Urban Development

China's Thames Town Stands Empty

Forget Disneyland, Shanghai - China has already built a series of themed lands, each themed after a different European community. Problem is they are terrible flops. Thames Town, strangely themed after an Austrian village, is deserted.

June 27, 2011 - The Infrastructurist

Yacht Race to Bring New Cruise Terminal to San Francisco

As San Francisco prepares to host the America's Cup yacht race in 2013, one of the key building areas for the event is also being fast-tracked as the site of a new cruise terminal.

June 23, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

High Rise Boomlet Bringing Good and Bad to Chicago

High rise apartment construction is set to take off again in Chicago, though it's unclear for how long and whether the resulting projects will have a positive lasting impact on the city.

June 23, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

Western Australia's Capital Envisions its Transformation

Recently released Capital City Planning Framework for Perth outlines a mixed-use city that is both livable and welcoming to outsiders.

June 22, 2011 - Architecture & Design

Preservation and Development Coexist in Hollywood

The Millennium Hollywood, a proposed mixed used development near Sunset Boulevard and Vine Avenue, is expected to increase the density in the area while preserving the nearby Capitol Records building.

June 22, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

A Neighborhood of Stairs

The La Independencia neighborhood in Medellin, Colombia sprawls up a hillside, leaving the inhabitants to walk up to 10 flights of stairs every day. An ambitious development program is considering building an outdoor network of escalators.

June 22, 2011 - TheCityFix.com

Reviving the Real Estate Market with Parks

The idea of tuning toxic or polluted sites into parks has been creating new green spaces in cities throughout the country. It's also re-starting the real estate market.

June 22, 2011 - THE DIRT

New Bridge and Park Reconnects Detroit Neighborhood

A new pedestrian bridge over a freeway has reconnected a Detroit neighborhood with new accessibility and a new park.

June 22, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Higher Vacancy Rates in Walkable Neighborhoods

In comparing data collected during the 2010 Census, walkable neighborhoods are shown to have greater vacancy rates than the cities they're in.

June 21, 2011 - Plannovation

The History and the Flaws of the Cul-de-Sac

This episode of 99% Invisible looks into the history of the cul-de-sac, and why its design flaws overpower its benefits.

June 21, 2011 - 99% Invisible

Reviewing Recent Books on Cities

In reviewing a handful of new books looking at cities and how they work, this piece from The New Yorker glosses over the current thinking behind the urban conversation and wonders if city celebration has gone too far.

June 21, 2011 - The New Yorker

Inside Bangkok's "Ghost Tower"

Photojournalist and blogger Dr. Hank Snaffler, Jr. documents the Sathorn Unique, an abandoned skyscraper at the heart of Bangkok.

June 20, 2011 - Abandoned Journey

Wendell Cox Blames Planners for Housing Crisis

Smart Growth opponent Wendell Cox clamors that land use regulations imposed by Smart Growth exacerbate the ongoing housing woes.

June 20, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Dwindling Sprawl: The End is Near for Suburbia

As mobile technology is fast becoming more mainstream, Urban Land Institute's CEO Patrick Phillips envisages more mixed-use developments in the next decade.

June 20, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Stagnant Sales Hamper Chicago's Revitalization Efforts

Failing to attract buyers even with deep discounts, developers are starting to bail out on Plan for Transformation, an ambitious program that seeks to replace moribund public housing projects with mixed-income housing.

June 20, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

Chinese Ghost Cities on the Rise

A year after taking a look at the new but empty cities being created in China, Business Insider takes a trip back to see what's changed in those brand new and unoccupied cities.

June 19, 2011 - Business Insider

Opportunities for Big-Box Developments Abound Across the Northern Border

After being hidden in plain sight for decades, Canada now emerges as the hot spot for U.S. "international" investment.

June 19, 2011 - Retail Traffic

Marketing Cities as Products in China

City development has become a close cousin to product sales in China, where developers are finding new ways to market their services as suites of urban products.

June 18, 2011 - Ad Age

South Korea to Build New Capital for Southern Sudan

The new country of Southern Sudan, officially declaring its independence in July, will have help from the national development arm of South Korea in building a proposed new capital city.

June 17, 2011 - Gulf News

Secret Plans for Chinese Version of Austrian Village Irk Locals

Plans to build a copy of a scenic Austrian village in China have irked officials in Hallstatt, Austria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

June 17, 2011 - Der Spiegel

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.