Urban Development

Optimism for the Suburbs
The Bacon's Rebellion blog focuses on the potential of suburbs to meet the demands of a growing population with different lifestyles and expectations for their communities than previous generations.
Exploring the 'Finesse of the Avenue'
In his fourth "place-decoding" essay from France, Chuck Wolfe illustrates how a traditional placemaking intervention is especially powerful when underlying urban fundamentals align.
Study Compares Job Access by Transit in 46 U.S. Metropolitan Areas
The Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota has released the Access Across America: Transit 2014 report.

The Downtown Dystopia and the 'Continued March of Sameness'
Architecture critic Aaron Betsky provides a new take urban dystopia: bland and homogenous. The antidote, he argues, can be found on the edges.

On the Importance of the Human Scale in Walkable Cities
Instead of density for density's sake (or for smart growth's sake), F. Kaid Benfield argues that the human scale is the key to walkable smart growth.
How to Revitalize a 'Stuck' Neighborhood?
Congress Heights, in Washington D.C., has suffered decades of neglect. Now, city planners and activists want to transform it into a mixed-use, mixed-income success story. What if it doesn't work? What if it works too well?

Report: Transit Oriented Development Leads the Market in Major Metros
A report released last week by Cushman & Wakefield has won a lot of attention from media outlets covering large-scale development market trends. Among the report's findings: growing cities need to better support transit-oriented development.
Massive MiamiCentral Train Station Arriving Soon for All Aboard Florida
Part infrastructure, part urban development—MiamiCentral is moving ahead quickly as an urban hub on the south end of the All Aboard Florida high-speed rail project.

What an Innocuous Piece of Plastic Says About Our Suburban Future
Suburban Starbucks models are bumming urbanists out. But they also served as a nice allegory of what the future there might hold. Scott Doyon's latest blog post explains.
'History of the Present' Series Examines Profound Urban Transformations
Emerging from a half century of dictatorship, can Myanmar's principal city be a model of sustainable, democratic development?
Evidence of Peak Sprawl in the New York Region
"A new report out of Rutgers University reveals that since 2010, the fringes of the New York region have lost population as the core has grown," according to an article by Stephen Miller.
Miami Moving Forward with Showy, $1.5 Billion Worldcenter Development
Last minute changes allowed the $1.5 billion Worldcenter development to move forward into the planning stage.
Making the Most of Cleveland's 'Opportunity Corridor'
Officials planning the divisive Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland are working to catch land use considerations up with transportation considerations for a proposed road connection to cut through the city's East Side.

How Planners Can Help Cities Thrive
For planners, the key to moving a city’s vision for development forward is to value public as well as private investment in projects, according to urban planner and author Howard M. Blackson III.
Luxury Condos Saturating New York City's Housing Market
The housing market in NYC has seen a 98.5 percent increase in luxury condo construction since last year. Market experts are concerned there is not enough demand to meet supply, causing developers to build upper to middle-income housing instead.

The Great Streetcar Debate
David Alpert and Jarrett Walker go head to head debating the merit of streetcar systems in many United States cities and suburbs and their efficiency at creating urban, walkable communities.
Master Plan to Revitalize Salt Lake City's Struggling West Side
The Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods in Salt Lake City perform poorly on the federal government's "opportunity index." A new master plan, however, would focus on transportation and nodes of activity to revitalize the area.
San Francisco Considers a 'Facadectomy'
One possible frame though which to consider the ongoing evolution of cities like San Francisco: the measures (sometimes) taken to preserve the historic fabric of the city.

Skateboard Urbanism on the Rise
More cities around the country are embracing skateparks as a vital part of park design, leading to a new wave of urban design standards tailored for skateboarders.
Anti-Growth Measures Adopting Pro-Growth Language to Survive
John King has reason to believe a cultural shift toward taller buildings and mixed-use neighborhoods is underway in the Bay Area. How? The language used by opponents of those causes.
Pagination
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