New York

On the Limitations of Density
Writing for FastCo.Design, Architecture Critic Inga Saffron provides a cautionary tale about density done poorly.

American Dream for Sale: $1,000 for an Empty Lot in Newark
In a bid for revenue and rejuvenation, Newark is selling vacant lots for $1,000. Buyers promise to build a home and stay for at least five years.
Friday Funny: Your Subway Train Says a Lot About You
Clickhole, the Buzzfeed-style spinoff of The Onion, has produced a listicle of what the New York Subway line you're riding says about your personality. Prepare to learn nothing and laugh a little.
MTA Testing Bike Racks on Staten Island Buses
What is the one transit facility New York lacks that every other major city in the country has? Bike racks on buses. A new system was tested recently on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, but it's a long way from delivery.

New York City Proposes Parking Requirement Overhaul
The New York Department of City Planning is working on an overhaul of its parking requirements with the potential to impact hundreds of developments.

New York Towns Consider Secession, Cite Fracking Ban
Concerned about their economic fate, several upstate New York towns have expressed interest in joining Pennsylvania instead.

On the U.S. Transportation System's Structures of Inequality
The tendency of transportation planning of the 20th and 21st centuries to negatively impact poor and minority populations received deep attention on national media outlets over the past few days.

Anatomy of an Unsafe Crosswalk
Streetsblog NYC analyses one of the street design standards in place in New York City that will make it impossible to achieve zero pedestrian fatalities under Vision Zero.

Too Much Obsessing over Gentrification?
The recent glut of luxury development, gentrification, and high rents has been frequently condemned. But what factors affecting affordability might that discussion miss?
CityMap Expands to the Global Stage with its Social Mapping System
The owners of CityMap call it one of the most social and most monetizable maps in the world. With a new expansion plan announced this week, the app—which launched in 2012 with a map of every shop in New York City—is going global.
Pedestrian Accessibility the Key to Buffalo's New Green Code
An op-ed column for The Buffalo News explains the thinking behind Buffalo's new Green Code—especially its benefits for walking, bicycling, and public transit.
Pushing Back on Mayor de Blasio's Ferry Service Idea
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's recently announced an ambitious proposal to expand and extend ferry service around the five boroughs. Although the proposal has inspired support, one blogger offers a strongly dissenting stake.
Planning for Housing on Complicated Queens Rail Yard Continues
The 200-acre operational rail yard is the largest of six affordable housing sites that Mayor Bill de Blasio targeted for development. He hopes to build more than 11,000 units of affordable housing there, but Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is not on board.

Long Island Searching for Direction
Although it hosts some of the nation’s first and most successful auto suburbs, Long Island has experienced a downturn. This infographic-focused piece delves into the reasons why.
The Red Cedar: a Resilient and Adaptive Urban Pioneer
Dave Taft pens an ode to the merits of the red cedar—a common tree in New York City and dry, empty lots all over the East.
Accepting a Deadly Daily Commute
Responding to the New York train crash that killed six this month, Sam Tanenhaus reflects on how commuting got so dangerous and why we don't demand better.
Judge Evicts Rent-Stabilized Tenant for Listing on Airbnb
A judge's ruling in New York has evicted a rent-stabilized tenant in Hell's Kitchen. Renters might want to reconsider the terms of their lease before listing their apartments for rent—especially if they live in a rent stabilized apartment.
Shot by Shot, Brooklyn Histories Revealed
To build ties to its neighbors, a young arts organization embarked on a sprawling multimedia project exploring the past and present of Williamsburg's Latino community.
The Best and the Worst Airports to Access
If you want great access to an airport, go overseas—that's the main finding of a study by Golden Gateway Alliance, a Manhattan-based airport advocacy organization. Tied for dead-last in terms of access is Denver and a certain New York airport.

Affordable Housing: the Hype and the Hope
Sam Hall Kaplan elucidates the inadequacies of affordable housing policy before introducing a new perspective to the conversation—a new book by Roger Katan with Ronald Shiffman called "Building Together."
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