Urban Development

Office Tenants in Vancouver Flocking to Transit

In a pattern being repeated across Canada's major cities, office tenants are willing to pay a premium to be located close to transit in Vancouver and buildings located only a few blocks away or in suburban office parks are seeing a rise in vacancies.

June 12, 2012 - The Globe and Mail

Dallas's Urban Regeneration Flies Beneath the Radar

Though "generally cited as an example of all the things you don’t want a city to be," Karrie Jacobs finds reason to believe that Texas's third largest city has taken to heart the "country’s newfound passion for all things urban."

June 12, 2012 - Metropolis

Forced Eviction Stirs Public Outrage in Taiwan

One family in Taipei has rallied support for "victims of urban renewal" after the city demolished their home to make way for high-rise apartments, Loa Lok-Sin reports.

June 12, 2012 - Taipei Times

After a Lost Decade, How Can Chicago Get Back on Track?

Aaron M. Renn looks at Chicago's struggles over the last decade - one that saw the city "increasingly falling behind its large urban brethren" - and asks whether its aspirations for becoming a global city are delusional.

June 11, 2012 - City Journal

Baltimore Considers Freeway Removal

Although those at the top of the city's political pyramid have been mum about the fate of the Jones Falls Expressway, which just turned 50 years old, a group of Baltimore's entrepreneurs are pushing to rethink the area now occupied by the roadway.

June 11, 2012 - Urbanite

Doing it Anyway: How Nonprofits are Tackling the Challenge of Scattered-Site Rentals

Scattered-site rental management is something nonprofits have long found to be a challenge. But there are ways of pulling it off, and those who have done it tell Shelterforce how, and why it’s worth it.

June 9, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

Extreme Gentrification Invades Greenwich Village

With "guys in suits" having replaced the "artists, weirdos and blue-collar families" that surrounded Adam Davidson while growing up in the Village in the 1970s, he wonders if mom-and-pop shops can survive the neighborhood's extreme gentrification.

June 8, 2012 - The New York Times

What's the Difference Between a Strip Mall and Paris?

Geoff Dyer points out why the difference between the typical strip mall and the multi-way boulevard may be more subtle than you think.

June 8, 2012 - PlaceShakers

An Appreciation for the Early Promoters of Brownstone Brooklyn

Say what you will about the gentrification of Brownstone Brooklyn, but there's no question that Everett and Evelyn Ortner's regard for the neighborhood's historical treasures had a significant influence on its evolution over the past 50 years.

June 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Controversial NYU Expansion Plan Gets Go-Ahead

Yesterday, New York City's Planning Commission voted nearly unanimously to support a slightly reduced version of New York University's controversial expansion plans for two superblocks in Greenwich Village, reports Tom Stoelker.

June 7, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Copy and Paste Urbanism Completed in China

Chinese developers recently completed their controversial replication of the Austrian village of Hallstatt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reports Molly Oswaks.

June 7, 2012 - Gizmodo

The Return of the Queen

John Yung traces Cincinnati's dramatic comeback over the last decade, and gives credit to the Center City Plan developed in 2002 by HR&A and Cooper, Robertson & Partners for laying the groundwork for the city's subsequent revitalization.

June 6, 2012 - UrbanCincy

Repositioning Condominiums As Rentals Proves Hot In Brooklyn

Key to the upswing in the Brooklyn rental market was the failure of the last wave of building condominiums - providing a ready supply that only needed to be converted to rentals. The sale of a Williamsburg building set a record outside of Manhattan.

June 5, 2012 - The New York Times - Business Day

What Drives People?

Hazel Borys argues that "the payback of livable places really can’t be calculated in dollars, or pounds of fat or carbon, or even hours. The payback of place is passion."

June 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

New Residences in New York Aim High

Matt Shaw updates the status of New York's efforts to catch up with the global rise in super-tall residential skyscrapers.

June 4, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Renaissance for Plans for the Champs Elysees of L.A.?

Stalled for years by the recession, Sam Allen looks at the prospects for the revival of ambitious plans to remake L.A.'s Grand Avenue.

June 4, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Cuomo's Convention Center Plan Goes Poof

Thomas Kaplan and Danny Hakim report on the collapse of New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's $4 billion plan to create the country’s largest convention center and a casino in Queens.

June 4, 2012 - The New York Times

How the NC Legislature Plans to Stop the Sea From Rising

Add this one to the "This is how they spend my tax dollars?!" file. Scott Huler exposes a ploy by legislators from 20 coastal North Carolina counties to outlaw effectively measuring and predicting the potential rise in sea level.

June 4, 2012 - Scientific American Plugged In Blog

How Smartphones Are Upending the Value of Real Estate

It used to be that visibility was the most important factor in siting a business. This may no longer be the case, argues Kevin Klinkenberg, as smartphones make location irrelevant.

June 2, 2012 - New Urbanism Blog

Will the Olympics Provide East London a Lifeline

Planned as intensely for the two weeks this summer when the world's attention will be focused on the XXX Olympiad as the decades following the end of the last race, Anthony Faiola examines whether London's Olympics provide a model for future hosts.

June 2, 2012 - The Washington Post

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.