November 20, 2012 - The New York Times

Two D.C. developers are giving people the power to finance development in their own communities, paving the way for a new, democratized approach to commercial real estate investment, Emily Badger reports.

November 19, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Matt Bevilacqua takes a look at a new policy proposal that could pool expertise to help municipalities better coordinate public-private partnerships, "supporting bottom-up infrastructure investment" from the top down.

November 19, 2012 - Next American City

A Detroit developer is moving ahead with plans for an innovative condo project that will repurpose shipping containers for medium-density housing, reports John Gallagher.

November 19, 2012 - Detroit Free Press

In what is being described as a "monumental shift" in the city's approach to parking, Sacramento's City Council has voted to ease minimum parking requirements for commercial and residential developments reports Tony Bizjak.

November 19, 2012 - The Sacramento Bee

Alexei Barrionuevo explores San Francisco's starchitect deficit, finding a city "more interested in conserving its [history] than in making a statement." This approach comes in for criticism from the dean of starchitects himself - Frank Gehry.

November 19, 2012 - The New York Times

Just two months into his job as Vancouver's Chief Planner, Brian Jackson is responding to a growing backlash from developers and residents unhappy about an opaque system for determining and implementing community benefits.

November 19, 2012 - The Globe and Mail

Mere months after it was completed, London's Shard has passed the title of Europe's tallest building to Moscow's Mercury City tower, a "beacon of pink mirrored glass," writes Oliver Wainwright.

November 19, 2012 - The Guardian

After his entreaties went unheard the first time around, Mayor Greg Ballard is once again leading efforts to get support for a $1.3 billion mass transit overhaul for the Indianapolis region.

November 18, 2012 - Indystar

Turns out if you don't provide the parking, tenants still bring their cars - they just park on the street, according to a limited Portland survey. Neighbors asked city planners for a moratorium on 'parking-less' apartments and adding parking minimums

November 18, 2012 - The Oregonian

Successive generations have built Brooklyn into the global icon of cool that it is today. Although the owners of the Brooklyn Nets aren't the first to take advantage of the borough's storied history and character, they seem to have perfected the art.

November 18, 2012 - Brooklyn Rail

Happiness and health are generated or depleted by the way our neighbourhoods, towns, cities, and rural landscapes are developed. Creative placemaking adds to walkable urbanism by sealing the deal on physical, mental, and social well-being.

November 17, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Keith Schneider looks at Downtown Market, the "newest piece of civic equipment" being built as part of Grand Rapids's transformation from "Furniture City" to vibrant, and growing, hub.

November 16, 2012 - The New York Times

For the last 30 years, China has led the world in economic growth at a hefty environmental price. Widespread protests have prompted the cabinet of China to mandate a "social risk assessment" for industrial projects, reports Keith Bradsher.

November 16, 2012 - The New York Times

Young professionals are choosing to live in "smaller, more transit-oriented developments." To keep them in-state, Gov. Deval Patrick plans to incentivize the building of 10,000 multifamily housing units each year through 2020 in Mass.

November 15, 2012 - The Boston Globe

Scott Bernstein joins in the Happiness Index conversation, starting with references to the Anatomy of Melancholy.

November 15, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Hong Kong has supplanted New York atop Cushman & Wakefield's list of the ten most expensive shopping streets in the world. London's Bond Street fell out of the top ten due to Britain's weak economy.

November 15, 2012 - Business Insider

Robin Finn profiles Alexandros E. Washburn, head of the urban design division of the New York City Department of City Planning, and the work of his team, which has been responsible for "turning projects into places that people want to be."

November 13, 2012 - The New York Times