Urban Development

Predicting McCain and Obama's Effect on Cities

Neal Pierce asks the question, 'Who's Best for Cities, McCain or Obama?' The evidence has been difficult to come by, but Pierce unearths some clues and makes some logical predictions.
19 September 2008 - 1:00pm
Citiwire.net

Freakonomics Investigates Suburbia

Urban experts weigh in on the future of the suburbs.
13 August 2008 - 2:00pm
Freakonomics (Opinion) on The New York Times

Fresh Food Financing

Pennsylvania is putting its money where its mouth is with the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, a $120 million fund to encourage inner-city groceries.
30 June 2008 - 9:00am
The Christian Science Monitor

Suburbia Running Out of Gas

The economics of long commutes are forcing many to the conclusion that suburban living is no longer viable, and suburban housing prices are falling accordingly.
26 June 2008 - 7:00am
The New York Times

Tiny Monaco Using Stilts to Expand

The second-smallest country in the world (after the Vatican) has plans to expand its territory by building more land on stilts in an idea inspired by oil rigs.
16 June 2008 - 12:00pm
The Guardian

Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building

The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.
13 June 2008 - 10:00am
Kiowa County Singnal

One Man's Legacy in L.A.

William Fulton reflects on the lasting impact of L.A. developer Robert Maguire III on the city.
4 June 2008 - 10:00am
The Los Angeles Times

Big Box on a Diet

Big box stores are following their customers into downtowns, and stores like Circuit City and Target are retooling for density.
1 June 2008 - 5:00am
Architectural Record

Portland's Smart Growth Faces Cries of Gentrification

Portland, famed for its progressive policies and smart growth, is facing criticism that the same growth they are applauded for is squeezing other groups out- particularly African-Americans.
31 May 2008 - 7:00am
The New York Times

Big Box Thinking When Siting Schools is Creating Sprawl

New schools are consistently built far from community centers, while historic school buildings near where people live are demolished, The Blue Ridge Press reports.
29 May 2008 - 11:00am
The Blue Ridge Press

Two Things People Hate: Density and Sprawl

Wed, 03/26/2008 - 14:13

We’ve been conducting public meetings for years. And it used to be easier. Present the plan. Discuss the plan. Talk about how your plan is better for the neighborhood/community/city/region and provide the conclusion. But things have changed.  

Economists vs. Planners? Complements, Not Substitutes

Sat, 03/15/2008 - 12:33

Often, planners and economists seem to be at odds. Actually, a better description would be talking past each other—literally two ships passing in the night.

Planners often think economists are too narrowly focused on dollars, cents, and rational decisionmaking. Economists can’t understand why planners don’t recognize the real world of markets and why incentives matter—a lot.

Neighborhood's Unchecked Facelift Highlights Poor Planning

Poor planning is allowing uncontrolled and rapid gentrification to destroy Toronto's Liberty Village neighborhood, according to this article from The Toronto Star.
11 March 2008 - 6:00am
The Toronto Star

Is eminent domain necessary for revitalizing cities?

Wed, 01/09/2008 - 12:55

Planners are split on eminent domain—one group believes it’s a critical component of planning since it allows them to implement plans more quickly. Others believe eminent domain does more to destroy urbanism than build it up. I’ve weighed in on it numerous times, including this commentary published by Planetizen.

A Planning Contrarian's Reading List

Thu, 11/15/2007 - 14:05

Transcontinental flights are a great time to catch up on reading, and a recent flight from San Jose to Chicago inspired this blog post. As I was reading book #1 (below), I realized that a number books have been published recently that have important things to say about cities although they might be dismissed too easily as reactionary, ideological, or simply not relevant to urban planning.

After revisiting Moses, New York turns again to Jane Jacobs

Sat, 09/22/2007 - 18:30

   Now it’s Jane’s turn.

A Tale of Two Public Processes

Mon, 06/25/2007 - 08:23

Over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to attend public meetings in Europe and the American South. I find public meetings to be an entertaining challenge. Let’s face it, a public meeting is always a gamble. You’re at the mercy of whoever shows up and whatever they perceive about the project. You have to think on your feet and make quick decisions to guide the process, without looking like I’m-in-control-here-Alexander-Haig. 

Is Detroit Half-Empty, Or Half-Full?

Sun, 06/03/2007 - 18:18

Two years ago I saw John Norquist, former Mayor of Milwaukee and current President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, give a presentation on the state of America’s cities. During the slide show, Norquist used two sets of images to effectively convey a point about urban disinvestment in America. The first set of images was of Berlin and Detroit circa 1945. Unsurprisingly, the Berlin image displayed a war-torn and rubble-strewn city, while the Detroit image revealed why it was once called the Paris of the Midwest -- it was simply elegant.  However, the second set of images displayed the same two cities 60 years later. It was as if Detroit had been through an epic war and not Berlin.

The End of Planning (as we know it)

Sat, 03/03/2007 - 14:59

For as often as the Gulf Coast and 9/11 debacles and their aftermaths have been analyzed, one discussion has been conspicuously missing: how starkly those events, natural and man-made, revealed the inability of planning today--however professionally designed, organized and regulated—to contend with the vagaries of circumstances and conditions out of its control.

Syndicate content