New York

Good Design Sparks Rural Community Development

Now more than ever, creative professionals are turning their attention to community development. While this trend toward good design is exciting, it’s harder to find in rural areas. Here are a few ideas from the forefront of rural design.

August 14, 2014 - CommunityMatters

Testing the Many Aspects of Waterfront Resilience—In New York City

Principals from the Rebuild by Design competition, focusing on Red Hook in Brooklyn and Hunts Point in the South Bronx, discussed their designs and philosophies regarding New York City's resilience at the Center for Architecture.

August 14, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Debate Continued: Supply vs Demand

Jim Russell is again taking to the pulpit to dissent from the popular view that supply problems are causing housing affordability crises in cities like New York and San Francisco.

August 14, 2014 - Pacific Standard

The Dysfunction that is New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal

The Port Authority bus terminal, located in Midtown, has been "stagnating as ridership has been rising" since the 1970s. Now a third of New Jersey commuters use the facility.

August 14, 2014 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Robert Yaro Retiring from Leadership at the Regional Plan Association

Regional Plan Association (RPA) President Robert D. Yaro "will retire at the end of this year, after 25 years at the urban-planning organization," according to the RPA's blog in a post late last week.

August 12, 2014 - Regional Plan Association

New York City Residential Construction Sluggish in Recovery

For a city famous for high cost of living, incredible demand for housing, famous examples of gentrification, and political pressure to build, New York City is lagging behind the volumes of residential construction approved in comparable cities.

August 12, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Blogging the 'Vanishing' of New York City

An article on The Daily Beast provides an in-depth portrait of the ethos and politics of a blog known as Vanishing New York—a militantly nostalgic platform that laments the loss of New York's former urban glories.

August 11, 2014 - The Daily Beast

A Proposal for an NFL Stadium in Downtown Buffalo

Few cities have such a passionate love affair with their NFL franchise as does Buffalo with its Bills. Given the current questions about ownership and the age of its current stadium, could a new stadium help revitalize the city?

August 9, 2014 - ArtVoice

Review Pans World Trade Center's 'Calatrasaurus' Transportation Hub

Steve Cuozzo absolutely eviscerates the under-construction World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City, designed by Santiago Calatrava.

August 9, 2014 - New York Post

International Effort Needed to Prevent Recurrence of Lake Erie Algal Bloom

On Monday, August 4, half a million people in the Toledo, Ohio metro region could once again drink from their water taps after a weekend without safe drinking water due to a toxin resulting from an algal bloom in the city's water supply, Lake Erie.

August 7, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Walters Art Museum - Architecture (3 of 5)

Sexier Stairs for Sexier Bodies, in New York City

A massive ad campaign by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health is encouraging people to take the stairs for their health and the environment.

August 7, 2014 - NPR

New York City's Crowdsourced Street Safety Map

As part of the Vision Zero initiative for traffic safety, the city has hosted a map system that allowed citizens to report safety issues encountered on the street. With the reporting period now over, you can still peruse the findings of the exercise.

August 5, 2014 - StreetsBlog NYC

A Call for New York City to Put Skin in the Bike Share Game

Despite the recent deal that will bring a large capital infusion and expansion of the Citi Bike system in New York City, Sarah Goodyear sees a program on the brink. Can the city help ensure its success?

August 5, 2014 - Next City

Active Transit Projects 2013

Comparing Transit Ridership

Data journalism site FiveThirtyEight wades into the complex world of transit ridership data, looking for insights into which cities make use of robust transit systems, and which still have work to do.

August 4, 2014 - Five Thirty Eight

Sales Tax or Tolling to Pay for MTA's Budget Shortfall?

The debate about ending the gas tax to fund transit capital projects has arrived in New York City, where the MTA is beset by a $12 billion shortfall. Although an increase in sales tax has its supporters, Stephen Miller and Move NY support tolling.

August 3, 2014 - Streetsblog New York City

Profiles of New Yorkers Killed by Car Collisions

A new feature on Transportation Nation will highlight the tragedy of traffic fatalities in New York City, by profiling the people who passed and the traffic circumstances that took them.

July 31, 2014 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Mean Streets

Mapping the Happiest Places in the United States (Disneyland Not Included)

Researchers from Harvard and the University of British Columbia used "self-reported life satisfaction data" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to locate the cities and regions where Americans are most happy (or unhappy).

July 31, 2014 - Vox

Boxing Gyms in Shrinking Cities: Refuge for the Formerly Incarcerated

Sociologist Lucia Trimbur describes how urban boxing gyms provide an opportunity for a particularly vulnerable population, formerly incarcerated men of color, to "recover from detention and establish stability in the free world."

July 31, 2014 - Urban Omnibus

Debate: How Much should 'Starchitects' be Faulted for Urban Ills?

In response to a recent polemic by Witold Rybczynski against the global proliferation of iconic but disconnected projects by starchitects, the New York Times hosts a debate that addresses the question: Are superstar architects ruining city skylines?

July 30, 2014 - New York Times

Making Space for Art in the 'Science of Cities'

An article by Adam Frank argues that a discussion of quality of life in cities, as an emerging of "science of cities" claims to improve, must include a discussion of public art.

July 30, 2014 - NPR

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.