Urban Development

The Importance of Corners

Chuck Wolfe focuses on the role of the urban corner, terming it "the central place of urban life".

June 13, 2011 - The Huffington Post

Three Model Cities Seattle Can Learn From

Los Angeles, Cincinnati and San Francisco are tackling major urban problems quickly and effectively. This post argues that Seattle can learn much from these efforts.

June 12, 2011 - Crosscut

High Rises: One Size That Doesn't Fit All

Two big names are calling for more high rise development and less of the historic preservation efforts that have often prevented it in dense urban areas. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Inga Saffron says they're wrong.

June 11, 2011 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Washington Towns Reimagine Waterfronts

A number of cities in Washington are embarking on waterfront redevelopment projects. The projects range from the relatively small to the complete makeover.

June 11, 2011 - Crosscut

Rural Development Attempts Alternative to Suburban Sprawl

In rural Georgia, a New Urbanist style development is slowly materializing, andhoping to be a sustainable antidote to urban sprawl.

June 10, 2011 - Architectural Record

Unfinished Nuclear Plant Converted into Amusement Park

A never-completed nuclear reactor in Germany is being converted into an amusement park. The project has been years in the works, and is still only partially converted.

June 10, 2011 - Der Spiegel

New Urbanism's Young Adherents Keep it Fresh

Writing on the recent Congress for the New Urbanism annual meeting, Grist's Sarah Goodyear finds some new ideas in a field that's gradually integrated itself into the mainstream.

June 10, 2011 - Grist

Treasure Island Project Approved in San Francisco

A massive new neighborhood planned for the man-made former military site of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay has been unanimously approved by the city's Board of Supervisors.

June 9, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Park Under Toronto Freeway to Transform City

Construction has begun on a new park beneath a Toronto freeway overpass. The Toronto Star's Christopher Hume says the park will change the city forever.

June 9, 2011 - The Toronto Star

Good News for Metro DC, Says Richard Florida

The same economic reports from May (namely, the jobs report and the Home Price Index) that have led to some concern about the direction of the U.S. economy overall, tell a very different story about Wahington DC, according to Richard Florida.

June 9, 2011 - Creative Class

Steve Jobs Pitches New Apple Campus

Last night Apple CEO Steve Jobs pitched plans for a new campus development to the Cupertino city council.

June 9, 2011 - Huffington Post

Innovative Designs for Car Parks

Donovan Gillman writes that since most of us can't simply get by without cars, we need "more livable and likable places to park them." His post at Sustainable Cities Collective includes photos of some interesting car parks.

June 8, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Kotkin Compares California to Iran

Calling California's attempts at environmental responsibility a "green jihad," Joel Kotkin argues that the state's "ideological extremism" has led to illogical economic and political decisions - similar to those made in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

June 8, 2011 - New Geography

Urban Planners as "Zookeepers"

At the National Building Museum's Intelligent Cities Forum, one participant compared creating healthy cities to creating healthy animal environments in zoos.

June 8, 2011 - THE DIRT

Section 2 of NY's High Line Park Opens

A slideshow from Good Magazine highlights the newly opened section of the popular High Line Park in NYC.

June 8, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

Tea Party Sinks Planning Meeting

Public outreach on SB 375, California's climate change bill, began last month in the San Francisco Bay Area. But the East Bay Tea Party had other plans.

June 8, 2011 - Contra Costa Times

Rethinking South Street Seaport

Vicky Plestis reports that Manhattan's South Street Seaport, long criticized for failing to live up to its potential, is being rethought and redesigned by its developers.

June 8, 2011 - The Gotham Gazette

Livability Trumps Architecture at CNU19

At the 19th Congress for the New Urbanism, Planetizen's Tim Halbur finds a vibrant, active community of urban thinkers more interested in improving livability than in architectural principles.

June 6, 2011 - Tim Halbur

Could Detroit Rise Again?

Detroit has become our most notorious story of urban collapse. But reporter Matthew Power suggests that we consider the city's official motto: "It shall rise from the ashes."

June 6, 2011 - OnEarth Magazine

Economic Development in Orlando Linked to Defense

A combination of favorable factors have made Orlando the site of a growing high-tech military research/simulation center. Pentagon spending already employs 9,000 more Floridians than the state's hallowed agriculture industry, writes Richard Reep.

June 5, 2011 - New Geography

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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.