Urban Development

RThe impact of cities is spreading beyond local and even national borders, argues Robert Neuwirth in this piece from What Matters.

January 13, 2011 - What Matters

Mayor Villaraigosa of L.A. and Mayor Chuck Reed of San Jose have both spoken publicly against Governor Jerry Brown's plan to eliminate all of the state's redevelopment agencies to save cash.

January 12, 2011 - Curbed LA

In this piece, Stewart Brand argues that squatter cities will grow greatly over the next few decades, and the world will be better because of it.

January 11, 2011 - What Matters

Toronto Star critic Christopher Hume predicts a lackluster 2011 for Toronto -- both in terms of architecture and urbanism.

January 11, 2011 - The Toronto Star

Just as failing industries marked the decline of the Midwest after WWII (hence the name 'Rust Belt'), the new declining cities will be denoted by their percentage of foreclosures, found particularly in California, the Southwest, and Florida.

January 10, 2011 - International Business Times

China is building millions of housing units. But is the country building neighborhoods?

January 9, 2011 - The Wall Street Journal

A floating city has been proposed to help ease some of the problems being faced by earthquake-damaged Haiti. But is this the answer the struggling country needs?

January 9, 2011 - The City Fix

Officials in St. Louis are looking to update the county's zoning codes to allow denser housing, and a greater mix of land uses.

January 9, 2011 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Fast Company runs down a list of the "smartest" cities in the world. First place goes to Songdo City, in South Korea.

January 8, 2011 - Fast Company

In a controversial move, new Florida Governor Rick Scott has appointed Billy Buzzett, vice-president at a development company, to lead the state's Department of Community Affairs.

January 8, 2011 - The St. Petersburg Times

Critic Inga Saffron says that the interesting architecture and urban design is happening on the small scale: small parks, small houses and small plans.

January 8, 2011 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

As San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prepares to leave for Sacramento to become Lt. Governor, he praises the latest road diet plan - reducing busy Cesar Chavez St. from 6-4 lanes with landscaped median and bike lanes and views it as part of his legacy

January 7, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Developers in China are pushing forward plans to build a 4-million-square-foot shopping mall as part of a major cultural center outside of Beijing's Central business district. It will be the biggest mall in the country.

January 6, 2011 - Baltimore Business Journal

Prevailing wisdom is that transit mode and frequency of service is dependent on residential density, which leaves low density, outer suburbs in a lurch, instilling an auto-dependent lifestyle. Not so, says Australian researcher and author Paul Mees.

January 5, 2011 - The Age: Victoria

A handful of residential code revisions went into effect in Ohio on January 1st, including an energy conservation code with stricter standards on insulation that is causing an uproar among homebuilders.

January 4, 2011 - Builder Magazine

With few exceptions, America's largest homebuilders are slower than companies in other fields to act on environmental concerns, according to a survey conducted by Calvert Asset Management Company.

January 4, 2011 - New Urban Network

Out of the 15 tallest buildings in the world, ten are in China.

January 3, 2011 - PressTV

Recently released plans for a possible new football stadium in downtown L.A. show how the city tends to react to developers rather than guide them, according to this criticism.

December 31, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill re-designed the former U.S. Steel plant site, which will eventually house almost 50,000 people.

December 30, 2010 - The New York Times

Affordable housing mandates - "inclusionary zoning" - have been a popular way for cities to deal with high housing costs. But Stephen Smith says there are real market costs, and while the empirical work is in its infancy, it doesn't look promising.

December 30, 2010 - Market Urbanism