Florida
Miami Suburb Looking To Densify
Through the creation of 5 new mixed-use business districts, the low density and auto-oriented Miami suburb of Hialeah is looking to create new growth and economic vibrancy.
University Improvement Benefits Expand To Entire Region
After 15 years, a university president's ambitious plans to improve his school have made an equal -- if not bigger -- impact on the surrounding region.
Central Florida Asked To Vote On Growth Vision
A unique regional organization is inviting thousands of today's Central Floridians to determine the future living pattern of 3.5 million new residents projected for the area by 2050.
Changing Laws To Help Orlando's Homeless
A city ordinance in Orlando, Florida, does not allow social service groups that help the city's homeless population to expand or renovate their facilities, out of fear that development will be hindered. Many groups are looking to change this law.
Super Bowl's Economic Impact Questioned
Economic development experts debate whether the event's host city will walk away a winner.
Proposed Florida Panhandle Airport Causing Controversy
Supporters of the proposed $300 million Panama City-Bay County International Airport -- including the well-heeled St. Joe company -- talk of economic development. Opponents call the facility the "Airport to Nowhere."
Miami's Housing Crisis Spawns Shantytown
A shantytown set up to protest Miami's housing crisis is winning over neighbors and has become a "warm community."
Historic Streetcars : Urban Investment And A Smart Transit Choice
Historic streetcars are on a comeback in the USA. Cheaper than light rail, they also are an asset in encouraging reinvestment in older parts of downtowns as illustrated by Tampa's 2.5 mile line that connects neighborhoods.
Will Sarasota Pass The Duany Test?
Six years ago Andres Duany helped craft a new 20 year masterplan for the City of Sarasota, Florida, which prides itself on being a city with a small town feel. This week he returns to gauge the city's progress.
Are Speculative Home Buyers To Blame For Housing Market Rollercoaster?
Naples, Florida is a "poster child" for the speculative frenzy that helped drive up housing costs in the Sunshine State and elsewhere. New research indicates a higher level of speculative buying in the U.S. than previously thought.
Friday Funny: Celebrity-Inspired Subdivisions Debut
The domestic diva Martha Stewart is putting her stamp on a New Urbanist style community in Central Florida.
Half A Billion Dollars For A Trailer Park
Residents of Briny Breeze, a 43-acre incorporated town of trailer homes the hugs the Atlantic Ocean between Miami and Palm Beach, are considering accepting an offer of $510 million from a developer.
Florida Watershed Plan Steadies Growth Boundary
A broad and controversial watershed protection plan for Florida's Miami-Dade County was released recently. It calls for a time extension on the county's urban development boundary to 2025 to help protect the area's water quality.
Politics Allows Sensitive Lands To Receive Federal Flood Insurance
A Reagan-era "free market approach to conservation" that would deny federal flood insurance to sensitive lands is being undermined through the political process. Congress has granted two exceptions to the law for coastal areas in Georgia and Florida.
A Density Too High
A traditional neighborhood development planned near St. Petersburg, Florida, is having trouble getting approved because its proposed density is twice as high as the city wants to allow.
Protests Over Preservation Plan In Miami
Marjory Stoneman Douglas saved Florida's Everglades, but was impoverished, blind and deaf in old age. Friends seeking to help persuaded the state to buy her property for a museum, letting her stay till she died; now the state wants to sell the land.
Gehry's See-Through Symphony
Architect Frank Gehry's design for a new concert hall in Miami Beach blends openness with the next-generation Internet.
The Demise Of Miami's Public Housing Czar
Rene Rodriguez, the once highly lauded director of the Miami-Dade Housing Agency, stands accused of taking from the poor to serve developer interests, as well as his own.
Miami May Ease Downtown Affordable Housing Requirements
Struggling to meet its mandate that requires 15 percent of new units downtown to be affordable, the Miami Downtown Development Authority is asking officials to change the rules.
Orlampa: The Merging Of Two Cities
A new world is emerging midway between Orlando and Tampa along Interstate 4. Some say as soon as 10 years, others, in 20 years, strawberry fields and pastures will be paved over and Tampa to Orlando will be one big metropolitan area.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
