United States

Birmingham, Alabama

Federal Stimulus Offers a Chance for Local Reinvention

Cities around the country are making big plans for economic relief funding from the federal government.

April 21, 2021 - The Washington Post

Lower Manhattan

Pre-Existing Conditions

Vital urbanism and a prescription for the post-pandemic city.

April 21, 2021 - Dan Kaplan

Housing Development

Op-ed: How to Separate Truth from BS in Housing Policy

Suddenly everyone and their mother has a housing plan. But not all housing plans are created equal.

April 20, 2021 - Next City

Washington, D.C. Historic District

Balancing Aesthetics and Affordability

Policies too narrowly focused on design can drive up the cost of construction and prevent the development of affordable housing.

April 20, 2021 - Slate

Bus Lane New York City

Opinion: Federal Infrastructure Plan Must Prioritize Transit Investment

The Biden administration must combine increased funding with policies that mandate and encourage transit-oriented planning.

April 20, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Robert Weaver Building

Choice Neighborhoods Grants Finalists Announced

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's grant funding program that integrates public housing investments with the surrounding neighborhood is moving ahead.

April 20, 2021 - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Idaho

2021 Most Endangered Rivers List Highlights Environmental Justice

The annual list of endangered rivers created by American Rivers has always documented pollution and other threats like dam construction, but this year, the confluence of water and systemic racism warrants extra attention.

April 19, 2021 - American Rivers

Nashville

Op-Ed: Don't Reverse the Progress Made by 'Pandemic Streets'

In many cities, the public realm saw a drastic shift towards pedestrian-oriented infrastructure. The L.A. Times editorial board argues we should keep it that way.

April 19, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Washington, D.C.

Biden Administration to Reinstate Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, Disparate Impact Rules

The pendulum swings on federal fair housing law.

April 18, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Resilient Home

The Power of Community Land Trusts

A New York Times article explains and, potentially, introduces the community land trust concept, which has proven immensely capable of preventing displacement and foreclosures while advancing homeownership and racial equity.

April 16, 2021 - The New York Times

Urban Infill

Density Skepticism and Neighborhood Protection

Resistance mounts to the zoning reforms gaining traction in the United States.

April 16, 2021 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Neighbors

Racial Segregation in U.S. Neighborhoods

Despite the intentions of the nation's fair housing laws, neighborhoods in the United States continue to segregate by race.

April 15, 2021 - Brookings

Suburban Neighborhood

The Extreme Measures of the Pandemic 'Housing Boom'

It's hard to describe the current trends in the housing market as a "boom," though homebuying costs are surely rising.

April 15, 2021 - Axios

City Hall

Covid Burnout Causing Mayoral Turnover

A large number of local leaders are leaving office ahead of schedule; many report Covid burnout as the cause of their departure.

April 15, 2021 - The New York Times

NFT Concept Art

Why NFTs Matter to Urban Planning

With non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reshaping the art and collectibles world, city and regional planners can learn valuable lessons about ways to improve the management, organization, and sharing of information about the built environment.

April 14, 2021 - Justin B. Hollander

Rhode Island Interstate 95

The Foundational Myth of America's Interstate Highway System

The erroneous belief that the negative impacts of interstate highways are simply "unintended consequences" fails to demand accountability for the project's failures.

April 14, 2021 - The Metropole

Biden administration

New RAISE Grant Program Replaces BUILD Grants at the U.S. Department of Transportation

The policy whiplash from the Obama administration to the Trump administration and now to the Biden administration continues.

April 14, 2021 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Baltimore Rowhouses

The Challenges of Being a Black Developer

In an overwhelmingly white industry, Black developers find it harder to access investment, equity, and opportunities.

April 12, 2021 - The Washington Post

Foreclosure Sign

Housing Crisis Creates Perverse Opportunity For Wall Street

Opponents of Blackstone and other finance firms that have been buying up housing are quick to blame them for the housing crisis. But it's the other way around: the failure to plan for and develop enough housing has attracted the firms.

April 12, 2021 - California Planning & Development Report

Book in the Park

Fourth Surge May Be a Second Wave

The CDC announced on April 7 that a coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K is now dominant in the U.S. "In some ways, we're almost in a new pandemic," said one prominent public health expert earlier about the more transmissible variant.

April 12, 2021 - The New York Times

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.