Land Use

What comes next for the doomed, enclosed mall across America? This article highlights a number of solutions, including an adaptive reuse model that incorporates housing units inside the mall itself.

Bend, Oregon councilmembers took no more than five minutes to vote to expand the city's urban growth boundaries, adding nearly 9,000 acres of developable land to the city's map.

Last summer in Toledo, former mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski handed Barack Obama a book, saying it is the most important book about rebuilding cities. Obama responded, 'Is it Jane Jacobs?'

Compared to natural settings, busy urban environments can be detrimental to cognitive functioning and self-control. Well-designed, biodiverse parks are integral to counterbalancing the concrete jungle.

The city of Washington D.C. is trying to get ready for the Presidential Inauguration -- likely to be the largest gathering of people in U.S. history.

Fewer teardowns and new home starts back up the perception that the age of the McMansion is coming to an end.

The deepening of the housing market crisis is certainly a big deal in California. But the land use story of the year was the Legislature's passage of a measure mandating regional planning.

Obama has compared the size of the stimulus package he wants to the 1956 National Highway Act. If the states have their way, it may be just that -- a new highway bill with little left for transit.

Brooklyn residents have built a makeshift detour sign in an attempt to redirect drivers away from their street. A new bike lane was implemented in the fall that has removed stop signs and, according to residents, made their street unsafe.

Suisman Urban Design was hired to design a theoretical Palestinian State, in the hopes that the plan might encourage the peace process. The plan was released in 2005, and has been gaining traction and admiration ever since.

The Interior Department is proposing a rule change for National Parks that would open thousands of miles of park trails to mountain bikes. Conflicts between bikers and hikers are expected.

Ecotopia is a '70s cult novel that imagines a future where the Pacific Northwest secedes from the U.S. to become an environmentally-conscious utopian state. The NY Times reflects on the influence of this under-recognized novel.

A new global map released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre reveals that 95% of the world's population lives on 10% of the land.

The federal government has blocked plans to build a 16-mile road through a Southern California state park, mainly over environmental concerns.

In fact, says one planner, suburbs and exurbs can expect to see some of the biggest changes of all, at least from infrastructure and transportation funding.