Urban Development

Asphalt

To Make Cities More Livable, Get Rid of Pavement

Paved surfaces take up close to a third of space in U.S. cities, polluting waterways and contributing to the urban heat island effect.

July 14, 2021 - Next City

Homeless encampments on the Venice Beach Ocean Front Walk.

Locals Vehemently Oppose Venice Beach Homeless Housing

The controversies about homelessness in what was once a beach community full of hippies and surfers has boiled over in response to a large proposed development of supportive housing on a surface parking lot owned by the city.

July 14, 2021 - Curbed

Downtown Houston

12 Developments That Will Change Houston Forever

Major upcoming projects include Hewlett Packard's new global headquarters, a 'boardwalk district' in Katy, and massive housing developments.

July 14, 2021 - Houston Chronicle

Empty Parking Garage

Converting Unused Parking Garages to Affordable Housing

As garage operators find their businesses increasingly unsustainable, some are looking to affordable housing as the logical next incarnation of their buildings.

July 14, 2021 - Smart Cities Dive

Los Angeles State Historic Park

Documenting L.A.'s Reclaimed Industrial Sites

Community activists across the city have fought to clean up, preserve, and enhance former industrial sites as parks, community gardens, and green spaces.

July 13, 2021 - High Country News

Atlanta Skyline

Atlanta Highway Cap Project Gets New Life

The city council voted to apply for a $1 million federal grant to study the potential benefits of building a park over downtown freeways.

July 13, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Underground Parking

Denver Reduces Parking Requirements for Affordable Housing

The zoning change will significantly reduce the cost of building affordable housing developments.

July 13, 2021 - 5280

Lower Manhattan

The Death and Life of the 'Death of the City' Narrative

At the onset of the pandemic, certain media figures were quick to jump on the bandwagon of anti-urbanism. While many of the anti-urban predictions failed to come about—neither did the problems of cities disappear.

July 13, 2021 - The New York Times

Suburban Tract Homes

Report: 'Housing as a Commodity' Increases Residential Segregation

The growth of institutionalized housing has led to growing inequality between Black and white homeownership rates in the Twin Cities, new research shows.

July 12, 2021 - Minneapolis Post

The San Pedro River where it passes through Saint David, south of Benson, Arizona.

Army Corps Rescinds Permits for Massive Master Planned Community in Arizona

A plan to conjure 28,000 new homes from the landscape fed by the San Pedro River in Southern Arizona is once again on the wrong side of regulators.

July 12, 2021 - Arizona Republic

Birds Eye View of the George Washington Bridge

Updated: Strong Towns: Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Would 'Make our Infrastructure Crisis Worse'

To some, the agreement promises too much funding for traditional infrastructure programs rather than 'adaptations and innovations.'

July 12, 2021 - Strong Towns

Coastal City

Surfside Collapse Highlights Florida's 'Unique Vulnerabilities'

A coastal geologist urges state leaders and residents to start planning for 'managed retreat' away from the coastal communities most vulnerable to sea level rise.

July 12, 2021 - Grist

Victoria, British Columbia

Opinion: Bring Back the Neighborhood Corner Store

A call for zoning reforms that legalize commercial buildings in residential neighborhoods in Seattle—a building type and land use that has fallen out of favor all over the United States.

July 11, 2021 - The Seattle Times

New York City Politicians wears a mask at a New York subway station during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eric Adams Opposes Large Brooklyn Apartment Development

The Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City recently announced opposition to a controversial project on a major thoroughfare in Brooklyn.

July 11, 2021 - Brooklyn Paper

Venice Beach Coronavirus

APA Recognizes Los Angeles County's Sustainability Plan

The American Planning Association (APA) has honored Los Angeles County with the Award of Excellence in Sustainability for the 2019 OurCounty Sustainability Plan.

July 9, 2021 - County of Los Angeles

Downtown Cincinnati

Why Central Business Districts Need Diverse Users

Central districts benefit from diversity, but a century of disinvestment and exodus has put many in a precarious position.

July 8, 2021 - The New York Times

An image of the Raleigh skyline, with older residential buildings in the foreground and taller commercial buildings in the background.

Duplexes and Townhomes Legalized in Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina is the latest city in the United States to relax zoning restrictions in residential neighborhoods as a component of a housing affordability strategy.

July 8, 2021 - The News & Observer

Fort McPherson front gate

New Plans Take Shape for Atlanta's Fort McPherson

The land adjacent to Tyler Perry Studios will be developed into an entertainment district with offices, restaurants, and retail.

July 8, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Apartment renter

Innovative Project Aims for Affordable Home Ownership

The Brackett Knoll subdivision is wrapping up construction in Hartford, Connecticut, offering duplexes for sale at reduced rates with built in rental income included.

July 7, 2021 - Hartford Courant

Bikeshare and murals

Five Years Later, 'Smart Cities Challenge' Promise Unfulfilled

The "Smart Cities Challenge" paid Columbus, Ohio $50 million to kick start a revolution of urban technology. The revolution never arrived, according to a recent assessment by Wired writer Aarian Marshall.

July 7, 2021 - Wired

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.

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.