Urban Development

The End of Atlanta's Sprawl

The age of sprawl is ending in Atlanta, according to Christopher Leinberger, who highlights the city's move towards a more dense, walkable future.

November 8, 2008 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

HUD Seeks Dollar House Buyers

Desperate to sell dilapidated, foreclosed homes, as well as to lure in local governments willing to build affordable housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering those properties for just a dollar.

November 7, 2008 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Impound Lot Could Find New Life in Mixed Use

The City of Minneapolis is considering a plan to convert a 55-acre site containing an impound lot into a mixed-use office and residential project.

November 7, 2008 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune

Surprise - Affluent Long Island Hit Hard By Subprime Crisis

Editorial: Long Island is one of the nation's most affluent suburbs. With very high housing values and located by NYC, it would be not expected to be hit hard by the subprime crisis. But it has - and its roots lie in its racially segregated past.

November 6, 2008 - The New York Times

Economic Benefits In Question in New York Stadium Redevelopments

Stadium construction in New York that was intended to have only a small cost to taxpayers has turned out to be a major investment and allocation of tax breaks, causing many to question whether the economic benefits of rebuilding will ever be seen.

November 6, 2008 - The New York Times

TOD Gets Green Light in Utah

Draper, UT will soon be seeing new transit-oriented development, where there will be no building height restrictions or population caps.

November 5, 2008 - Deseret News

Container Homes Find Niche in Hawaii

Interest in houses made from shipping containers has been rising in Hawaii, where these inexpensive homes' designs can range from studios to multistory apartments.

November 5, 2008 - The Honolulu Adviser

Pittsburgh's Urban Wilderness

This piece from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at the rising amount of wildlife being seen in urban Pittsburgh. According to local experts, this trend has both good and bad implications.

November 4, 2008 - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Could Montreal Be Barcelona?

French starchitect Paul Andreu is creating a new iconic building for Montreal, but writer Joseph Baker posits that one splashy building does not a beautiful city make. Baker calls for a grand vision of city form on the scale of Barecelona's plan.

November 2, 2008 - The Montreal Gazette

The High Cost of Smart Growth

Washington instituted a Growth Management Act in the 1980s to help the state grow smarter. But recent studies show that the GMA has made housing increasingly unaffordable.

November 1, 2008 - Washington CEO

Baltimore Makes Grander Vision for Arts District

Planners in Baltimore have unveiled a 30-year plan to remake its arts district into a mixed-use, transit-oriented, regional destination.

November 1, 2008 - The Baltimore Sun

'Laneway Housing' Adds Density

'Laneway housing'- known to many in the U.S. as 'granny units'- is a popular solution for creating more housing in dense Canadian cities like North Vancouver. In fact, Mayor Darrell Mussatto lives in one.

October 31, 2008 - The Georgia Straight

The Fatal Flaw of Celebration, FL

Architect Richard Reep argues that the fatal flaw of Celebration and other New Urbanist-style developments around Florida is the lack of jobs within walking distance.

October 30, 2008 - newgeography

Re-Inventing the Mall

Shopping malls are rarely architectural gems. Architects, especially big-name architects, typically try to stay away from designing them. But now architects are rethinking how malls should be, and looking to examples of the distant past for guidance.

October 30, 2008 - Metropolis Magazine

Adaptively Reusing Brooklyn's Industrial Spaces

Preservationists say that there are better ways to use buildings along Brooklyn's industrial waterfront than to demolish them.

October 30, 2008 - The New York Times

'Eco-Town' Plans Falter in UK

The UK's "eco-towns" are feeling the hurt of the current economic situation, with only one or two likely to move ahead.

October 30, 2008 - Guardian

Segregated in the City

As more and more people move to the cities, the prevalence of economic and racial segregation becomes more and more apparent.

October 29, 2008 - Next American City

Will Mayoral Race Change Vancouver's Downtown East Side?

Decades of plans and interventions have failed to improve the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, one of Canada's most notorious neighbourhoods. The two mayoral candidates have very different visions for the DETS.

October 29, 2008 - Globe and Mail

One Developer's Outlook

Dawanna Williams of Dabar Development Partners discusses the narrower options for mid-sized developers in the current financial climate.

October 28, 2008 - The Architect's Newspaper

Berkeley Unveils Climate Action Plan Based Around TOD

In Nov, 2006, the residents of Berkeley approved a measure requiring the city to reduce GHG emissions by 80% by the year 2050. The draft plan has been released, and unlike an earlier version, this one emphasizes transit oriented development as key.

October 28, 2008 - The Berkeley Daily Planet

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.