Urban Development

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Urban Vision

Poet and longtime San Francisco Lawrence Ferlinghetti told Streetsblog his vision for an urban park in North Beach, in this video interview.

March 25, 2009 - Streetsblog SF

Signs of Spring for Smart Growth

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed on Feb. 17 left advocates of compact and transit-oriented development practically biting their tongues.

March 24, 2009 - New Urban News

Rectilinear Grids Make a Comeback

In these austere times, some urbanists are advocating greater use of the traditional rectilinear grid — an efficient, less expensive, but also challenging pattern.

March 23, 2009 - New Urban News

A Carbon-Neutral City?

A region known more for carbon emissions strives to create a carbon-neutral city powered by renewable energy and designed to reduce overall energy demand.

March 23, 2009 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Directing Raleigh's Future

A new comprehensive plan being released in Raleigh has many -- both in and out of the city -- wondering what's the best way to grow in the post-sprawl world.

March 22, 2009 - Raleigh Durham Independent Weekly

A New Paris, as Dreamed by Planners

Nine-month study commissioned by President Nicolas Sarkozy aims to transform Paris and its surrounding suburbs into the first sustainable “post-Kyoto" city.

March 19, 2009 - The New York Times

New York's Post-Bubble Future

The economic downturn and burst of the real estate bubble have thrown a wrench into New York City's broad plans for redevelopment and environmental redesign. This piece looks at what lies ahead for the city.

March 19, 2009 - The New York Times

Where's the Weird?

Architectural eccentricity is becoming a rarity in New York, as evidenced by the demolition of the O'Toole Building--a fairly weird building.

March 19, 2009 - New York Magazine

Redesigning City Design

President Obama has promised to give cities a new image, one as the engines that drive the economy and whose issues are intertwined with those of the suburbs. This article looks at some of the big ideas shaping the new city.

March 18, 2009 - Architect Magazine

Sunning in the Slums

Taking a hint from heightened interest in Brazil's favelas, a German developer plans to build 10 villas in a Rio de Janeiro slum, which he'll market as the new tourist hotspot.

March 18, 2009 - International Herald Tribune

Planner's Predictions Uncovered

Fifty years ago, Kenneth E. Norwood placed a time capsule and his predictions for Burbank, CA in a newly constructed bridge. According to the planner, monorails and "multi-unit garden apartments" were the waves of the future.

March 18, 2009 - Los Angeles Times Blog

Revitalization Falters in Downtown L.A.

The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles took another hit this week, as real estate firm Meruleo Maddox Properties Inc., the largest private landowner in the area, revealed that it may have to file for bankruptcy protection.

March 16, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

Taking Cities Beyond the Greenwash

The idea of sustainability is growing up, and as concerns about the environment take hold in cities from the bottom up, some are calling for a more sophisticated approach to "green" city development, write Anthony Flint and William Shutkin.

March 16, 2009 - Citiwire

City Deciding if Treehouse Violates Code

A kids treehouse in Highland, Arkansas is facing the local Planning and Zoning Commission, who may order its destruction. Is a treehouse a 'structure'?

March 14, 2009 - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Horse Track Sees Possible Future as Mixed Use

Developers have released plans for a mixed use retail project to replace a horse racing track, a proposal that would be one of the largest redevelopment projects in the region.

March 14, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

New Orleans Endangers Funds by Not Using Them

Senator Mary Landrieu has threatened to take away some of New Orleans' unused federal dollars if they remain so. Of the unspent $34 million allocated for low-income housing, $11 million will be lost if there are no projects by May 31.

March 13, 2009 - The Times-Picayune

Protecting California's Coastal Development Will Cost Billions

Computer modeling predicts sea levels rising 55 inches by 2100, and a recent report from California's interagency Climate Action Team is calling for a radical reorganization of the state's coastal development and infrastructure to avoid disaster.

March 13, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

A Building Boom with a Human Cost

This piece from Next American City looks at the human toll major building projects are taking on construction workers in China, Dubai and other rapidly developing places.

March 13, 2009 - Next American City

3,000 Year Old Site Swapped for Train Station

Legislators in Utah have approved a bill that would allow the Utah Department of Natural Resources to swap a 3,000 year old Native American village to a group of developers intent on building a new transit station.

March 13, 2009 - Deseret News

New Urbanists 1, Sprawl 0

Fast Company blogger Michael Cannell says the economic crisis stands to make big winners out of the new urbanists.

March 13, 2009 - Fast Company

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.