New York

Grand Central

Rezoning Begins in Earnest in Manhattan's East Midtown

The aspiration for a forthcoming Uniform Land Use Review Procedure for East Midtown Manhattan is nothing short of returning the neighborhood to central business district status.

January 3, 2017 - New York Post

Yes, the Second Avenue Subway Did Open as Scheduled on New Years Day

Three new stations on Second Avenue and an upgraded Lexington Avenue station were open for the first phase of the long-awaited subway line, an extension of the Q Line. Here are some observations of the trains and stations from The New York Times.

January 3, 2017 - The New York Times

Streetsblog's Best Street Transformation of 2016

A day to look forward to every year: Streetsblog's Best Urban Street Transformation award. Congratulations to all nominated.

December 30, 2016 - Streetsblog USA

Second Avenue Subway

Opening on January 1: The Most Expensive Subway Ever Built

There will be a lot of hoopla when the Second Avenue Subway opens in Manhattan on the first day of 2017. Some writers are making sure that one important detail isn't getting lost in the celebration.

December 29, 2016 - Business Insider

The Rockaway Beach Boardwalk

Money Leftover from Superstorm Sandy Repairs Now Funding Parks in Queens

A boardwalk reconstruction project in Roackaway Beach, funded by FEMA after Superstorm Sandy, has money leftover. The public is invited to help decide how the money gets used.

December 29, 2016 - DNAInfo

A orivate eye at work

Stakeouts and 'Private Eyes': Monitoring Short-Term Rentals for Tenants' Rights

The constantly moving legal lines between regulators and short-term rental companies like Airbnb have taken on some distinctly noir activities.

December 27, 2016 - Bloomberg

Buffalo Light Rail

Expected for Approval Today: The New Buffalo Green Code

The Buffalo Common Council is expected to approve a highly anticipated overhaul of its zoning code. Known commonly as the Buffalo Green Code, city planners tout the new code as deliberately contemporary and progressive.

December 27, 2016 - The Buffalo News

Artists' Housing, Beyond the SoHo Loft Model

New York has promised to create 1,500 affordable live/work spaces for artists. Architect Emma Fuller believes that careful consideration of building typologies could make it easier to reach this target.

December 27, 2016 - Soft City

Aerial views during an Army search and rescue mission show damage from Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast, Oct. 30, 2012.

How Rising Seas Threaten the NYC Metro Area

A report from the Regional Plan Association maps out what might happen under 1, 3, and 6 feet of sea level rise. In the worst cases, several dense and populated regions are affected.

December 26, 2016 - RPA Lab

Homeless in New York City

New York City Relying on Hotels to House the Homeless

Throughout 2016, New York City has expanded the practice of renting hotel rooms to house homeless people. Now the city is looking for a vendor to shoulder some of the work of finding rooms for those in need.

December 25, 2016 - Politico New York

New York Bus

Checking in on Two of de Blasio's Big Transportation Promises

Mayor Bill de Blasio made a couple of promises about new the transportation technology that would be available to New Yorkers in 2016. The results of those promises reveal good news for drivers and some bad news for bus riders.

December 24, 2016 - Politico New York

New York City

Friday Eye Candy: Mapping All of New York's Shadows, in All Seasons

New York's lack of sunlight might be overstated, but the New York Times mapped the shadows cast by every building on every block of the city just to be sure.

December 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Robert Moses Parkway

$3.5 Million Awarded to Further the Demise of the Robert Moses Parkway

The state of New York this week took another step toward removing two miles of the Niagara Scenic Parkway (formerly known as the Robert Moses Parkway).

December 22, 2016 - Governor Andrew M Cuomo

Harlem

East Harlem Rezoning Could Add New Retail to Public Housing Projects

East Harlem Rezoning Could Add New Retail to Public Housing Projects

December 22, 2016 - Crain's New York Business

Shanghai

Ten of the Best New Skyscrapers From Around the World

Dezeen presents a not-so-humble list of the ten best skyscrapers opened to the public in 2016.

December 20, 2016 - Dezeen

New York City

A Grid Balancing Act for Vibrant, Varied, and Sustainable Places

An analysis of three essential attributes of urban grids reveals a preferred layout for the desired effect of a vibrant, active community.

December 20, 2016 - Fanis Grammenos

Construction Site in New York City

de Blasio Balancing Act Puts Manufacturing Jobs, Hotel Industry Interest in the Balance

The New York Times reports details about the de Blasio Administration's negotiations concerning land use regulations that will impact industrial and hotel business. With a re-election campaign looming in 2017, the story reveals a lot about the politi

December 18, 2016 - The New York Times

One World Trade Center

How Should Lower Manhattan Handle Its Crowd Problem?

In the period since 9/11, Lower Manhattan has undergone a residential boom. With daytime professionals and tourists also in the mix, the strain is showing.

December 12, 2016 - The New York Times

New York Bike Lane

Making Long-Term Planning and Democratic Politics Work Together

To the potential surprise of many planners in the United States, strategic planning and politics can work together to produce significant policy outcomes in democratically governed cities.

December 12, 2016 - Lily Song and Diane Davis

Jane Jacobs

100 Years After Her Birth, Jane Jacobs Might Not Recognize New York

Sam Hall Kaplan reviews "Eyes on Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs" and offers insight gained from personal experience with the "Saint of City Planning."

December 7, 2016 - Sam Hall Kaplan

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.

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.