Urban Design

A need for green: Cities look to trees to improve health, climate justice

Cities and nonprofits are turning to trees as a possible solution to incoming climate crises and public health disparities.

Air taxis are taking off. Cities should start planning now.

A new report can help cities weigh safety, access and equity considerations when deciding where to locate air taxi hubs.

Satellites Zoom in on Hottest Neighborhoods to Help Combat Urban Heat Island Effect

Satellite and population data can help cities create detailed maps so they can prepare for and respond to risks associated with extreme heat, a top weather-related killer.

Unearthing an Origin Story for Gentrification

COMMENTARY | The growth of the medieval city of Angkor involved wealthy elites pushing people off the land they had made valuable.

Retrofitting Parking Garages Could Help With Affordable Housing Shortage

COMMENTARY | As Covid-19 shattered normal commuting patterns and center city parking use, some are investigating how high-rise garages and parking lots can be converted to provide space for housing.

More Pedestrians Are Getting Killed By Cars

The number of pedestrians struck and killed is up 45% over the last decade. People of color and residents of low-income and rural communities are more at risk, according to new research.

How Downtowns Can Rebound After the Pandemic

They have to offer more than office space.

Searing Heat Will Make COVID-19 Racial Disparities Worse

Urban heat islands can be 22 degrees hotter than their surroundings.

Advocates Rally to Tear Down Highways That Bulldozed Black Neighborhoods

The interstate highway system flattened homes and businesses in Black communities.

D.C.’s Hard Road to Safer Streets

As the District lagged on its Vision Zero goals, bike and pedestrian advocates in Washington turned traffic fatalities into a rallying cry, and got results.

Growing Up in a Walkable Neighborhood Can Increase Adult Income

A new study finds that even considering other factors, the walkability of a child’s neighborhood has a direct correlation to increased adult earnings.

America's Hottest Cities for Urban Planners

You might think planners—and urbanists in general—congregate in big coastal metros. But planning jobs are growing fastest elsewhere.

The Rise and Fall of Thinking Big About Cities

A new exhibition looks back at the period of grand urban design and social reform in New York City, Boston, and Chicago.

A Quest to Reconstruct Baltimore’s American Indian ‘Reservation’

COMMENTARY | The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River, and they are fighting to preserve their culture in Baltimore.

The Feds Are Driving A National Policy of Sprawl

COMMENTARY | "Any legislative or policymaking approach to climate that fails to see the connections between emissions, how and where we build, and our transportation infrastructure decisions, will be destined to fail."

Gentrification is Most Concentrated in Large Cities

Seven cities account for almost half the gentrification in America, according to research from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Pedestrian Deaths in 2018 Increase to Highest Levels Since 1990

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Ore. governor signs statewide rent control bill … Ariz. governor is “pro-vaccination and anti-measles” … and Fla. toll road expansion

Whoopi Goldberg Tells N.Y. Mayor Her Big Complaint With the City

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Rapid DNA testing … D.C. mayor vetoes bill to decriminalize fare evasion … and rural Minnesota broadband.

A Tough Question in California: Whether to Rebuild in Places That Will Burn Again

Despite the clear and present dangers of the wildland-urban interface, many vow to rebuild in risky spots.

Railroad Crossings Are Dangerous and Ripe for Disruption

How we keep people on foot and in cars from getting hit by trains hasn't changed much in the last century.