United States

America's Top Five Real Estate Markets

Writing for Urban Land, Trisha Riggs looks at the country's top markets for real estate based on ULI's Emerging Trends Americas report.

March 3, 2012 - Urban Land

What's Wrong with the "Green" Design Revolution

In an interview with the British inventor James Dyson, Ben Schiller discusses the future of engineering and design in America and the fallacies behind much "green" design.

March 3, 2012 - Fast Company

Friday Funny: Introducing the Cast of Your Neighborhood Email List

Emily Badger has produced a thoroughly researched article on "The 20 Characters You'll Meet on Every Neighborhood Email List." We think you might recognize a few of these folks.

March 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Has Increased Urbanism Initiated A Decline In American Driving?

Eric Jaffe discusses new charts released last week that purport to show the continued decline of vehicle-miles traveled in the United States, and wonders if increased urbanism can be credited as the cause.

March 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Where Are Baby Boomers Going to Spend Their Golden Years?

John K. McIlwain breaks down the recent explosion in the "65-or-better" population – and what it means for urban regions.

March 2, 2012 - Urban Land

Water Infrastructure Takes Center Stage at House and Senate Hearings

Jason Jordan reports on House and Senate subcommittee hearings this week that focused on water infrastructure concerns and a proposed new program to better address funding and financing options.

March 2, 2012 - APA

Is the Shrinking Middle Class Driving the Growth in Home Size?

Lloyd Alter weighs in on the debate over the shrinking, or growing, size of American homes, seeing the influence of affluent homebuyers as driving an increase in size.

March 1, 2012 - Treehugger

Changing the Paradigm of Urban Development

Jason Kambitsis speaks with Bruce Katz, the founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, about his advocacy for taking a fundamentally different approach to urban development based on economic diversification.

March 1, 2012 - Wired: Autopia

An Interactive Database of Location-Specific Costs Demonstrates Its Value

Kaid Benfield reports on the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology's robust, interactive Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, a fantastic resource for location-specific information, including housing and transportation costs.

March 1, 2012 - Switchboard

Uncertainty Dominates House's Next Step in Transportation Reauthorization

The House is working to amend its transportation bill, but what takes its place is far from certain. Burgess Everett reports on speculation that the GOP is aiming to shorten the length to two years, and make a host of other changes.

March 1, 2012 - Politico

Using Artistic Exploration to Guide Planning Processes

Rebecca Sanborn Stone profiles several innovative communities that are utilizing citizen-guided art projects to communicate values and ideas, break down barriers, and guide planning efforts.

February 28, 2012 - EngagingCities

Tapping into the Rental Market with Foreclosed Homes

In an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and reduce the glut of foreclosures in the marketplace, Fannie Mae is beginning to sell foreclosed properties in bulk to investors to test the market for rental homes, write Alan Zibel and Nick Timiraos.

February 28, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal - Developments Blog

Mapping the Happiest States

Richard Florida reports on a new map showing the results of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which analyzes a number of "happiness" factors on a statewide level.

February 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

A Bipartisan Solution to Global Warming and the Budget Deficit

In another sign of the coming apocalypse, a bipartisan group of House members have devised an entirely sensible way to cut greenhouse gas emissions, grow employment, and shrink the budget deficit in one fell swoop, by placing a price on carbon.

February 28, 2012 - The Washington Post

Bringing Crowdfunding to Our Backyards

Michael J. Coren shines a light on an innovative crowdfunding site targeting neighborhood improvements.

February 28, 2012 - Fast Co.Exisit

HOV-to-HOT Conversion Seen as Key to Easing Congestion

Robert Poole reports on efforts across the country to reduce freeway congestion through HOV-to-HOT conversion and public-private partnerships.

February 27, 2012 - reason.com

How LEED Gives the Cold Shoulder to Historic Preservation

In a guest editorial for Rust Wire, Nick Gurich examines the ways in which LEED discounts the environmental benefits of historic preservation and adaptive reuse

February 26, 2012 - Rust Wire

The Growing Attraction of Historic Streetcars

As cities across the country build and revive their streetcar networks, a sense of nostalgia for the time when they could be found in cities across the country is leading to a thriving business in refurbishing old streetcars.

February 26, 2012 - Governing

With Malls and Mom-and-Pops Struggling, What is the Future of Retail?

Tom Stoelker pens a feature in The Architect's Newspaper examining the decades-long upheavals in retail and current efforts to shape retail in ways that will preserve urban character while growing the economy.

February 26, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Are American Home Sizes Growing or Shrinking?

Remember that trend toward smaller houses widely predicted and reported, well Lew Sichelman sees the inverse in figures recently reported at the annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in Orlando.

February 24, 2012 - Urban Land

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.