Urban Development
TODs Prove To Be A Boon For Urban Regions
In this special report, the WSJ examines the growing popularity of rail-based TODs, examining their effect on land values as well as the challenges they may face in obtaining approval.
Building TODs Without The Transit
With pedestrian-friendly urban design increasingly popular, many suburban communities are building urban village-type developments usually designed around transit stations -- except they don't have transit.
China's Pre-Olympic Clean-Up Creates Slums
In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, Beijing and other Chinese cities have taken measures to clean up their "urban villages", demolishing homes and displacing thousands of poor migrants, which has resulted in the creation of many slums.
A Browner Shade of Green: The New Water Rules and the Next Chapter of Sprawl
Stormwater mitigation rules are supposed to help protect the environment, but the current regulations also end up encouraging sprawl over urban redevelopment.
Los Angeles' Smart Growth Saga
The city is working hard to increase density, but with Angelenos firmly attached to their cars and the region's transit moving at a snail's pace, can smart growth really work in L.A.?
Seattle Approves Major Mixed-Use Project For Pioneer Square
Plans call for redeveloping the north parking lot of the Seattle Seahawks stadium into a new mixed-use development that will add 400 housing units to the historic district and better link the neighborhood with adjoining areas.
Low-Income Tenants In D.C. Agree To Relocate
Plans to redevelop several ailing housing projects near the U.S. Capitol into mixed-income communities are moving forward after most tenants agree to relocate voluntarily.
More Controversy Surrounding Financing Of Atlantic Yards Project
A freelance journalist has uncovered documents that highlight major government financial backing for Forest City's Enterprises' proposed Brooklyn redevelopment project, which has largely been promoted as a privately funded development.
Integrating The Farm With The City
The idea of linking agriculture and smart growth is gaining ground in California's booming rural areas.
Olympic Games Cause Of Major Displacement, Says Rights Group
A human rights group has accused the Chinese Government of forcing 1.5 million residents from their homes in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing -- the latest in a continuing saga of displacement in former host cities.
Sell It As 'Smart Growth'
Savvy real estate developers who can promote their projects as smart growth developments are attracting significant capital from public pension funds -- regardless of the actual merits of the project.
Turning Shuttered School Sites Into New Homes
Forced to close schools due to shrinking enrollment, a Detroit suburb is selling its surplus schools to housing developers in hopes that children from new families will prop up remaining schools in the community.
Will Camden's Best Corporate Citizen Skip Town?
In an effort to improve its world headquarters, Campbell Soup wants to expand its campus in Camden, New Jersey. The only problem is that the company's plans include knocking down a nationally registered historic building.
India's Richest Man Builds Skyscraping House
Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, has plans to build a 570-foot, 27-story skyscraper in Mumbai as a home for his six-person family, a stark contrast to the city's many crowded slums. Some planners predict similar skyscraper projects will follow.
Will Atlantic Yards Be A Sustainable TOD?
Located on the site of a major rail transit hub in Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards project has the opportunity to be one of the highest profile transit-oriented developments in the world. But will it really promote transit use and reduce congestion?
Temporary Tokyo And Its Shifting Visions Of The Future
Tokyo is rapidly developing -- and redeveloping. One of the unique characteristics about the city is the temporal nature of its buildings and spaces, which are often replaced after very short lives with new visions of the city's future.
When TV Meets A Real Place, Prices Can Soar
The primetime Fox television show "The OC" and MTV's "Laguna Beach" may have helped increased real estate prices in Orange County, California.
Revitalizing Atlanta's Cradle of Civil Rights
A joint venture between a prominent African-American church and a private developer is trying to breath new life into Atlanta's Auburn Avenue.
Why Americans Like Big Homes
Americans generally see bigger as better, and a desire for status combined with local government's desire to attract high-income residents often drives the development of large homes on large lots.
The Essence of the Planning Debate: Architects vs. Economists
Should urban planners take their cues from architects who prefer central control or economists who prefer free markets?
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
