Urban Development

Accentuating the Positive in Syracuse Regeneration

A new coalition in Syracuse, New York is making moves to help regenerate the city. Roberta Brandes Gratz offers this look at what the city is doing.

July 20, 2010 - Citiwire

Former Naval Base Could Become City Property

A decommissioned Naval base in Concord, California, may be falling into the hands of the city -- a prospect few thought possible.

July 20, 2010 - San Jose Mercury News

The Commercial Real Estate Crisis is Coming

Nearly half of the commercial real estate in the U.S. is underwater, according to Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel. She is concerned that a coming crisis could sink the current recovery.

July 19, 2010 - Blueprint America

Tiny Town Counting On Boom Courtesy of 007

Gensler has revealed the designs for The Museum of Bond Vehicles + Espionage, which will be located in Momence, Illinois. Momence, pop. 3000, is hoping the museum could jump start their economy and put them on the map.

July 19, 2010 - Fast Company

Utah Takes Possession of Half-Built Development

The State of Utah sold the development rights to for a new town to SunCor, a developer that had to bail on the project before it was half-completed. Utah bought the ailing, incomplete town from the developer and is hoping their gamble pays off.

July 17, 2010 - Stateline.org

City of Boston Tours Downtown Crossing to Entice Retailers

In an effort to create a more diverse retail base and fill empty units retailers from an International Conference of Shopping Centers were guided through Downtown Crossing, The Rose Kennedy Greenway and South Boston Waterfront.

July 16, 2010 - Boston Herald

South Korea's City of The Future

Being developed on 1500 acres of Incheon's waterfront, Songdo is a completely planned city harnessing the latest innovations in green technology and planning doctrine aimed at creating a sustainable, self contained 'city of the future.'

July 16, 2010 - ABC News

Sacramento Chooses Practical Over Transformative in Downtown Revitalization

Spurning an elaborate but costly proposal to transform two blighted blocks of Sacramento's ailing downtown K Street mall the city council chose a less costly, mixed-use plan restore the blocks sooner with four story buildings and 256 housing units.

July 16, 2010 - The Sacramento Bee - Sacramento City News

Peter Harnik Talks About Innovative Parks for Built-Out Cities

City Parks Blog asked Peter Harnik to answer questions about his new book, Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities, that covers how cities can plan for parks as well as how to create them in 'all built-out' settings.

July 15, 2010 - City Parks Blog

From Bus Yard to Housing

A decades-old plan to convert a bus yard into a housing project has gained new momentum in San Francisco.

July 15, 2010 - The San Francisco Examiner

Brownfield Approved For Huge, Controversial Mixed-Use Redevelopment

By an 8-3 vote at 1:35 AM, July 14, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan to add 10,500 homes (32% affordable) on a 720-acre brownfield site known as Hunters Point, a former shipyard, including 320 acres of parkland and open space.

July 14, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

Detroit on the Border

Detroit is a city of borders: international borders, borders between cities and not-cities, and borders between the success of the past and the uncertain future, writes Jerry Herron in this essay for Places.

July 14, 2010 - Places

Air Conditioning and Community

A new book looks at the environmental, energy, and social consequences of keeping cool by using air conditioners. In this 4-minute public radio interview, author Stan Cox explains how to keep cool, just in time for the East Coast heat wave.

July 14, 2010 - American Public Media: Marketplace

Mixed Use Outperforms Big Box Development

Tax revenue-per-acre figures for big box developments are only slightly higher than residential developments, and not as high as mixed use project, according to this column from Mary Newsom.

July 13, 2010 - Citiwire

As World Cup Ends, Olympic Dreams Spark in South Africa

Officials in South Africa say the country's successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup positions it to be a viable host for the Olympics.

July 12, 2010 - Guardian

'Garden Blocks' to Feed Urbanity

The relationship between agriculture and cities is becoming increasingly important. Daniel Nairn suggests building "garden blocks" within cities to meet community food needs.

July 9, 2010 - Grist

Rome Modernizes Amid Controversy

Rome, a city steeped in history, is struggling to retain and protect its historical identity as the city modernizes and expands.

July 9, 2010 - The New York Times

"Not Only Hi-Tech, It's Also Lederhosen"

Munich returns to the top of Monocle's most liveable cities for 2010. According to Monocle, Munich is a place where "wealth and prosperity are reinvested in transport, infrastructure and environmental initiatives."

July 8, 2010 - Monocle Magazine

The Keys To Charlotte's Successful Light Rail

Many things came together for light rail to come to Charlotte, starting in 1996. Key was perseverance by a conservative mayor, a volunteer group that started a historic trolley, voters who supported a sales tax, and experienced transit professionals

July 8, 2010 - Grist: Cities of the Future

Shanghai's Faux World Cities Fail to Catch On

A decade after its inception, Shanghai's One City, Nine Towns project, an ambitious attempt to manage the city's massive population growth via the creation of international-themed satellite communities, has failed to deliver hoped-for results.

July 7, 2010 - Assembly

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.