Urban vs. Suburban

Exurbs Black and White

More Common Ground Sought for the 'Future of Suburbia'

A review of the recent "Future of Suburbia" event held at the Center for Advanced Urbanism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

June 15, 2016 - Architect

Not in my back yard

What Millennials Want, and Why it Doesn't Matter

The debate about whether Millennials prefer urban or suburban misses a big, important point: what Millennials really prefer is possible in either setting.

June 8, 2016 - Ben Cummins

Freeway Construction

Stop Saying 50 Percent of Humans Live in Cities

The idea that half the world's population has moved to cities, with more coming soon, misses a fundamental fact about cities: many of them are actually suburbs.

June 8, 2016 - Undark

Hybrid Bus

Gold Line Busway Planning Moves Forward in Suburban Minnesota

The cities of Oakdale and Lake Elmo made their opposition to a proposed busway connecting to St. Paul known by withdrawing their support for the project. Now Gold Line transit planners are refocusing their efforts on station location decisions.

May 18, 2016 - Star Tribune

Suburban Rowhouses

The Suburban Future

It's not a popular viewpoint, but what if suburbs end up being more critical to a sustainable and efficient future than dense urban areas?

May 17, 2016 - Smithsonian Magazine

Pennsylvania State Capitol

Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf Expresses Solidarity for Cities

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf grew up in a small town, but he has since adopted cities among his political causes. In recent remarks, he detailed his opinions about how public policy shortchanges cities—in Pennsylvania and the country.

May 13, 2016 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

A bride and groom riding on citi bikes in New York

The Media Attacks Urbanism

A recent Newsweek article on urbanism is chock-full of nonsense.

May 4, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

golf course homes

The Resource Cost of Where We Live

Environmental impact isn't just a measure of what people buy, where we live affects the environment more than what we own or choose to drive.

April 18, 2016 - Casey Brazeal

Calatrava Bridge, Dallas

City vs. Suburb Battle Reignites

There's a new volley in the long-running battle between cities and suburbs. In his new book "The Human City," urban scholar Joel Kotkin contends that cities and their planners have lost sight of the residents who matter most: families.

April 12, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

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

Hybrid Bus

Twin Cities Suburbs on an Anti-Bus Crusade

Residents of suburbs located east of St. Paul in Minnesota have coalesced to oppose the Gateway Corridor Gold Line project, which would connect 12 stops along a bus rapid transit line.

March 29, 2016 - Pioneer Press

Population Growth Trends Return to Pre-Recession Norms

It's almost like the Great Recession and the Great Urban Renaissance never happened, as Americans are moving to the suburbs and the Sunbelt than to the nation's urban areas.

March 25, 2016 - Jed Kolko

Arlington Virginia

Population Growth Shifts to Urban Virginia

Newly released data from the Weldon Cooper Center's Demographics Research Group shows a state shifting in population growth northward—toward Washington D.C. and inner ring suburbs.

January 30, 2016 - StatChat

An Appreciation of the 'Edgy Outskirts'

Long abused by those who favor more urban settings, the suburbs of major metropolitan areas should receive more credit for their cultural capital, according to this article written for Zócalo Public Square.

January 26, 2016 - Zocalo Public Square

The Big Debate: How Urban Is Job Growth?

Jed Kolko, former Chief Economist and VP of Analytics at Trulia, and Joe Cortright of City Observatory dug deep into a debate that gets at the heart of recent trends in how and where the United States works.

January 25, 2016 - Jed Kolko

night time image of active downtown pasadena

What's So Urban About the Suburbs?

A new book makes the case for suburban urbanity.

January 12, 2016 - CityLab

Glenn Beck

The Ideological War Against Urban Planning

The anti-planning debate may have quieted down, but it hasn't disappeared. Anti-Agenda 21 activists have merely spread out, into the politics of cities and counties planning for the future.

January 5, 2016 - Governing

Sprawl

How to Teach About Sprawl (and Law)

Describing a seminar on "Sprawl and the Law" at the University of Pittsburgh.

December 10, 2015 - Michael Lewyn

Not in my back yard

Will Millennials Remake Suburbs in Their Image?

The "hipsterification" of cities is a well-known phenomenon. But as the millennial generation ages and settles down, will they import that same cultural ethos to locations more suburban?

December 2, 2015 - The Washington Post

Putting the Comprehensive Plan in Plano, Texas

The suburban city of Plano, Texas, located outside of Dallas, approved this week a comprehensive plan that overcame vocal opposition to the idea of mixed-use, urban developments.

October 14, 2015 - D Magazine

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.