Urban Planning
Pasadena Urged to Purge Poison Pills from ADU Reform Ordinance
Pasadena is adopting accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reform in response to state legislation designed to spur affordable housing options by easing restrictions on ADUs. But is it really entrenchment dressed as reform?
Pasadena's Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Called Out as a 'Poison Pill'
Pasadena's accessory dwelling unit is designed more to prevent than accommodate accessory dwelling units. Planner and Pasadena resident Jonathan P. Bell implores the city's Planning Commission to reform it.
How Far Can You Take Complete Streets?
8th Avenue was one of New York’s first "complete streets." Coined in 2003, the term refers to including cars, pedestrians, bikers, and public transit into city thoroughfares instead of prioritizing cars. Today, the trend is growing to other cities.
How 9/11 Inspired Public Service as an Urban Planner
The account of how the terror and tragedy of 9/11 led an urban planner from working for a private consulting firm to working in the public sector.
Urban Sanity: Understanding Urban Mental Health Impacts and How to Create Saner, Happier Cities
Some experts claim that city living causes mental illness and unhappiness, but a new study indicates that urban environments provide many mental health benefits. Better planning can help make sane and happy cities.
Developing Countries Require More Urban Planning Capacity to Meet Growing Needs
How can the Global South implement the New Urban Agenda with colonial-era curricula and little investment in training? Zambia offers a new model.
New Report Highlights the Many Benefits of Urban Walkability
"Cities Alive," an attractive new report by Arup, one of the world's largest engineering firm, highlights the significant social, economic, environmental and political benefits of walking.
Become an Urban Planner Now
Do you remember exactly when you wanted to become an urban planner? Neither do I.
Bringing By-Right Affordable Housing to California
Reviewing Governor Jerry Brown's recent proposed legislation to permit projects that provide affordable housing to be approved as-of-right.
World Cities Report 2016 Released by UN-Habitat
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has published a flagship report intended to inform preparation of the New Urban Agenda at the Habitat III meetings in Quito in October.
Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Infrastructure
As more and more people live on this planet, the pressure to build smart cities that feature environmentally sustainable infrastructure will become immense. Planners will be challenged to do more with less. Here's a discussion of this complex issue.
DIY Urbanism and Top-Down Planning
Though projects tend to be hyper-local and temporary, Do It Yourself, Tactical, or Guerrilla Urbanism is an endorsement of the top-down planning model, rather than a repudiation.
Planning History: The Roman Empire and Public Health
Although the cities of the Roman Empire are typically regarded for their focus on health and hygiene, they may have struggled to manage many poor sanitation parasites.
A First Look at the Opera About Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs
The creators of A Marvelous Order—an opera based on the lives of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs—have released a video providing a first peek at the songs and ideas behind the opera.
Impacts of Self-Driving Cars on Bicycle Planning
This article considers the impacts of driverless cars, or autonomous vehicles, on bicycle planning and what a 'low stress' bicycle route may look like in the future.
Reviewing the Year in New York City Urban Planning
The Curbed New York team takes a tour of "the good, the bad, and the ugly" in urban planning from 2015.
Urban Planning's Broadway Moment
Elizabeth Vaughan, the lead character in the Broadway musical 'If/Then' may be the most famous urban planner in the United States, thanks to the star power of Idina Menzel and a surprisingly accurate portrayal of the planning field.
5 Social Equity Problems Planners Should Help Solve
Urban planners should take a leadership role in placing social equity at the top of planning goals, argues planner, teacher, and affordable housing developer Murtaza Baxamusa. He looks at five socio-economic problems planners should strive to solve.
The Hazards of Predicting the Future of Cities
City planners should be wary of any predictions that downplay the unknowability of the future by projecting present conditions onto it.
The 27 Typical Patterns of Urban and Suburban Development
Most cities around the world can be broken down into 27 typical patterns of development, according to the work of a researcher at UC Davis.
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
