Urban Development
L.A. Planners Working to Shift Affordable Housing Distribution for More Equitable Results
Almost all the affordable housing development in L.A. in the past decade has occurred in majority-minority neighborhoods. The L.A. Department of City Planning is looking for ways to make sure high-income areas do more of their fair share.
Unsustainable Sprawl Testing Water Supplies in the Valley of the Sun
As more and more people move to the suburbs blossoming in the Phoenix metro area, local water officials are increasingly concerned about the region's ability to keep up with demand.
How Much Land Is Lost to Wide Streets?
New research assesses the land value of street space in 20 of the largest counties in the United States.
The Pretext Problem: The Pitfalls of Planning While Bargaining
Lots of planning is discretionary. Cities and developers negotiate what builders will do for cities in exchange for the right to build, creating an incentive for bad rules, eroding the public's faith in zoning, and enabling political corruption.
The Future of Downtowns Still Hangs in the Balance
Center City in Philadelphia offers a case study for one of the largest and potentially most consequential contingencies of the pandemic: What happens to downtowns is most workers never come back to the office?
How Legacy Cities Can Support Equitable Development
A new report outlines seven strategies for balancing economic development and equity specifically aimed at smaller, post-industrial cities.
L.A. Metro Denounces—but Doesn't Scrap—710 Freeway Expansion Plan
The agency's board members spoke out forcefully against air pollution and displacement, but stopped short of completely rejecting the project, looking instead to cleaner vehicles and regulations that mitigate community concerns.
Proposed Rail Project Would Bring Trains from L.A. to Coachella Valley
Riverside County's transportation commission is moving forward with a proposal to bring passenger rail from Los Angeles to Indio.
San Diego Could Expand Parking Reforms to Non-Residential Land Uses
A proposed code amendment would expand parking reforms implemented by San Diego in 2019.
How Zoning Discrimination Still Affects Canadian Cities
Policies that encouraged urban segregation and led to the displacement and disenfranchisement of communities of color continue to reverberate in Canada's urban centers.
How the 'Financialization of Housing' is Physically Changing Cities
The increasing investment value of real estate has led to tangible changes in the way buildings are designed and function, one author argues.
900 Affordable Housing Units on Multiple Sites Planned by San Francisco
The city has selected developers for an ambitious approach to affordable housing development on nine sites across the city.
Water Supply Concerns Prompt Development Moratorium in Utah Town
Oakley, a small town in Summit County, Utah, has paused new development while it redraws its land use map and brings new water supply online.
Texas Metros Lead Residential Building Permit Activity in 2020; Atlanta, Phoenix Also in the Top 5
A new report quantifies the number of housing units in the development pipelines in metropolitan areas around the United States.
Planners Working on Parking Reform Legislation in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina is the latest in a series of cities pursuing a significant departure from the 20th century planning status quo.
What Are Height Limits?
Height limits are a critical component of almost every zoning code in the United States.
Planning a New Downtown in a Small Georgia Town
At a recent town hall meeting in Loganville, Georgia, local residents and stakeholders proposed ways to revitalize the city's downtown and build improved amenities for the city's residents.
Opinion: Stop Treating Philly's Historic Buildings Like a Burden
Despite the historic importance of a vast majority of the city of Philadelphia's buildings, demolitions are happening at a faster rate than ever.
The Tulsa Race Massacre: A Century Later
On the hundred-year anniversary of the violence that destroyed Tulsa's "Black Wall Street," the country is finally reckoning with the legacy of one of the most destructive racially motivated riots in U.S. history.
Choice Neighborhood Planning Grants Announced for 5 U.S. Cities
A federal grant program designed to support holistic and socially-focused planning projects at the neighborhood level has announced the winners of its most recent round of competitive grant funding.
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
