Adaptive Reuse

No Community Pool? Go Dumpster Diving!

Artists in Brooklyn are filling a void by converting construction dumpsters into swimming pools.

July 10, 2009 - Ready Made

Next Steps for Shrinking Cities: Results of the Planetizen Brainstorm

Bulldoze? Densify? Walk away? There are many ways cities can react to shrinking populations and abandoned neighborhoods. Planetizen readers decide which ways are the best.

July 9, 2009 - Nate Berg

The Challenge of Adaptive Reuse

City manager of Phoenix Frank Fairbanks talks about how the city created a program to advise residents on how to effectively and creatively reuse old buildings.

June 24, 2009 - Governing Magazine

The Future of Empty Car Dealerships: Results of the Planetizen Brainstorm

The results are in! We asked for you ideas for reusing the empty car dealerships cropping up around the country. Urban gardens? Flying car launch pads? These ideas may seem far out, but the number one answer may surprise you.

May 21, 2009 - Nate Berg

Brainstorm: What Should Cities Do With Their Newly Empty Car Lots?

With the auto industry struggling and car dealerships closing shop, what future do you see for empty car lots? Vote on ideas submitted by the Planetizen community, or suggest your own.

May 15, 2009 - Planetizen

Vancouver's Sustainable Olympic Village

With goals of LEED-certification and plans for reuse after the games, Vancouver's Olympic Village is being called a model for event-based sustainability.

May 8, 2009 - Architectural Record

America's Most Endangered Historical Sites

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced its list of America's most endangered places.

May 3, 2009 - The New York Times

New York's Unprecedented Park

Preconceptions and lofty goals surround New York's soon-to-open High Line park. But the unprecedented inner city rail line conversion leaves much up in the air, according to this piece from The Architect's Newspaper.

April 20, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

From Condo to Affordable Housing

Officials in New York are pushing a plan to reuse foreclosed or abandoned condo projects as affordable housing.

April 20, 2009 - City Hall News

Prescribing New Life for Dying Malls

A panel of experts weighs in on what cities should do with their dying shopping malls.

April 7, 2009 - The New York Times

Creative Ideas Stream In for Berlin Airport Reuse

A massive WWII-era airfield in Berlin has been closed down, but city officials are looking for ways to take advantage of the large space. New ideas abound -- from a proposal for a "red light" district to plans for an artificial mountain.

January 23, 2009 - Der Spiegel

A Look At Big Box Reuse

This slideshow from Slate looks at how to reuse abandoned big boxes.

November 22, 2008 - Slate

Preserving and Reusing Boston's Architectural Infrastructure

This article looks at some adaptive reuse projects that successfully preserve the beauty of Boston's late-nineteenth century infrastructure.

November 21, 2008 - The Boston Globe

Cold War Adaptive Reuse

The underground missile silos of the Cold War-era are still around, but they're not being used. Some people have moved in to reuse one in Kansas as a home.

November 16, 2008 - Studio 360

Redressing Strip Malls

Strip malls could be the next frontier for urban redevelopment, according to Chris Nelson.

November 15, 2008 - The Oregonian

Adaptively Reusing Brooklyn's Industrial Spaces

Preservationists say that there are better ways to use buildings along Brooklyn's industrial waterfront than to demolish them.

October 30, 2008 - The New York Times

Reusing Empty Big Boxes

Sometimes big box retailers get too big for the boxes they're in. So they move. What's left behind are huge empty buildings -- and opportunities for re-use.

October 24, 2008 - NPR

Something New Inside Failed Big Boxes

When big boxes go under, they leave big holes. Communities across America are coming up with some creative ways to reuse the huge spaces left behind when big box retailers move out.

August 27, 2008 - USA Today

The Death and Life of American Malls

This piece from WorldChanging looks at the trend of dying indoor malls, and some creative ideas for reviving or reusing them.

August 8, 2008 - WorldChanging

Plans for High Line 'Banal', Says NY Times

Plans were recently revealed for the much-ballyhooed High Line Park in New York, converting an abandoned elevated railway into a recreation area. But the NY Times says, 'I’d been hoping for a utopia. Instead, I got sumac.'

July 11, 2008 - The New York Times

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.