downtown revitalization

A hardscaped park with creative architectural featues is shown with the high-rises of Downtown Los Angeles in the background.

Pershing Square, Downtown L.A.’s ‘Forgotten Park,’ Begins Long Awaited Revamp

A makeover that began in 2015 is finally underway in 2023, but the process of reconstructing Pershing Square is expected to proceed incrementally.

August 30, 2023 - Urbanize Los Angeles

Photo of downtown San Francisco alley superimposed with text bubbles

New Plan Aims to Revive Downtown San Francisco

The proposal focuses on placemaking and street activation as tools for economic development.

August 24, 2023 - Fast Company

Aerial view of Salt Lake City skyline

Salt Lake City Bucks Downtown Decline Trend

The city’s central business district is bustling with more activity than before the pandemic.

July 25, 2023 - Governing

Bowery

Opinion: Lower Rents Will Give Downtown Spaces Back to the ‘Weirdos’

Introducing the “CBGB theory of city planning.”

July 5, 2023 - Publicola

An aerial view of a park and the streets and high-rises of Downtown Omaha.

Downtown Omaha Planning for its Post-One-Way-Streets Era

The Omaha City Council has decided to reverse the transportation model adopted in the city in the 1950s, for the benefit of traffic safety and local retail activity.

June 9, 2023 - KETV

A view of buses and cars on the streets of Downtown East Lansing.

East Lansing Parking Plan Aims for Walkability

East Lansing wants to ditch some of its surface parking to encourage economic activity and walkability.

April 20, 2023 - Spartan Newsroom

South of Market

11,000 Housing Units Possible with S.F. Office Conversions, Study Says

A new study by SPUR and the Urban Land Institute’s San Francisco chapter estimates a specific number of apartment units that could be built from vacant office units in the city.

March 29, 2023 - The San Francisco Chronicle

New York City Coronavirus

The Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity to Remake Downtown

Urban cores around the country were transforming into live, work, and play destinations before the pandemic. The pandemic was a setback for this transformation, but it could also be a rare opportunity. It’s up to city leadership to seize it.

January 23, 2023 - The Washington Post

Brick apartment building with For Rent sign

Renting on the Rise, With Consequences for Neighborhoods

A higher share of Americans are renters than at any point in decades. Neighborhoods all over the country, especially in downtowns, have many more renters than they did in 2010.

October 14, 2022 - RentCafé

New York City

Massive Empire State Complex Gains Key Political Support

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is backing one of the largest real estate development projects in U.S. history—larger even than the nearby Hudson Yards project.

September 5, 2022 - The New York Times

Stay-at-Home Orders

A ‘Public Realm Action Plan’ Charts San Francisco’s Post-Covid Comeback

A nonprofit business group released a plan to trigger the post-pandemic revitalization of Downtown San Francisco by reclaiming public space for human scale activity. But is an improved public realm sufficient to meet the challenge?

July 25, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

Downtown Anchorage with the snow covered Chugach Mountains in the background.

An Ambitious Revitalization Agenda for Downtown Anchorage

A new mayoral administration in Anchorage has its sights set on a revitalized urban core, but one local researcher has suggestions for how to expand that vision.

September 8, 2021 - Sightline Institute

A photo of the downtown skyline in Milwaukee, along the Milwaukee RIver.

Project Team for Milwaukee's New Downtown Area Plan Takes Shape

A new plan for Milwaukee's downtown will build on a "major renaissance" in the area since the approval of the last version of the plan in 2010.

September 7, 2021 - Urban Milwaukee

Los Angeles Arts District Redevelopment

Proposed Megaproject the Latest to Redefine Los Angeles' Core

A proposed $2 billion megaproject would expand the footprint of the ongoing reinvention of Downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding neighborhoods.

April 30, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Downtown Milwaukee

Downtown Milwaukee Area Plan Update Kicks Off

Billions of dollars in investment and thousands of new residential units later, Milwaukee is ready to update the plan for its downtown.

March 4, 2021 - Urban Milwaukee

Fremont Street

Tony Hsieh's Legacy in Las Vegas

Tony Hsieh, who achieved international fame as head both of Zappos and the Downtown Project in Las Vegas, died in November. Several articles made an account of the Downtown Project's track record.

December 8, 2020 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Atlanta

Debating Public Incentives for Private Developments

A debate common in growing cities around the country is taking place in Atlanta in answer to the question of how much support private developers need from the public.

March 6, 2020 - Curbed Atlanta

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Developers Scaling Back Ambitions

The market and construction costs are taking a toll on development ambitions in Detroit.

January 31, 2020 - Crain's Detroit Business

Detroit Riverfront

Six Big Projects to Watch in Detroit

A new chapter of Detroit's development history is ready to begin, as six iconic projects head toward the finish line.

November 25, 2019 - Detroit Free Press

4 abandoned homes in St. Louis's Greater Ville neighborhood

The Dark Side of the Rust Belt Revival

Cities in flyover country are facing new redevelopment challenges as companies relocate from costly coastal cities. In St. Louis, downtown revitalization has also brought plans to tackle blight, and the consequences for residents could be immense.

August 21, 2019 - CityLab

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Websites

The best of the Internet—since 2002.

Top Apps

Planning apps for a brave new world.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.