Urban Development
Planning for Spontaneity
According to this opinion piece, planners must ease up on "big bang" planning--an approach centered around sweeping changes with fixed ideas of what the outcome must look like.
Bronx Boomer
Big-name and big-budget projects in New York are basking in the spotlight, but smaller, community-based projects are also flourishing in the Bronx.
The City Makes a Comeback
Nicolai Ouroussof uses four cities--New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Bronx, and Buffalo--as case studies on how America's urban areas, long neglected, can once again be great.
Vancouver Revisits View Preservation Policy
Amid growing concern that downtown Vancouver's mandated view corridors cost too much development while making too little sense, its planners are once again debating their necessity.
Slow and Steady Survives the Recession
Pittsburgh's strategy of slow, steady growth has made it the front runner for sustainable building. The city now boasts the most LEED-certified square footage in the country.
Recession a Bittersweet Thing for Preservationists
Ironically, buildings unable to get funded for preservation due to a recession can also benefit from it: as development overall comes to a stop, so does the wrecking ball.
Greener Than Greeny-Green Sustainable Homes Debut
Chartreuse and Associates, a sustainable eco-planning firm, has announced a new suburban development that they say is greener than green. The 14,000 sq ft single-family dwellings feature the latest in eco-gadgetry.
Exurbs, the New Rentals
In many areas, housing on the suburban fringe has gone rental. The shift indicates mobility on the part of renters who want to stay put, but could also be a precursor for a low-income future for the exurbs.
Where California's Foreclosure Hot Spots Went Wrong
This piece form the Modesto Bee looks at the growth and housing bust that has dramatically affected California's San Joaquin Valley -- home to some of the nation's highest rates of foreclosure.
The Future of Boston in the Age of the City
As theorists predict we are entering the age of the city, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell reflects on what this shift will mean and how Boston's landscape will change as a result.
A Blueprint For Making Cities Efficient, Sustainable And Livable
Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for The New York Times, argues that the time is right for a new vision of rebirth for America's ailing cities. He applies this new vision to the challenges of New Orleans, Los Angeles, the Bronx, and Buffalo.
One City, Two New Stadia
Paul Goldberger looks at the two new baseball stadia opening in New York this Spring.
Without Rail, Sydney Will Fall Behind Global Cities
Without a proper light rail system, Sydney will get left behind as other global cities progress into a diverse transit future, according to planning expert Peter Newman.
Funding Street Networks, Not Sprawl: A Conversation With CNU's John Norquist
Streetsblog speaks with CNU President John Norquist about how federal policy can live up to the promises of "sustainable communities" coming from DOT and HUD.
Clash of Subways and Car Culture in Chinese Cities
The question is whether the burrowing machines can outrace China’s growing love affair with the automobile.
"Land of Extremes" Feels the Hurt
California's Inland Empire's status as one of the nation's leader in foreclosures has fleeing retail as proof of it. This article offers a glimpse in this "land of extremes."
Boston Neighborhoods to See Rail-Related Upgrades
New stations for the Fairmount rail line in Boston has made its surrounding neighborhoods targets for redevelopment by community organizations, which may rebuild up to a dozen properties.
Chicago's Spire May Get Union Funding
The site of the Chicago Spire, now an undeveloped eyesore, may soon see progress, as its developer and AFL-CIO negotiate for funding.
HUD Homeownership Program Shows Promise
An ambitious HUD program promoting homeownership in troubled neighborhoods is, by some accounts, "one of the more intelligent things HUD has done in its history."
"Communiversity": A Bond You Can't Break
College towns fare relatively well during a recession due to the stable, highly skilled work force colleges offer their communities.
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