Land Use

Parks have long been likened to "the lungs of the city." But to better capture the totality of parks' role in our urban milieu a more apt metaphor is necessary.

February 19, 2013 - Steven Snell

L.A. stands at a critical juncture in the city's development, with an opportunity to embrace new patterns of land use that break with its postwar history. To seize this opportunity, the city will have to build incrementally, argues Peter Zellner.

February 19, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper

While parks adjacent to affluent areas of New York City, such as Central Park or the High Line, are benefiting from record levels of private contributions, open spaces in poorer communities are struggling to fund routine maintenance.

February 19, 2013 - The New York Times

Using two paradigms addressing synergies of nature and the city, Chuck Wolfe contrasts gradually merging animal and human habitats in the United States with calculated greening of city spaces overseas.

February 18, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Looking for new ways to explain best placemaking practices? Today's guest Shaker, Amanda Thompson, has a novel take: dance. Complete with video!

February 17, 2013 - PlaceShakers

With just two miles of an eventual 22 transformed from old rail tracks to trails, Atlantans are enjoying a taste of the planned $2.8 billion BeltLine. Despite its early success, the future of the ambitious project is far from settled.

February 16, 2013 - The New York Times

The D.C. suburbs seem to be fertile ground for some of the nation's most ambitious retrofit projects. The latest plan to be made public would transform a 1950's era apartment and retail complex in Silver Spring, reports Jonathan O'Connell.

February 15, 2013 - The Washington Post

The low-lying city of 50,000 across the Hudson River from Manhattan was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Dawn Zimmer wants to city to serve as a model for how to develop a uniquely urban approach to extreme storm preparation.

February 14, 2013 - The New York Times

This week, reports Orhan Ayyüce, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the launch of "a major new research center focused on the planning, design, construction and retrofitting of urban environments for the 21st century."

February 14, 2013 - Archinect

The owners of Madison Square Garden are asking NYC "to renew — in perpetuity — the special permit that allows them to operate an arena atop Penn Station, the country’s busiest transit hub." Michael Kimmelman urges the city to deny their request.

February 14, 2013 - The New York Times

Mitchell Silver, Raleigh City Planner and President of the APA, is on a mission to get planners to realize the importance of return on investment (ROI) in their projects. Raleigh is providing the testing ground for his arguments.

February 14, 2013 - Raleigh Public Record

If you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day card for the planning enthusiast in your life, search no further. Five different Valentines show appreciation for cities and the people that live in them.

February 14, 2013 - CEOs For Cities

New research out of the University of Connecticut shows that making room for parking in cities only leads to more cars, and less people and economic development.

February 14, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

A suburban farming model based on shared private garden plots springs up in Needham, Massachusetts. Could Kate Canney's experiment be an antidote to the challenge of finding farmland that plagues prospective farmers nationwide?

February 13, 2013 - Mother Earth News

The result of a collaborative effort between five editors and 43 professionals from around the world, a new open-source book documents the essential concepts and strategies for creating great cities at eye level - along the ground floor ("plinths").

February 13, 2013 - The City at Eye Level

There may be a way to supply some of the benefits of form-based codes without heavy-handed aesthetic regulation. In theory, a form-based code could be limited to verifiable characteristics such as setbacks, yard types, building height, frontage size and lot coverage.

February 12, 2013 - Michael Lewyn

A new report from the Urban Land Institute highlights successful strategies for adapting the infrastructure of America's suburbs to accommodate a densification of development.

February 12, 2013 - Urban Land

Although young adults and baby boomers are flocking back to America's cities, declines in K-12 enrollment are causing many cities to close their schools. A new report looks at the commons challenges in finding new uses for these buildings.

February 12, 2013 - Education Week

Can urban form help address the loneliness that so often accompanies aging? In a new blog post, Hazel Borys examines some remedies for severed connections.

February 12, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Most plants grown for food require significant amounts of water - water that Los Angeles doesn't have. How does one identify the point at which local isn't sustainable?

February 11, 2013 - Lisa Feldstein