Urban Development
Affordable Housing Not Adding Up In New Orleans
Despite vastly higher levels of federal affordable housing tax credits awarded to Louisiana, developers are pulling out of projects because they can't make sufficient profits.
Citizens Use Second Life For Public Input On Design
A residents' association in Paris is inviting locals to share their ideas about redeveloping a garden and public space in the center of the city by creating them in the virtual reality world Second Life.
Redevelopment Projects Have Some Residents Wary
Surrounded by major government centers and large new public works projects, Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, is preparing to reveal a plan to redevelop its waterfront -- a revival effort many residents are wary of.
Riverfront's Potential For Improving Quality Of Life
Harris Steinberg, director of PennPraxis, outlines one important lesson from the Central Delaware Waterfront Planning Process, which his organization is charged with leading. He describes the importance of open space as a catalyst for development.
Feeling Negative Smart Growth Side Effects
After New Jersey's Washington Township built a new smart growth-style town center, new residents jumped to move in. But lack of coordination among state agencies may now be contributing to the township's challenges with education and taxes.
From Struggling Town To Luxury Resort
A small Swiss village may become a new luxury resort, as Egyptian investors have targeted the site for redevelopment. Many residents were at first apprehensive, but have come to see the redevelopment as a savior for their struggling home
Rural County Readies Itself For Urban Transition
With a number of large housing developments underway, rural Jasper County, South Carolina, is anticipating a rapid urban transition. Local officials are looking to draft a growth plan to ensure that developers whims won't shape the region.
Planning And TOD To The Rescue
This column from The San Francisco Examiner describes how "urban planning can save the world", and identifies transit-oriented development as a major solution to global warming.
Incentivizing Green Building
The British Columbia village of Saanich has passed a measure that will make it easier for developers building energy-efficient projects to get approval. Green builders will also receive building permit fee rebates.
Booming Town Seeks Water From Reluctant Neighbor
An 11-year drought in the Southwest U.S. has a growing small town in Nevada looking to pump water from nearby Beaver Dam, Arizona. Many in the Arizona town are upset over the proposed water-snatch, which they say limits their own ability to develop.
Convert A Condo--Take A Hike
At yesterday's L.A. City Council meeting, landlords and tenants sparred over affordable housing, money, and incentives for the middle class. After the dust settled, councilmembers voted: landlords may have to pay higher fees to relocate tenants.
Farmland Dwindles As Land Values And Development Increase
Farmland in British Columbia is being rapidly snapped up by residential developers as land values increase. This pressure is threatening the area's remaining fertile farmland.
The Next Generation Of Street Furniture
A bid is up for new street furniture in Toronto. Three firms have submitted their proposals for innovative street furniture, public restrooms, and bus stops. Some of the designs can be seen in this slideshow.
Opposition Growing To Public Subsidies For Retail Mega-Projects
Proposed state legislation in Arizona will punish cities that offer subsidies to retail projects. Kansas City's new mayor was elected on an anti-TIF platform. Increasingly, public financing for urban revitalization is coming under attack.
British Columbia Buys 'Poverty Hotels'
The provincial government in British Columbia has purchased 11 residential hotels in an effort to improve its handling of a rapidly increasing homeless population.
Back To The Future: The 1970 Los Angeles 'Centers' Concept Plan
Many say Los Angeles is a city that grew without any rational planning. In reality the planning was there -- but much of the best planning never quite materialized.
Two Abandoned Railroads, Two Different Results
Debate over the future of an elevated railway in Philadelphia is missing a key ingredient that has helped pushed New York's High Line project forward -- leadership and vision.
New York City's Latest Infill Strategy
With developable land all but gone in Manhattan, developers are now setting their sights on the open space many modernist housing towers reserved for basketball courts, plazas, and parks.
Town's Smart Growth Vision Remains Unrealized
Residents of one Upstate New York town have spent 4 years trying to transform a former hospital site into an mixed-use town center, without success.
Do We Need To Rethink Gentrification?
A growing number of scholars argue that traditional ideas about the causes of gentrification, as well as the winners and losers, may be unfit to describe the complex processes happening in modern day cities.
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
