Urban Development

Governor's Island is likely the next major waterfront area in New York City to be converted into a public space. Designers and planners are starting to think about what form it could and should take.

February 9, 2011 - Places

New York City has released a new handbook of its zoning regulations in an illustrated, easily-comprehensible guide.

February 8, 2011 - The New York Times

Interested communities are invited to apply until February 23, 2011. The purpose of the program is to help interested communities adopt sustainable planning methods.

February 8, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Plans are afoot to densify one of San Francisco's biggest, most suburban apartment complexes, the 152-acre Park Merced constructed in 1941. If the Planning Commission approves the plan, the existing housing could be tripled, adding 14,000 units.

February 7, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Yonah Freemark dives into the 2010 Census, and finds clear evidence that focusing dense development around transit works to focus development.

February 7, 2011 - the transport politic

King Farm, a 440-acre development in the D.C. suburbs, was designed to be the perfect transit-oriented development, with a light rail to be built later. Now, residents have decided they don't want the transit to ever be built.

February 6, 2011 - NRDC Blog

The Vauban District in southern Germany is a small community built around a green transportation scheme, but it has become much more: a model of cooperative decision-making, sustainability and eco-planning.

February 5, 2011 - The Cereplast Blog

New Songdo City in South Korea is the model for new cities, according to Greg Lindsay and John D. Kasarda, who argue that its airport is its most important element.

February 5, 2011 - What Matters

Haya El Nasser at USA Today suggests that "smart growth" is showing its age, and will go the way of the dustbin along with "urban renewal." Meanwhile, "intelligent cities" is the new hot jargon word.

February 4, 2011 - USA Today

We've got more commercial strip development than we can handle, says Edward T. MacMahon of ULI, and the economy is restructuring the retail landscape away from the strip.

February 4, 2011 - Citiwire.net

Developers are planning a push into the Great White North with an (until now) distinctly American product - the outlet center.

February 4, 2011 - Retail Traffic Magazine

The famous district in Manhattan may finally get the special status needed to provide more services to its residents and businesses.

February 4, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

Building megacities needs to be a multidisciplinary effort, according to architect and designer Sean C. S. Chiao.

February 3, 2011 - What Matters

The cities of the future should be "smart" -- equipped with data-collection tools and technologies to improve city functionality -- but being smart also means being a good listener, writes Saskia Sassen.

February 3, 2011 - What Matters

This slideshow from The New York Times looks at a variety of examples of large-scale planning efforts that never materialized.

February 2, 2011 - The New York Times

Economic crises tend to manifest themselves in specific design trends, especially in the field of architecture. This latest recession has spurred the age of Do-It-Yourself architecture and urbanism.

February 1, 2011 - Places

What makes effective transit-oriented development? Transportation planner Alan Huynh makes a good argument for the proximity to a cup of coffee as a defining characteristic of quality TOD.

February 1, 2011 - The Alan Note

That's what Richard Reep proposes in this article looking at reuse options for vacant retail properties from strip malls to megamalls.

February 1, 2011 - New Geography

Developer FivePoint Communities has cleared hurdles, and the financing flowing again for two major California projects, one on San Francisco's Treasure Island and one at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station near Irvine.

January 31, 2011 - Builder Magazine

Reporter Leon Neyfakh digs deep into the architectural battle between New Urbanism and Landscape Urbanism, saying it is a war for the future of our built environment.

January 31, 2011 - Boston Globe