Urban Development

Temporary Autonomous Zones Alter Public Space in The UK

The increase in outdoor music festivals, guerrilla gardening, temporary restaurants, cinemas and pop-up shops are all examples of "a growing appetite for transforming our apparently prosaic, profit-led landscape into something else."

September 4, 2010 - The Guardian

Blight Camouflage?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the city has begun covering the broken windows and doors of abandoned homes with plywood painted to look like functioning doors and windows as part of a program to fight blight.

September 3, 2010 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Dubai's Formula of Tax Free Economic Zones and Mass Tourism Doesn't Work

Joshua Hammer describes his visit to the financially straitened emirate where he found "deserted highways, empty hotel rooms, miles of unsold residential and office space."

September 3, 2010 - The New York Review of Books

Meet the Geeks Re-Shaping D.C.

Planning nerd bloggers like David Alpert of Greater Greater Washington are finding that they can have significant influence in the world of D.C. planning and development.

September 2, 2010 - Washington City Paper

The Rise of the Global City

In 1991, author and sociologist Saskia Sassen predicted that cities would make a comeback in her book The Global City. Now that her prediction has come true, Christina Larson talks to Sassen about what makes a "global city."

September 2, 2010 - Foreign Policy Magazine

Small Towns and Rural Areas Can Be Livable

Do urban areas have the monopoly on livability? Transportation 4 America says no, and presents 12 case studies to prove it.

September 2, 2010 - T4America

Growing Pains in Livable Singapore

Singapore, one of the world's most livable cities, is facing a population boom that some say will give the city a crowded and unpleasant future. Recent weather-related destruction highlight some of its growing pains.

September 1, 2010 - Yahoo

Heavy Rail to Link Denver and Airport

Work has begun on a long-sought rail line linking downtown Denver to the city's international airport.

August 31, 2010 - USA Today

Finalists Chosen in Redesign Bid for Decommissioned Airport

Six finalists have been chosen in a bid to redesign Berlin's decommissioned Tempelhof Airport. The airport is currently open as a park, but the city wants a more formal redesign.

August 31, 2010 - Der Spiegel

The Empire State Building's New Neighbor

A controversial new skyscraper seen as a challenge to the historical skyline dominance of the Empire State Building has been approved in New York City.

August 30, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

Post-Katrina New Orleans: Focusing on What Could Be

Patrick L. Phillips, CEO of the Urban Land Institute, reflects on the state of rebuilding efforts in New Orleans on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. He sees an impressive level of planning, momentum and cooperation among stakeholders.

August 30, 2010 - Patrick L. Phillips

An Apartment to Fit A Family? Forget It

Architect Roger K. Lewis writes in The Washington Post that it is nearly impossible for a family with school-age children to find a suitable apartment in the city, even if that is the way they'd prefer to live.

August 30, 2010 - The Washington Post

Will Atlanta Grow No More?

Citing three examples of growing pains in Metro Atlanta, this piece wonders whether the region is incapable of efficiently growing any further.

August 30, 2010 - The Economist

Recreating European-Style Cafe Life in America

In Portland, patterns of urban use are emerging that are similar to the European-style neighborhood bar as a community gathering place.

August 30, 2010 - EnzymePDX.com

Landmark Mall to Become Mixed-Use Village

Randhurst Mall was the first enclosed mall in the Chicago Area. Today, developers are replacing the mall with an open-air, mixed-use project with a traditional Main Street-style design.

August 29, 2010 - The Chicago Tribune

Ten Master-Planned Communities That Bucked the Trend

Builder Magazine looks at ten master-planned developments that sold well in a market that has dwindled through the recession.

August 29, 2010 - Builder Magazine

Seeking That Neighborly Feeling

The new HafenCity district under construction in Hamburg, Germany, is one of the largest urban developments underway today. Some worry that its newness and bigness aren't prime conditions for harboring neighborliness.

August 27, 2010 - Der Spiegel

Can This Desert Oasis Project Actually Be Green?

This piece from Fast Company Design looks at plans for an eco-conscious-yet-inappropriately lush desert development being planned in Oman, and wonders whether a project so out of place will actually work.

August 27, 2010 - Fast Company Design

Pictures of the World's Fastest-Growing City

Wired presents a slideshow of photography exploring the booming Chinese city of Chongqing -- the fastest growing urban center in the world.

August 27, 2010 - Wired

Cairo's New Megacities

Overcrowding and pollution in Cairo have inspired planners to push out into the desert, raising two brand-new cities out of the sand.

August 26, 2010 - The New York Times

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.