In Praise of Urban Density
10.27.2025
A large population is a quality-of-life benefit, not a dystopian threat.
A large population is a quality-of-life benefit, not a dystopian threat.
urban design
Letter From Malibu: Chaos, Civic Dysfunction, and Looming Corruption
10.15.2025
City Hall controversies expose municipal rot, even as residents grow weary waiting to rebuild after the fire.
City Hall controversies expose municipal rot, even as residents grow weary waiting to rebuild after the fire.
Our Housing Crisis Is a Monumental Failure of Design
10.14.2025
Here’s a comprehensive blueprint for creating a new path forward.
Here’s a comprehensive blueprint for creating a new path forward.
Decades-Old Zoning and Building Codes Are Responsible for Our Housing Choices
09.29.2025
Architect-planner Dan Parolek—who coined the phrase “missing middle housing”—is working to solve entrenched problems.
Architect-planner Dan Parolek—who coined the phrase “missing middle housing”—is working to solve entrenched problems.
The Lost Soul of Oakland: Living Large in Lower Rockridge
09.24.2025
Real estate speculation is eroding the beauty of a great urban neighborhood.
Real estate speculation is eroding the beauty of a great urban neighborhood.
The Atlanta We Inherit: History, Architecture, and the Fight for Public Space
09.16.2025
A proposal to turn a John Portman-designed skybridge into a space that celebrates the city’s history and design legacy.
A proposal to turn a John Portman-designed skybridge into a space that celebrates the city’s history and design legacy.
Kansas City: Wandering the Middle Ground
09.08.2025
An L.A-born urban planner finds traces of home in the Midwest.
An L.A-born urban planner finds traces of home in the Midwest.
Lessons From Katrina: The Next Planning Frontier Is Community Empowerment
08.26.2025
Powerful forces become available when communities are willing to take control of their collective destiny.
Powerful forces become available when communities are willing to take control of their collective destiny.
Courtyard Urbanism: What’s Missing From American Cities
08.19.2025
Why and how I became a citizen urban planner and advocate.
Why and how I became a citizen urban planner and advocate.
A Book on Common-Sense Architecture
08.12.2025
Milton Shinberg leads the profession back to people through the human sciences.
Milton Shinberg leads the profession back to people through the human sciences.
New York City—the Metropolis Built on Water
08.05.2025
A talk with photographer Stanley Greenberg about his new book documenting the vast infrastructure of the city’s water system.
A talk with photographer Stanley Greenberg about his new book documenting the vast infrastructure of the city’s water system.
The DNA of Buffalo Has Changed—When Will We Finally Change With It?
07.16.2025
Local leaders continue to hold on to outdated assumptions about what the city is and could become.
Local leaders continue to hold on to outdated assumptions about what the city is and could become.
The American Paradox: Bigger Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Better
06.26.2025
In the U.S., interior and exterior spaces are outsize because they can be. In France, high density means less individual space—so design matters even more.
In the U.S., interior and exterior spaces are outsize because they can be. In France, high density means less individual space—so design matters even more.
Can Quality Solve L.A.’s Housing Crisis?
05.19.2025
QUIMBY—Quality In My Backyard—is a movement to harness the urgency of YIMBYs to build neighborhoods that even NIMBYs can love.
QUIMBY—Quality In My Backyard—is a movement to harness the urgency of YIMBYs to build neighborhoods that even NIMBYs can love.
After the Ashes in LA: “The Future Is Right in Front of You”
04.16.2025
Rebuilding doesn’t have to mean sterile development. Just look at the innovative and resilient ways people are already doing it.
Rebuilding doesn’t have to mean sterile development. Just look at the innovative and resilient ways people are already doing it.
Lessons From Katrina for Citizen Planners in L.A., Asheville, and Florida
03.25.2025
Planning’s “me-centered” ethos needs to become a “we-centered” approach.
Planning’s “me-centered” ethos needs to become a “we-centered” approach.
Gentle Density: A Housing Approach to Thwart NIMBY Resistance
03.19.2025
In the wake of the L.A. fires, a different strategy is required.
In the wake of the L.A. fires, a different strategy is required.
Richard Florida Wants to Talk About the “Creator Economy”
03.11.2025
The urbanist and educator thinks cities still don’t understand the importance of what the digital creative class does.
The urbanist and educator thinks cities still don’t understand the importance of what the digital creative class does.
People, Places, Cities: Making the Case for Placemaking
02.25.2025
Why it’s the solution to livable cities.
Why it’s the solution to livable cities.
It’s Time to Revise the Metrics for Measuring Quality Places
02.24.2025
One important guideline: look for simple indicators of complex conditions.
One important guideline: look for simple indicators of complex conditions.
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