Community / Economic Development
Embracing Placemaking's Freak Factor
Realizing that overly controlled environments rarely breed the kind of innovation and culture that make cities great, Scott Doyon gets down with the funky and unpredictable.
Inspiring Ideas for Solving L.A.'s Biggest Challenges
With 279 submissions received, the pubic voting period has begun for determining who will receive the $1,000,000 in grants being awarded to improve the quality of life in Los Angeles along eight key indicators.
Gilbert Doubles Down on Downtown Detroit With Ambitious Placemaking Plan
Rather than succumb to the negative news surrounding Detroit's dire financial situation, businessman and booster Dan Gilbert is doubling down on his extensive investment in the city with an ambitious effort to enliven downtown's public spaces.
A Cultural Mecca Grows in Brooklyn
With the Bloomberg administration's investments in transforming the area around the acclaimed Brooklyn Academy of Music finally bearing fruit, the emerging cultural district is earning comparisons to the city's premier arts hub - Lincoln Center.
Trend Towards Engagement Transforms America's Public Housing
Public housing models in the U.S. are becoming more community-oriented and taking varying demographics into account during the design process. Engagement with the street, the neighborhood, and social services are creating new design typologies.
With Boston Mayor's Departure, Evaluating His Imprint on the City
With longtime Boston mayor Thomas Menino's announcement that he will not seek re-election, Paul McMorrow assesses the five-term mayor's impact on the shape of the city.
The Power of Place: On Democracy and Public Participation in Planning
More thoughts on how public participation in the placemaking process can create better places and better functioning democracies.
Urban Renewal: What's Driving Downtown's Comeback?
Morgan Brennan looks at the demographic and cultural factors driving America's "most surprising real estate boom," and examines how some cities have targeted investments to attract young professionals.
Healthy, or Unhealthy, by Design
We've engineered physical activity out of our daily lives but it need not be a chronic condition. Hazel Borys points to recent suburban retrofits for ways to get moving again.
Kotkin and Florida Duke it Out Over 'Limits' of the Creative Class
After a decade of debate, Richard Florida's theories on the 'creative class' have been championed by many, and challenged by others (perhaps none more forcefully than author Joel Kotkin). In recent articles, the two are battling it out once again.
On-Site Parking Requirements Stifle D.C. Redevelopment
Business owners, city leaders, and community members would love to see the struggling Anacostia neighborhood transformed into a bustling retail zone. But onerous parking requirements in DC's outdated zoning code are stifling the city's own ambitions.
Build a Better Democracy Through Public Participation
In the first entry in a series exploring the connection between the processes and products of Placemaking and city governance, PPS explores how "Place Governance" can increase leadership, equity, and cohesion among citizens.
Chicago to 'Facilitate and Accelerate' Growth in Seven Promising Neighborhoods
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has identified seven city neighborhoods as "Opportunity Planning Areas" where public resources will be directed to help shape and accelerate nascent redevelopment efforts, reports Fran Spielman.
Great Placemaking Begins with Acknowledging the Obvious
Our brains simply tune out anything that might suggest that our behavior is in some way complicit in our problems. Scott Doyon zeros in on the obvious, but often overlooked, problems with our auto-oriented culture.
Top Trends 2012-2013
Over the course of the year, the editors of Planetizen review and summarize thousands of articles, books, studies and editorials related to planning and urban development. Here are our picks for the most notable planning trends of the past year.
Taking the Fun out of Entertainment Districts
Using Omaha's Old Market neighborhood as an example, Nathaniel M. Hood calls for an end to the urban "Entertainment District" - the common revitalization tool that produces a "single-use monoculture" that alienates families and baby boomers.
Schizo Skyline: Warring Williamsburg Mandates Leave Waterfront Out of Whack
Did the rezoning of the Williamsburg waterfront backfire? Stephen Jacob Smith reflects on the lack of transition between the neighborhood's skyscraping waterfront and its low-rise inland, a missing middle mandated by recent upzoning.
Filmmaker Tells Her Side of Williamsburg's Gentrification Story
As SHoP unveils massive redevelopment plans for the Domino Factory site in Williamsburg, Su Friedrich rails against the gentrification that has already transformed the neighborhood in her film Gut Renovation, which premiered at Film Forum last week.
Growing Disparities Belie Chicago's Bloom
Recent exultant headlines about downtown's astounding growth overlook Chicago's troubling bifurcation into two cities — "one where optimism abounds, one where hope and opportunity are hard to find," writes Marilyn Katz.
America's Biggest Small Town Comebacks
Jordan Rane profiles 8 historic towns from across the country that have overcome significant challenges to become desirable destinations once again.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
