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.
urban design
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Local leaders continue to hold on to outdated assumptions about what the city is and could become.
Local leaders continue to hold on to outdated assumptions about what the city is and could become.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.
Letter From Los Angeles: Aftermath Musings
02.11.2025
Fear and loathing in the burned-out communities of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena.
Fear and loathing in the burned-out communities of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena.
Reclaiming Urbanism After the L.A. Fires
02.04.2025
The city should reconsider the single-use land patterns of Pacific Palisades and Altadena and enact zoning reforms.
The city should reconsider the single-use land patterns of Pacific Palisades and Altadena and enact zoning reforms.
L.A.’s Cultural Crescent and the Land That Draws People to It
01.22.2025
The City of Angels is that rare metropolis where landscape shapes ways of being.
The City of Angels is that rare metropolis where landscape shapes ways of being.
Letter From Malibu: Do We Stay or Do We Go?
01.20.2025
The recent conflagration threatens to permanently alter a rare example of California livability.
The recent conflagration threatens to permanently alter a rare example of California livability.
Unlocking the Mysteries of Zoning
01.13.2025
Sara Bronin’s new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, is a deep, accessible dive into the prosaic realms of urban planning.
Sara Bronin’s new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World, is a deep, accessible dive into the prosaic realms of urban planning.
On the Value of Miniatures and Scale Models
12.18.2024
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
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