Urban Development
Cairo Facing Possible Future of American-Style Suburban Sprawl
Real estate investment is expected to rise sharply in the greater Cairo region. Some fear this will bring about American-style suburban sprawl.
Liveability Loses Out
The House of Representatives voted on the 2011 appropriations bill for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development yesterday, stripping $200 million from liveability initiatives that the Obama administration wanted.
Miami Approves 50-story Electronic Signs
The Miami City Commission has controversially approved a pair of 50-story electronic signs to be built atop a parking garage next to the City's Arsht Performing Arts Center.
China's Cities: All Show, No Substance?
Chinese urban sprawl has the potential to be transformed into urban sustainability.
Underwater Homeowners Taking New Gambles on Real Estate
The Wall St. Journal reports that some homeowners are selling their underwater homes at a loss and turning right around and investing in new homes with lower mortgage rates and getting more house in the process.
San Francisco Pins Utopian Hopes on Treasure Island
San Francisco has always been home to utopian dreamers. With a clean slate to work on in the middle of the bay, the city has drafted plans for a sustainable utopia. With politics and money kicking in, will the dream be dashed?
Cleveland Development Could Connect Food Wholesalers With Public
A proposed development on a vacant lot in ailing Cleveland could connect locals with a little-known asset of their community - a cluster of food wholesalers.
San Juan to Ban Cars, Make "Walkable City"
The oldest city in the Americas bans cars from its colonial streets and outlines a plan to make San Juan more livable. David Soto gives us a look at this ambitious plan.
Unrealized Berlin
A new exhibit in Germany looks at a variety of unrealized and unbuilt plans for Berlin created by 100 different architects and planners.
Improving Suburbia Via A Contest
Can planners and architects build a better model of suburbia? Long Island Index thinks so, and has designed a contest to retrofit parts of asphalt laden suburban Long Island. Ideas are discussed in this NYT blog on design and architecture.
The Civic Divide Between Quantity and Quality
Aaron M. Renn dissects the "Venus-Mars" split between the high quality and high quantity model and argues that "an hourglass America is not one most of us want to live in for the long term."
Agricultural Urbanism in Illinois
This piece from Grist looks at Prairie Crossing, a planned community in Illinois that integrates agriculture into its village-like setting.
LA and New York in 2030
Newsweek picks the brains of architects to offer these visions of what the cities of New York and Los Angeles will look like in 2030.
Not Enough T in the DOT?
The federal government is paying more attention to the land use impacts of the transportation projects it's funding. Next American City's Yonah Freemark worries they may be paying too much attention.
Huge New District Expands Hamburg's City Center
An ambitious new mixed use district is gradually opening along the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany. The project is huge in scope, expanding the city center by nearly 40%, and not expected to finish for more than a decade.
City of Columbus Adopts Far-Reaching Downtown Plan
Building on the urban renaissance of the last decade that saw residential population increase for the first time since 1950, the City of Columbus has set a bold vision for the future with the adoption of the 2010 Downtown Columbus Strategic Plan.
For Lack of a Better Term
Chuck Wolfe discusses the challenge of finding a more marketable term to encompass all of the prevailing theories of "transit-oriented development", "walkability", and "liveability." His suggestion? Urbandwidth.
Sustainable and Obtainable
A new sustainable housing development breaking ground in Oregon has put affordability on the same pedestal as sustainability.
5 Frustrating Things about the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts
The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts achieves an impressive collection of architectural icons but fails to tie them together with inviting outdoor spaces for the public, says Jared Langevin.
Berlin's Former Airport Opens As Park
Decommissioned Tempelhof Airport in Berlin had been the subject of grand plans for reusing the massive space for the last two years. But with little money in city coffers, officials decided to simply open it to the public as-is.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
