Urban Development

Community members in Philadelphia have taken over a languishing site and put it back into use as a temporary park space.

May 26, 2011 - NewsWorks

A recent design competition aimed at reviving Miami's waterfront Marine Stadium has breathed new life into the area and offered innovative ideas for reusing the site.

May 26, 2011 - The Miami Herald

In this excerpt from a new book on Los Angeles, L.A.-based architect Michael Maltzan reflects on the city, and how its clashes and evolving identity are part of why it represents the future of cities.

May 25, 2011 - Places

So says Maria Choca Urban of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, which recently released a plan for retrieving Cleveland, Ohio from the dustbin.

May 24, 2011 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Climate scientists have warned Chicago's planners that the City will be significantly warmer and wetter by the end of theentury. And from street trees to building standards, that message is infiltrating Chicago's planning and design.

May 23, 2011 - A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast

Deteriorating commercial strips are commonplace in today's auto-oriented suburbs. Errin Welty outlines her strategy for turning stagnating strips into vibrant shopping districts.

May 23, 2011 - Errin Welty

Old Urbanist argues that zoning has never effectively preserved property values, but has done exactly the opposite by not allowing more valuable uses to replace less valuable ones.

May 23, 2011 - Old Urbanist

In this series from Glass House Conversations, journalist Greg Lindsay asks what the successful cities of the future will look like, and whether or not they should be built from scratch.

May 22, 2011 - Glass House Conversations

Urban design is increasingly linked with poor health conditions. Grist's Sarah Goodyear explains how cities are literally killing people.

May 21, 2011 - Grist

Preparations for the World Cup and Olympics are displacing hundreds of families in Rio de Janeiro. One neighborhood next to a major stadium has been turned into a ghost town.

May 21, 2011 - Guardian

Kunstler and Duncan Crary debate the merits and drawbacks (mostly drawbacks) of two McDonald's restaurants being proposed for Saratoga Springs and Troy, New York (their respective hometowns).

May 20, 2011 - KunstlerCast

Seattle is growing more dense, which is underlining the importance of the city's public spaces. But as this piece from Crosscut argues, the city's public spaces are mostly bleak and underused.

May 19, 2011 - Crosscut

Exposition Park in Los Angeles is on the verge of major changes -- a retired space shuttle, the last days of a stadium, new transit access, and the demolition of a piece of big-name architecture. But looking at its history, changes are nothing new.

May 18, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

In Vancouver, urban density is being attacked as a detriment to the city. But as this column argues, the city's emphasis on density and transit accessibility is what makes the city great.

May 18, 2011 - The Globe and Mail

Only 10% of the City of Vancouver, B.C. isn't zoned for residences, and that 10% holds 50% of the city's jobs. Planning director Brent Toderian says it is imperative to preserve the remaining industrial land for employment.

May 17, 2011 - The Vancouver Sun

Policy in Hong Kong dictates that development must concentrate on only 25% of the land area, with the remaining 75% preserved as open space. Julia Levitt examines the ingenious density that results.

May 17, 2011 - Metropolis Magazine

A growing number of nations are instituting design standards and architecture policies to help make good design a part of the national strategy.

May 16, 2011 - Architect

Retail shopping in Hong Kong is a diverse experience of density, hidden storefronts and extreme visual stimulation, as this tour of the city's shopping areas shows.

May 16, 2011 - Metropolis

An architect takes a seat on the Wet Hollywood City Council, and offers his thoughts on density and parking in the city and where things went wrong.

May 16, 2011 - Architect

Witold Rybczynski writes the epitaph for the McMansion. With the housing market in the toilet, Rybczynski says new homebuyers are going to be seeking something smaller, more affordable and possibly not a single-family home.

May 12, 2011 - Slate