New York

Goodbye Broad Ways, Hello Streetscaping

New York City has released a new manual for street designs, representing over two years of work from the Department of Transportation.

May 20, 2009 - The New York Times

Single Operator Suggested for Coney Island, But Character Loss is Feared

Theme park experts suggest contracting a single operator to manage Coney Island, but there's some push back from city officials who fear a loss of diversity and character.

May 19, 2009 - Brooklyn Paper

Fewer Airports Could Mean Less Air Congestion

Freakonomics argues that eliminating one New York airport would allow the others to operate more effectively.

May 17, 2009 - Freakonomics - NY Times Blog

The Perils of Gentrification

In Bedford-Stuyvesant, the changes that gentrification have brought to the neighborhood are fundamental, not just cosmetic. One planner talks about how neighborhood character could be retained.

May 17, 2009 - The Brooklyn Rail (via Feministing)

Cities Focus on Existing Buildings To Save Energy

Old buildings could be to blame for much of a city's energy waste. That's the case in New York, where officials are putting together a plan to retrofit older buildings to be less wasteful.

May 14, 2009 - Grist

Working Families Charged Rent to Live in New York Shelters

Families who have income will now be charged a small rent to stay in public housing shelters in New York City, part of a 1997 state law that had up until now gone unenforced.

May 12, 2009 - The New York Times

Ground Zero Plans Taking Shape, But Still Troubled

The long-delayed and troubled design for Manhattan's Ground Zero site has undergone some improvements and been revealed in a new model. But as New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Oroussoff notes, the design is still lacking.

May 12, 2009 - The New York Times

The Emptiest Neighborhoods in America

A neighborhood in Buffalo, N.Y. is one of the emptiest in the U.S., according to a new analysis of the census from the Associated Press. About 1 out of every 3 homes is vacant.

May 6, 2009 - Newsday

New Plaza Conversion Projects Chosen For New York City

Nine new sites have been selected by New York City's Department of Transportation for conversion into public plazas.

May 4, 2009 - Streetsblog

Stay Off Subways And Planes, Says Biden

VP Biden, on NBC's 'Today Show' April 30, told viewers he would tell his family to stay off planes and subways because of fear of infection by swine flu virus. Medical experts were quick to disagree, and his office had to issue a retraction.

May 2, 2009 - The New York Times - Politics Blog

Standing Up for the Brooklyn Bridge

David McCullough's Newsweek essay ponders the negative effects of a proposed development on the majestic Brooklyn Bridge's image.

April 30, 2009 - Newsweek

The Contested Future of Coney Island

Redeveloping Coney Island could be the biggest rezoning effort in New York City history. The controversial plan has many in the city up in arms.

April 27, 2009 - New York Daily News

Plans for Retrofitting, Audits Announced for NYC

In a step toward accomplishing PlaNYC's goal of reducing the city's carbon emissions by 30% in the next twenty years, Mayor Bloomberg has announced that larger buildings will be retrofitted to be more energy efficient.

April 24, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

Opening the 'Superfund' Can of Worms

The EPA's proposal to list the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site is getting mixed reactions from nearby residents and officials: some see the designation as a development-halting stigma, others as quite the opposite.

April 24, 2009 - The New York Times

The Best Laid Plans of New York City's Building Boom

This slideshow from New York looks at a handful of residential and office buildings in New York City that have either stalled or completely halted development.

April 22, 2009 - New York

New York's Unprecedented Park

Preconceptions and lofty goals surround New York's soon-to-open High Line park. But the unprecedented inner city rail line conversion leaves much up in the air, according to this piece from The Architect's Newspaper.

April 20, 2009 - The Architect's Newspaper

From Condo to Affordable Housing

Officials in New York are pushing a plan to reuse foreclosed or abandoned condo projects as affordable housing.

April 20, 2009 - City Hall News

Turning Luxury Condos Into Affordable Housing

Housing advocates and policymakers in Brooklyn are working with developers to take half-finished luxury condos (stalled out by the economic crisis) and transform them into affordable housing.

April 19, 2009 - City Hall

Will it Take Until 2030 to Rebuild the World Trade Center?

The downturn in the economy has led the owners of the Ground Zero site to put off for decades construction of two of the three planned towers.

April 18, 2009 - Huffington Post

Housing Slump Hits Manhattan

Though typically a strong and steady market, falling condo sales indicate that the housing slump has moved into Manhattan.

April 12, 2009 - The New York Times

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.