Smart Growth

Lassoing a Plan for El Paso

Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX will be getting 30,000 more troops under the Base Realignment and Closure program, which means a major effort to plan for the added people.

November 9, 2010 - New Urban Network

Dissecting Wendell Cox

Bill Fulton looks at Wendell Cox's new study linking regulation to high home prices and concludes that it is based on self-fulfilling assumptions.

November 7, 2010 - California Planning & Development Report

Does Smart Growth Lead to More Expensive Housing?

Wendell Cox believes so. In this article, he quantifies the effect of land use regulation on the cost of new home construction, which he says leads to

November 5, 2010 - New Geography

Does Portland's Innovative Planning Hinder its Competitiveness?

Wendell Cox questions the economic impact of the city's much-celebrated land use and transportation policies, which are intended to strengthen the urban core and discourage sprawl.

October 6, 2010 - New Geography

Smart Growth Brain Trust

A new law in New York State requires state agencies to form smart growth advisory panels to determine whether proposed infrastructure projects meet smart-growth principles.

October 4, 2010 - City Newspaper

Transportation Research Helped Create Sprawl, New Report Says

We've been measuring traffic congestion all wrong, a new report shows, and that's been making more highways look like the solution to long commutes. They're not.

October 3, 2010 - Streetsblog

New Study Reexamines Causes and Costs of Congestion

Analysis indicates that compact development reduces the time urban residents spent in traffic and requires less spending on highways.

September 30, 2010 - Driven Apart: How Sprawl Is Lengthening Our Commutes and Why Misleading Mobility Measures Are Making Things Worse

How could Ventura transform?

A short documentary exploring the development challenges that the City of Ventura faces.

September 20, 2010 - The OpenSpace: News For Central Coast Planners

Smart Growth = Clean Air

Kaid Benfield presents the evidence that compact development can bring about a decrease in noxious emissions.

September 16, 2010 - NRDC Blog

West Baltimore's 'Highway to Nowhere' Coming Down

This past Friday, demolition began on a segment of Baltimore's infamous "Highway to Nowhere" to expand parking for the local commuter rail service (MARC). A side benefit: reuniting communities separated since the 1970s.

September 13, 2010 - Office of Govenor Martin O'Malley Press Release

New York Passes Smart Growth Bill

Governor David Paterson signed The Smart Growth Public Policy Infrastructure Policy Act on Monday, which directs the state to invest in infrastructure in dense communities rather than sprawling ones.

September 1, 2010 - New Urban Network

Do You Have Innovative Smart Growth Projects That Need Funding?

As the post-recession economy continues to plod along, those in the non-profit sector continue to face stiff funding competition. Organizations furthering the smart growth/new urbanism cause may find this to be particularly frustrating, as re-working how and where America builds has never been so important.  

August 22, 2010 - Mike Lydon

Urban Lifestyle Preference On The Rise

Using the 15-year-old transformation of Rockville, MD's mall-centered downtown to a mixed-use town square as an example, the real estate industry sees the suburban-to-urban lifestyle change spreading across much of the country.

August 4, 2010 - Reuters via ABC News/Money

Green Urbanism's Affordability Problem

Nature writer David Oates embeds himself in green, urban Portland and finds much to like about the green city movement but also much room for improvement.

June 5, 2010 - Orion

Remaking Southern California Cities

A video created for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) presents a serious look at what infill development would look like in Ventura and Fullerton.

May 24, 2010 - The Source: Transportation News and Views

GreenTRIP Sustainable Transport Building Certification Program

There are various ways to define building sustainability. A narrow perspective assumes that sustainable development simply means that buildings minimize energy consumption and climate change emissions, but a broader perspective recognizes that sustainability requires consideration of additional economic, social and other environmental impacts, such as lifecycle affordability, social equity, community integration, public health and safety, and land use impacts.

May 20, 2010 - Todd Litman

Complete Streets Bill Heats Up

In Albany, NY, a "complete streets" bill that would dictate that all new roads follow guidelines for bike and ped accessibility is gaining ground as it passes through the state Congress.

May 13, 2010 - Streetsblog

Smart Growth, 10 Years Later

Wisconsin looks back at tens years with a smart growth law in effect, with most critics calling it a success with some room for improvement.

May 10, 2010 - Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel

Developers Spearhead Smart Growth Makeover

Rockville Pike, Maryland has grown haphazardly and auto-centrically for the past few decades. A group of developers has brought planners and politicians together to makeover the town with smart growth principles.

April 28, 2010 - The New York Times

Relax, Smart Growth is Your Friend

Roger K. Lewis of The Washington Post paints a reassuring picture for suburban homeowners frightened of smart growth. Home values will go up, and you'll be able to walk to get a cup of coffee, says Lewis.

April 25, 2010 - The Washington Post

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.