Urban Development

Critics May Miss The Green Point of the SmartCode

Communities aren't going to get a green code implemented, or any code, without that code appealing to developers, says Sandy Sorlien. They're building our new sustainable places and infilling our old ones.

January 11, 2009 - Sandy Sorlien

Location, Location, Location: Brought To You By GIS

A new GIS-based service promises to improve on real estate agents by using GIS data to locate promising sites to locate for business.

January 9, 2009 - BusinessWeek

Bloomberg's Office In Hot Water Over Yankee Stadium Deal

Mayor Bloomberg's office reportedly cut a deal with the Yankees allowing 250 more parking spaces and three additional billboards at their new stadium in exchange for a luxury suite, complete with free food and access to post-season games.

January 8, 2009 - The New York Times

Living at the Mall - Not Just a Figure of Speech

What comes next for the doomed, enclosed mall across America? This article highlights a number of solutions, including an adaptive reuse model that incorporates housing units inside the mall itself.

January 8, 2009 - HousingWire

Oregon UGB Expanded

Bend, Oregon councilmembers took no more than five minutes to vote to expand the city's urban growth boundaries, adding nearly 9,000 acres of developable land to the city's map.

January 7, 2009 - KOHD

TOD at Hollywood & Western, 10 Years Later

Stephen Box, a bicycle advocate in Los Angeles, reviews the famous TOD project at the intersection of Hollywood and Western 10 years after it opened. Is "It's Not As Bad As It Used To Be" enough?

January 6, 2009 - SoapBoxLA

Sydney Pins New Growth to Mass Transit Plans

Officials in Sydney, Australia, are creating a blueprint for the city that envisions a broad mass transit system, increased density in the inner city and the suburbs and a much higher skyline.

January 6, 2009 - The Sydney Morning Herald

Wind Power Embraced in New York City

Small wind turbines are showing up on residential properties in New York City as developers get savvy about cutting energy costs with passive technologies.

January 6, 2009 - The New York Times

Planning Regulations Out the Window in U.K.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided that the need for new homes is greater than the need to protect the environment in Britain, and is preparing to sweep away planning regulations across the country that limit building in undeveloped areas.

January 5, 2009 - The Times U.K.

Corrupt Officials in Chicago Allowed to Trump Zoning and Planning

In a continuing investigation, the Chicago Tribune reports on the bribes and corruption that have resulted from the Chicago policy of allowing local aldermen final say -- over local zoning and planning -- on what gets built.

January 2, 2009 - Chicago Tribune

New York City's Ever-Evolving Union Square

Controversy surrounds a $20 million redesign of New York City's Union Square Park.

January 1, 2009 - The New York Times

Sewers Sink Affordable Housing

Developer Amir Ziv thought he'd received all the approvals he needed for a controversial affordable housing development in Columbia, MO - but failed to count on storm water regulations.

January 1, 2009 - The Columbia Tribune

Top Planning Issues Of 2008

January 1, 2009 - Abhijeet Chavan

The 10 Best Commutes

Density gives cities an edge, according to this study of commutes around the world. Hong Kong, Osaka, and Berlin all rank highly.

December 29, 2008 - MSNBC

Planned Eco-City in China Stumbles

Dongtan eco-city was to be a community of 50,000 residents living in a utopian, eco-friendly development. But since the mayor of Shanghai, a big supporter, was arrested on fraud charges, the whole project may be dead in the water.

December 27, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

Smart Growth Success Stories of 2008

Kaid Benfield, Director of the Smart Growth Program at the NRDC, picks some if his favorite success stories of smart growth transformation, from Atlanta's Beltline to Berlin's Hackesche Hofe.

December 25, 2008 - NRDC Switchboard

Reasons to Smile in 2008

Neal Peirce reflects on the happier moments of 2008 -- and a future that seems bent on creating better places and communities.

December 25, 2008 - Citiwire

Environmental Concerns Surround Dubai Excess

The eccentric megaprojects keep coming in Dubai, leaving some to question the environmental wisdom of so much development in a notoriously water-poor desert.

December 24, 2008 - Guardian

Vancouver's Olympic Architecture Falls Short

This column from The Tyee looks at the architecture for Vancouver's 2010 Olympic games and is not impressed.

December 23, 2008 - The Tyee

Developers Latest To Ask For Bailout

With a record amount of commercial real-estate debt coming due, some of the country's biggest property developers have become the latest to go hat-in-hand to the government for assistance.

December 22, 2008 - The Wall St. Journal

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.