Urban Development
High Gas Prices Breathe New Life into DC's TOD
The cost of commuting is beginning to trump federal policies favoring exurban development, and transit ridership is at a fifty year high.
Pixar Director Building Fake Treehouse Home
Peter Docter, director of the animated film 'Monsters Inc.', has submitted plans to build a series of artificial tree houses on his land in Lafayette, CA to be his family's home. The Planning Commission is currently considering the project.
Broad Urban Renewal Project Takes Over Baltimore Neighborhood
The expansion of a Baltimore hospital has sparked a neighborhood-wide urban renewal project.
Beijing's Olympic Lessons for Chicago
Olympics-related construction in Beijing has impressed many, but does little to make the city a better place. Architecture critic Blair Kamin says Chicago needs to be careful about not repeating China's mistakes if it hosts the games in 2016.
Commute Costs Changes Growth Patterns in D.C.
Suburban growth in the DC area has been fueled by low gas prices and abundant freeways. Expensive gas has changed this growth paradigm as commuters shift to public transit and seek close-in homes. Will government respond to the change in the market?
The Mega Capital of the World
China is rapidly becoming home to more and more mega-cities, and there's little sign of it slowing down.
Placemaking is Alive and Well in Denver
Simmons Buntin tours metropolitan Denver with local planner Carolyn Dooling and finds a host of vibrant developments.
Affordable Housing Gets Sexier
In Boston, architecture firm Utile and non-profit developer Urban Edge bring a new, stylish look to affordable housing.
Inner-City Suburbs Rebranded as 'Classic Towns'
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for the Philadelphia metropolitan region, has introduced an innovate way of making people aware of the benefits of older, established suburbs: market them.
Duany On High Gas Prices And Urban Revival
Andres Duany and other experts discuss how the convergence of high gas prices and the foreclosure crisis may reverse years of cheap gas and cheap exurban land. He's pushing mixed uses and reformed zoning in suburbia, and he's betting on Texas.
Planner Faces 'Withering Criticism' on Revitalization Plan
City planners in Charleston, SC would like to see some local malls redeveloped as mini-downtowns, filling in their parking lots with buildings, but local developers think they're insane. 'This really horrifies me,' says one business person.
'Place First' Parking Plans
Wes Marshall and Norman Garrick illustrate the problem with parking plans today, and how to fix them.
The Eight Aspects of Good Downtowns
As the downtown master plan of Baton Rouge turns ten years old, planners are looking at the next stages of development. They say eight factors play into making this and other downtowns successful.
$300 Million Mixed-Use Coming to Providence
A $300 million mixed-use development is bringing new life to a long-neglected industrial district of Providence, RI.
Toronto's Waterfront: For Cars or People?
Christopher Hume argues that Toronto's planners, in planning for easy vehicle access to the revitalizing waterfront, will be harming it as a pedestrian environment.
Urbanity Reaches Oklahoma City
'The Brownstones' is the name of a new housing development in Oklahoma City, an example of how urbanity is becoming a lifestyle choice. The video is highly promotional, but is worth watching to see the 'brownstone style" development in its setting.
To Live and Diet in LA
In the face of alarming obesity rates among many of its low-income residents, LA's City Council has voted to approve a moratorium on the construction of new fast-food restaurants in South LA.
Great Allegheny Passage Brings Unexpected Revitalization
Hiking and cycling traffic on the Great Allegheny Passageway has brought jobs and prosperity to small towns along the route.
Home Economics
Philip Langdon comments on the the economy of oil and its effects on urban design in the July/August issue of New Urban News.
Hercules Backs 'New', 'Smart' Waterfront
Plans for a "new urbanist/smart growth" development on the waterfront of the San Francisco Bay Area town of Hercules has received unanimous approval from the city council, eliminating the need for inclusion on the November ballot.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
