Chicago

Gensler Spire Concept

A 2,000-Foot Skyscraper Imagined for the Site of Chicago's Infamous Spire

Global architecture firm Gensler is doing its job to get the ball rolling on the dormant former site of the Spire project designed by Santiago Calatrava.

June 9, 2016 - Curbed Chicago

Demolition

Tear It Down and They Will Come?

There's a rationale for the demolition of vacant properties in cities like Chicago, but does that mean the city should be celebrating these programs? The planning of shrinking cities, it turns out, is still very much a work in progress.

June 2, 2016 - WBEZ

Uhaul Trucks

Op-Ed: More Domestic Migration Needed in the United States

An op-ed in the New York Times makes a cogent case for increasing movement between states for self-betterment, specifically from high unemployment states to states like New Hampshire and North Dakota, and what policy changes would encourage it.

June 1, 2016 - The New York Times

Bike Path

A Chicago Bike Path Goes Underused

While a federally-funded network of bike paths is in the works elsewhere in the city, the Major Taylor Trail gets little use from Chicago residents. The main problems are a lack of awareness and the South Side's fearsome reputation.

May 31, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Uber Protest

Uber and Lyft Could Be Ready to Exit Chicago, Too

After leaving Austin on the losing side of a regulatory battle, a licensing ordinance might push Uber and Lyft to end operations in Chicago.

May 27, 2016 - Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Blight

Black Flight From Gun Violence: Chicago's Loss Is Suburbia's Gain

Middle class African-Americans are fleeing Chicago due to crime, not due to being priced out, as is common elsewhere. "On average more than 10,000 African-Americans leave the city every," reports Brandis Friedman of WTTW for the PBS NewsHour.

May 23, 2016 - PBS NewsHour

Why Chicago Park Advocates Want to Preserve a Parking Lot

A Chicago nonprofit drew criticism for opposing the planned Lucas Museum in favor of a large parking lot. But the organization says it fits into their mission of promoting open space.

May 23, 2016 - Chi.Streetsblog

CTA Buses

A Long-Awaited Bus Line Falls Short of Expectations in Chicago

The Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport provides a case study of the collision between neighborhood advocacy, politics, and transit planning.

May 18, 2016 - DNAinfo Chicago

Millennium Park Chicago

Will Chicago Be the Next to Jump on the Sky Gondola?

Chicago's looking for a new tourist attraction, and the sky gondola has made the short list. Private investors have proposed to construct a sky gondola as a tourist attraction crossing over the Chicago River, but will the plan fly?

May 16, 2016 - CityLab

Chicago Chinatown

Chicago Chinatown's an Outlier of Success

While the cultural authenticity and geographic footprint of Chinatowns around the United States shrink, Chicago's is growing. What can other cities learn from Chicago's model?

May 15, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bikers

Get Around Chicago Like an Insider with 20 Apps

These 20 apps and services will help you engage with everything Chicago has to offer in a whole new way.

May 10, 2016 - Netted

Chicago, IL

Leaving Chicago

Why are folks fleeing from the city and the state in record numbers? Is domestic migration to blame for the Chicago region's population loss last year of over 6,000 and the state's loss of over 22,000 people?

May 5, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Transit

Chicago's Transit Oriented Developments Becoming More Affluent

The city of Chicago is focusing its development incentives around transit stations, but the people moving into those neighborhoods tend to be wealthier than previous residents.

May 2, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Traffic

Why Do People Drive When They Don't Want To?

City Observatory digs into the history of a Chicago suburb to answer the question: "Why don't people who say they'd like to take transit actually do it?"

April 30, 2016 - City Observatory

Chicago Lake Michigan Trees

After the Scourge: Regions Struggle to Sustain Plantlife

The Chicago Region Trees Initiative provides a regional model for planting and protecting a sustainable natural environment in and around cities and communities.

April 29, 2016 - Chicago Tribune

Intersection

Bruce Rauner's Highway to a Shrinking Chicago

How a proposed expansion of Chicago's I-55 could further disperse Chicago's population.

April 13, 2016 - Casey Brazeal

$8 Billion 'Chicago Bypass' Freight Line Proposed

A private developer is pursuing a proposal that would invest $8 billion in a freight line in the Midwest.

April 11, 2016 - Associated Press

Welcome to Brooklyn

Urban Demographics: The New Elite

Economist Jed Kolko's recent study on how the lack in affordability of cities determines who's moving there, whose moving out, and how these changes are shaping cities and suburbs. His paper is the basis for several articles by leading urban writers.

April 6, 2016 - The Atlantic

How High is Too High for Transportation Sales Taxes?

Sales taxes are regressive, but unlike the gas tax, they bear no relationship to transportation. Should a November transportation ballot measure pass, sales taxes in three cities in the county of Los Angeles would exceed 10 percent.

April 4, 2016 - KPCC

Chicago's 'Current' Initiative: A Public-Private Partnership to Solve Water Challenges

Chicago has set lofty goals to become a leader in the next-generation technology and infrastructure of the global future.

March 31, 2016 - World Business Chicago

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.