Urban Development

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Denver Reduces Parking Requirements for Affordable Housing
The zoning change will significantly reduce the cost of building affordable housing developments.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
Pagination
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.
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)