Illinois

Transportation Journalism Suffers Losses in 2015

Transportation readers who prefer reading a less auto-centric perspective of issues will see losses this year, as budgetary constraints at Streetsblog caused the layoff of Tanya Snyder of Streetsblog USA and the temporary loss of Streetsblog Chicago.

January 14, 2015 - StreetsBlog NYC

Urban Agriculture Projects in Chicago Show the Way

Successful Chicago urban agriculture projects on rooftop, in edible lawn, and at a school reviewed by resilience consultant Dave Hampton.

January 9, 2015 - UrbDeZine

Explained: How CTA Heat Lamps Warm Commuters

Much of the United States went through a cold snap in recent days. How many of you transit commuters sought refuge under heat lamps this week?

January 9, 2015 - Chicago Tribune

Mapping Chicago's Current Wave of Transit Oriented Development Projects

Patrick Sisson reports on the fruits of a 2013 effort by the city of Chicago to codify transit oriented development.

January 8, 2015 - Curbed Chicago

Dive Bar

Everybody Loves Dive Bars—So Why Aren't They Easier to Protect?

An Esquire article about the disappearance of neighborhood dive bars in cities like Chicago asks why people to support their local watering hole.

January 3, 2015 - Esquire

Op-Ed Criticizes Dog Owners' Use of Public Spaces in Chicago

A scathing op-ed by Joanne Cleaver provides a laundry list of public spaces and parks in Chicago spoiled, in her opinion, by heavy use from the canine companions of residents.

December 30, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Moving Forward with Residential High Rise Designed by Robert A.M. Stern

The Chicago Plan Commission approved a 67-story residential high rise earlier this month, as the latest evidence of the city's changing skyline.

December 27, 2014 - Crain's Chicago Business

Op-Ed: Put Chicago on a Road Diet

"The city should consider road diets for all streets with excess car capacity, although they're not always politically easy," writes John Greenfield.

December 23, 2014 - Crain's Chicago Business

Busy Crossing Street

Big Cities Make Pedestrian Safety a Priority

New data released Dec. 19 by NHTSA shows increased safety for those traveling by car, but pedestrian fatalities are 15% higher than in 2009. Plans by San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago to increase ped safety are described by the WSJ.

December 22, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Argyle Street Lane Configuration

Details on Chicago's First Shared Street

Planners are crafting the details of Chicago's first shared street, where pedestrians will rule.

December 3, 2014 - Chi.Streetsblog

Charting the Decline of Chicago's Middle-Class Neighborhoods

A post on the Chicago magazine site dives into research showing how Chicago has segregated by income since the 1970s.

November 26, 2014 - Chicago Magazine

An In-Depth Look at the Indiana Toll Road Bankruptcy

Angie Schmitt and Payton Chung have created a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and how its example informs the use of private finance to build and maintain highways.

November 24, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Whole Foods Moving into a Food Desert in Chicago's Englewood Neighborhood

Why would Whole Foods—a company colloquially known as "Whole Paycheck" and as a staple of wealthy neighborhoods—open an 18,000-square-foot location in one of the most impoverished parts of Chicago?

November 20, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Converting Single Room Occupancy Hotels to Market Rate Apartments

Emily Badger discusses a phenomenon of gentrification in Chicago: former single room occupancy hotels, historically reserved for low-income housing, are being converted into market-rate rentals.

November 14, 2014 - The Washington Post

Where and Why 'Not In Their Backyard' Becomes a Rallying Cry

We've all heard about NIMBY politics, but what about NITBY? What would prompt some people to adopt a "Not In Their Backyard" stance?

November 10, 2014 - Pedestrian Observations

Revealed: Proposed Designs for Chicago's Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Beijing's MAD Architects have unveiled their preliminary design for Chicago's Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, inspiring no shortage of commentary in the process.

November 5, 2014 - Curbed Chicago

Los Angeles Residential

How Affordable Housing Can Compete

With the backing of powerful nonprofit and for-profit investors, the Housing Partnership Equity Trust is making waves with its triple bottom line approach to affordable housing. More importantly, it’s making money.

November 4, 2014 - Next City

Op-Ed: Expand Chicago's Transit Beyond its Successful Status Quo

Yonah Freemark writes an op-ed that argues for the Chicago Transit Authority to do more than maintain the status quo.

November 3, 2014 - Crain's Chicago Business

McMansion Sign

Are Single Family Teardowns a Sign of Suburban Gentrification?

Luxury condos are often identified as the culprit in urban gentrification, but could it be that teardowns of single family homes that give way to much larger single family homes is a driver of suburban gentrification?

November 2, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

Wild Detroit

$3.2 Million Bid for 6,000 Foreclosed Properties in Detroit Auction

Karin Weise reports that an anonymous bidder will pay $3.2 million to purchase 6,000 foreclose homes in Detroit.

October 27, 2014 - Business Week

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.