Urban Planning
Downtown Los Angeles on the Rise: A Promising 2025
Fueled by new developments, cultural investments, and a growing dining scene, downtown Los Angeles is poised for significant growth in 2025, despite challenges from recent wildfires and economic uncertainties.
Off-Street Parking in the Midburbs
In several New Jersey cities, eliminating parking requirements has boosted local businesses.
Planning Communities for Thriving Children
When it comes to children's health and economic success, current trends are dismal. New research identifies how to plan communities where children can thrive. The secret? Compact, mixed-income, multimodal neighborhoods.
Rethinking Suburban Development: New Trends in Creating Livable Communities
Discover new trends in suburban development focused on creating more livable, sustainable communities for future growth.
January Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
How a tidal wave of potential changes at the federal level could throw many programs planners depend on into chaos, a roundup of last year’s zoning stories, and the continuing ripple effects of a landmark Supreme Court case.
Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.
Urbanism in a Time of War
The first in a series of posts reflecting on urbanism and rebuilding efforts in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022.
Is the Urban Form Sustainable?
One author offers a framework for resilience that rethinks common assumptions about the inevitability of cities as we know them.
Looking for the Light in a Dark Age
Professor Glenn Lyons offers insights about the challenges facing planners in times of rapid technological, cultural, and social change, in Local Transport Today's first ‘Deep Thinking Initiative’ article.
Preserving Essential Information in an Uncertain World
The new U.S. federal administration may eliminate useful information sources. Planners should download and preserve key documents and datasets.
Did Brookings Get It Wrong?
A recent Brookings study on the 2020 homicide wave tells a simple story: unemployment plus closed schools plus guns equals crime. But is the story accurate?
Midburbs: A New Definition of Suburbs
When the name “suburb” just doesn't quite fit.
Planning Year in Review 2024: An Ongoing Housing Crisis, the Fight for Climate Resilience, and a Mixed Bag for Transportation
A pedestrian safety crisis, rising housing instability, and destructive extreme weather events set the stage for an eventful year.
The Link Between Urban Design and Crime
A meta-study shows that public realm interventions can help reduce crime rates.
Research Links Urban Design and Human Happiness
An emerging field of ‘neuroarchitectural’ research is revealing how building facades and urban design impact the human brain and body.
Is Crime More Concentrated in Spread-out Cities?
Our nation's most transit-friendly cities have lower crime rates than many sprawling cities- yet some people seem to feel safer in sprawling cities because they believe that in sprawl, crime is concentrated in just a few neighborhoods. Is this correct?
Planetizen’s Top Posts of 2024
The most-read articles on Planetizen in 2024.
Planetizen’s Top Urban Planning Books of 2024
Top of mind in 2024 were the far-reaching impacts of climate displacement, zoning as a solution to the housing crisis, and the potential for safer roads and better public transit in American cities.
Busting Common Planning Myths
Will removing parking minimums put a strain on existing parking supply? Are long-range traffic forecasts the best tool to guide decisions about our streets? Are one-way streets better than two-way streets?
Applying to Graduate School in Planning: A Second Update
In 2008 and 2018, I wrote some much-read blogs about how to get into planning school. As deadlines near, I revisit that advice. I look first at the big picture of the case you need to make for the admissions committee and then the logistics.
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
