Urbanism

Employing material gathered for his forthcoming book, Chuck Wolfe argues for layered, historical illustrations of how people relate to built and sociocultural communities around them, and offers 5 principles and companion lessons for placemaking.

January 16, 2013 - myurbanist

With tongue firmly in cheek, Scott Doyon asks urban dwellers, "Are your enviable surroundings crippling the children?"

December 9, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Landscape Architecture is a field in the ascendency, writes Alan G. Brake. Its rise can be traced to the inability of Architects and Planners to engage with some of the most important challenges of our time.

December 5, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Howard Blackson walks through the planning layers of San Diego for a history lesson as well as a look to the Next Urbanism.

November 11, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Planner and urbanist Brent Toderian explains why Halloween is his favorite holiday.

October 28, 2012 - Huffington Post British Columbia

In a provocative essay, Mitchell Sutika Sipus examines the dangers of subscribing to conventions such as style or planning trends, and argues why planners must forgo ideologies to create better solutions for community problems.

October 20, 2012 - Humanitarian Space

Kaid Benfield returns to his popular blog at the NRDC's Switchboard site after a three-week hiatus, with thoughts on the purpose of his writings and how "overly familiar vocabulary can lead to overly familiar thinking."

September 5, 2012 - Switchboard

Former Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff pens a profile of the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, whose "most provocative—and in many ways least understood—contribution to the cultural landscape is as an urban thinker."

August 24, 2012 - Smithsonian

A tongue-in-cheek, and somewhat convoluted, infographic produced in association with NPR's "Cities Project" aims to help participants deduce whether or not they live in a city.

July 13, 2012 - Fast Company Co:Design

Although Seattle's downtown redevelopment may be receiving plaudits, Chuck Wolfe describes efforts underway to rethink land use regulations on a broader level in the city, with jobs in mind.

March 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Is it mid-March already? I’m far overdue for announcing my departure from Planetizen, which happened at the tail end of 2011. It was a wonderful 3 ½ years at the helm, and I thank Chris Steins and Abhijeet Chavan for giving me the opportunity back in 2008 to steer this incomparable resource.

March 14, 2012 - Tim Halbur

Matt Chaban explores the divided opinions on the work of the fairly new architecture critic for The New York Times, Michael Kimmelman, who some complain isn't writing enough about Architecture.

March 10, 2012 - The New York Observer

Writer Tara Sturm explores the merits of incremental urbanism on revitalization efforts with the help of L.A. architect Alan Pullman, highlighting grassroots, community-driven economic development.

February 3, 2012 - Buildipedia.com

Chuck Wolfe analyzes his 2011 articles which appeared on Planetizen and in other sources, and derives his urbanist trends to watch for in 2012.

December 31, 2011 - myurbanist

Hazel Borys discusses how several key form-based guidelines for retail can encourage success in the most risky of all development types.

December 24, 2011 - PlaceShakers

Last summer, most of the nation was justifiably outraged when Raquel Nelson was convicted of vehicular homicide because her four-year old son stepped off a median into oncoming traffic and was killed. Common sense alone should have kept this case from going to trial, but I believe this case should have raised a bigger and more encompassing issue for planners and a question of social ethics: What is the responsibility we take as individuals for the choices we make living in an urban environment?

November 16, 2011 - Samuel Staley

The megaretailer is part of a trend to rethink and shrink stores, as big boxes around the country have seen their sales plummet.

September 15, 2011 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Recent protests throughout Spain and Europe over unemployment and governmental representation offer a unique look at how protests use and create public space and urbanity.

July 28, 2011 - domus

Amid the dissolution of Borders bookstores in urban centers, Chuck Wolfe urges policymakers and the private market to assure "no let loss" in the spirit of natural resource protection to assure third places remain available in American cities.

July 25, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

It's the opposite of conventional transportation policy in American cities that places motorist convenience in high priority (think 'level of service'). This story shows what European cities are doing to get motorists out of cars.

June 27, 2011 - The New York Times - Environment