Urban Planning Blog

Point: The idea that descendants of African slaves are the only people in the history of our species to be done in by the configuration of architectural blueprints is mistaken. It was much, much more complicated than that: the culprit was aspects of social history in America starting in the late sixties, not merely how [...]

One in every ten people lived in urban areas a century ago. Now, for the first time ever, most people live in cities. By 2050, the United Nations projects, almost three-quarters of the world’s population will call urban areas home. The majority of this growth is centered in struggling, developing countries of the Global South, [...]

The peak toll in the first month of operation on State Route 167 in Washington was $5.75. I know, I know, you would never pay such an exorbitant amount when America has taught you that free roads are your birthright. But that money bought Washington drivers a 27-minute time savings. Is a half hour of [...]

Sudhir Venkatesh, author of Gang Leader for a Day and occasional blogger at Freakonomics wants to know which is the most racist city in America. the comment thread is rich with suggestions and opinions but I find the question too vague. It is extremely difficult to judge a city’s collective attitude toward racism without actually [...]

New Urbanists believe in the power of physical design (of cities and neighborhoods) in influencing user behavior. John Thackara and Sunil Abraham talk to Cluster Magazine about the dynamism of cities in fostering democratic perceptions and influencing user behavior [hat tip: Jinal Shah]: Tolerance of everything and openness to everybody are not universally accepted principles. [...]

While often unseen or overlooked, 1 out of every 100 Delhi residents earns a livelihood as a wastepicker. As a group, these informal garbage men and women collect over half of the city’s waste. The City Fix shares a video that highlights the plight of the wasterpickers and their almost daily harassment by the police. [...]

The opening of the new Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora, IL was blocked by a judge who agreed with the city attorney that the clinic violated land use and permit regulations. The folks at Feministing right point out that this is more about moral opinions on abortion than any land use policies. The American Prospect [...]

Urban Growth: Top: Dallas, US 1976 Bottom: Dallas, US 2001 [source].

Any Mumbaikar would be proud of the flyovers and bridges built in recent times and use them as an indicator of urban development. It isn’t long before comparisons with Shanghai start taking root. Only after you scratch beneath the surface, you realize the hollowness of the argument and claims. The recent upswing in economic fortunes [...]

In spite of the fact that humans occupy less than 1% of the total land available on Earth, land scarcity is an omnipresent urban reality. Partly due to urban aggregation behavior and availability of conducive habitable spaces, the fight for space especially in urban areas has been intense. Be it the ever-growing slums in Mumbai [...]

Land use planning can be used as an effective tool in reducing the economic and social risks of natural hazards. The local governments provide the better authority to implement planning mitigation strategies due to extensive and comprehensive potential for tapping into community resources and public participation. The local governments are also in a better position [...]

I am neither an anarchist nor a libertarian as I do believe that the government has an important role in our society. But it is often seen that governments do not always function efficiently and sadly, only such cases of ineptness come to light. That said, I would still recommend minimum government control especially to [...]

One of the few concepts I disagree with liberals in the United States is their stand on immigrants; in spite of the fact that this nation was built on immigrant power. Michael Dukkakis and Daniel Mitchell in a NY Times op-ed offer an economic solution to reduce dependence on immigrants. Basically their argument lies in [...]

According to this article in the NY Times, having to work two jobs in order to afford to live in New York city is an investment portfolio advantage [via]: Middle-class city dwellers across the country are being squeezed….In New York, the supply of apartments considered affordable to households with incomes like those earned by starting [...]

Often to solve a traffic-related problem in any growing metropolis, flyovers are touted as the ultimate solution especially in developing countries. The organic cities that have known to survive amidst snarls of unruly traffic and undisciplined pedestrian and vehicular traffic often breathe a sigh of relief that a newly-constructed flyover brings to a daily commute. [...]