Urban Development
Bay Area Selects Controversial Compact Regional Growth Plan
At a packed, May 17 meeting in Oakland, filled with transit advocates, tea-partiers, and builders, leaders of the two regional planning agencies selected "Plan Bay Area" as the blueprint to reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions 17% by 2035.
San Francisco Emerges From a Housing Slump
John Wildermuth discusses San Francisco's bounce back from a tremendous slowdown in new housing construction last year.
PILOT Agreements Gain in Popularity, As Non-Profits are Asked to Pay the Piper
The financial crises faced by many municipalities has them searching for ever more creative means to bolster city budgets. As a result, non-profit institutions are increasingly being asked to complete payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements.
Fort Worth Grows Up
Bridget Moriarity profiles a public-private partnership that is working to bring increased density and walkability deep in the heart of Texas.
Battling For a Bite of the Apple
Matt Brian explores the incredible lengths retail property owners and local authorities are going to lure Apple Stores to their areas.
The Contrasting Forces Behind Downtown L.A.'s Revitalization
With several sporting events of national notice taking place in downtown Los Angeles, last weekend provided a prime platform to showcase the resurgence of the area. However, big-ticket events are just one of the many forces re-energizing downtown.
What Medellin Teaches Us About Design and Social Engagement
Michael Kimmelman ventures to Colombia's reborn second city to explore what new buildings and infrastructure have brought to the city's residents, what it has not, and what remains to be done.
Quality of Place Trumps Density, says Richard Florida
Ten years after publishing of The Rise of the Creative Class, the prominent city-booster says high-rises are “vertical suburbs” and we need “urban environments that stir the spirit.”
Will Generation Y Drive a Rust Belt Redux?
In search of cheap rent and an urban experience with some bona fide street cred, young people are making the move out to the Rust Belt, Will Doig reports.
Detroit Reborn
In the first edition of a new series, Richard Florida introduces us to the inspiring stories of entrepreneurs and artists, designers and musicians invested in the bottom-up effort to revive Detroit.
What's Left for Venice in Its Golden Years?
Josh Stephens muses on the modern state of an erstwhile global capital that has kept its aesthetic charms, but lost its anima.
In Praise of Cincinnati's Progressive Urbanism
Alan G. Brake celebrates the Queen City's utilization of public space, place making, and mixed-use development to build its competitive advantage, despite America's "deep-seated anti-urban streak."
Top 10 Websites - 2012
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
Fashioning a New Los Angeles Along Its Boulevards
Christopher Hawthorne begins a series exploring the ways in which L.A. is utilizing its boulevards to try on "a post-suburban identity for the first time", with a look at Atlantic Boulevard, a major north-south spine.
Designs Unveiled for Seattle's Largest Ever Development
Ariel Rosenstock delivers the details, and slick renderings, of Amazon's new 3 million square-foot downtown Seattle headquarters.
A Fall From Grace Leaves Chongqing's Urban Plans Unresolved
Mostly unmentioned during the very public removal of Chinese leader Bo Xilai was the ambitious urban development program he led in Chongqing. Julia Zhou looks at those efforts and their uncertain future.
Has New Urbanism Reached a Midlife Crisis?
On the occasion of the 20th Congress for the New Urbanism, running through the weekend in West Palm Beach, Anthony Flint looks at what happens when a revolutionary movement becomes part of the establishment.
Vision for Remaking Detroit Comes Into Focus
John Gallagher provides an update on the elements being considered for remaking the city's neighborhoods by Mayor Dave Bing's Detroit Works long-term planning team.
Designing the Workplace for the New Ecomony
Mike Sheridan looks at the changing types of workspaces being demanded by knowledge-economy businesses. These aren't your parents' cubicle-filled steel and glass boxes.
What Gets Left Behind in the Rush to Privatize Public Improvements?
As public-private partnerships to invest in aged urban infrastructure gain in popularity in Chicago, and across the country, Christopher Weber asks who will fund the improvements unaligned with corporate interests.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
