Downtowns
Minneapolis Grapples with Food Truck Regulations
Downtown property owners are clashing with food truck operators over where the latter should park their businesses.
New Data on the Shift to Cities
It's no secret that urban centers are doing better today than they were 30 years ago. New FHFA data on housing prices confirms the trend and suggests that a changing environment (as opposed to changing preferences) account for it.
Riding the Bus in Portland: An Essay
Blogger and transit consultant Jarrett Walker paints a picture of Portland's Line 75, a workaday bus serving urban neighborhoods outside downtown. His reflections on radial and orbital journeys are worth a read.
Reinventing Des Moines
Fairly or unfairly, Des Moines has a solid reputation as one of the nation's least interesting cities. But unbeknownst to the rest of us, this quiet working town might become the Midwest's answer to Austin, Texas.
Preserving Main Street in Large Developments
The Terraces, a mixed-use project in Charlottesville, Virginia, adopts a design that reflects its historic downtown surroundings. Oliver Kuttner, the developer, says that "breaking up" large buildings can make them more palatable on street level.
A Parking Kerfuffle in Downtown Dallas
The big, contentious question of contemporary downtowns is under consideration in Dallas: Is there too much parking or not enough parking?
Vancouver Votes to Remove Downtown Viaducts; Obstacles Remain
The Vancouver City Council took a major step forward this week with an idea that it's been mulling for years: to tear down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts located in the city's downtown.
Transit Use Thrives on Destination Density
If jobs, services, and other urban amenities are concentrated downtown, suburbanites can use transit to get there quickly without a car. Job sprawl makes transit useless outside central districts.
Dallas' CityMAP Project Looks to Reimagine Downtown Connectivity
Local officials, planners, and other civic leaders have joined together to look at how the city can bring neighborhoods split by freeways back together again.
Dan Gilbert's Detroit Buying Spree Continues
The Quicken Loans founder and real estate mogul now controls 78 downtown properties. His investment choices can set the tone for life in what used to be an abandoned city center.
Most Downtowns Still Lagging Behind
Central districts have been surging back since the 1980s. But in most cities, the upper third of earners still favor outlying areas and are underrepresented closer to downtown.
Op-Ed: Streetcars Should Actually Serve Locals
While they're currently in vogue, streetcars are only worthwhile if they can be a viable option for local residents. Unfortunately, this is rarely how the systems are designed.
What Cities Can Learn From Companies Migrating to Downtown
The Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown report, released on June 18, 2015, provides in-depth analysis of a powerful trend of companies investing in urban downtowns.
Nashville Metro Council Rejects $100 Million Downtown Flood Control Project
Opponents of the capital investment plan rejected the plan on the basis that it focused too much on the downtown area.
Cycletracks and Other Improvements Coming Soon to Downtown Los Angeles
Improvements funded by the developer of the 73-story Wilshire Grand project will make Downtown Los Angeles' main thoroughfare a better place to walk, bike, and use public transit.
Family-Friendly Downtown Living
What helps make a downtown family friendly? Safe places to play, safe streets, good schools and attainable housing, writes Jennifer Hill.
Small Cities Booming Near Washington D.C.
"Mini D.C.s" provide the successful examples of revitalized, walkable urban places, according to a recent trend piece in the Washington Post.
The Downtown Dystopia and the 'Continued March of Sameness'
Architecture critic Aaron Betsky provides a new take urban dystopia: bland and homogenous. The antidote, he argues, can be found on the edges.
Should Clearwater, Florida Give Up its Downtown?
The city of Clearwater in Tampa Bay has a "sleepy" downtown, much of which is owned by the Church of Scientology. Can investments by the city revive its downtown, as it did with $30 million worth of investments in Clearwater Beach?
Twin Developments to Revitalize Downtown Minneapolis
With a $1 billion NFL stadium on the way, and a $400 million mixed-use development that recently broke ground next door to the new home of the Vikings, stakeholders have high hopes for Minneapolis' downtown.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
