development

Is your city looking a bit rough around the edges? Do you wonder what it will be like in 20 years time? Does it even feel like your city? Click here to view the embedded video. After moving to London 17 years ago it took me a while to feel like this was home and that I had a right to complain or think that things could be done better...[read more]

“With our limited resources, we have to invent other ways to measure success. This might mean that all kids have access to sports facilities, libraries, parks, schools, nurseries.”  These are the words of Enrique Peñalosa, who served as mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, for three years, and who has become an evangelist for...[read more]

We know we're in the middle of seismic shifts in the way the world operates. We don't know where they'll end up, or where any of us will be when the dust settles, if it ever does. Will we have a job? A pension? A home? Someone to care for us in old age? We do know, though, that we'll need to be more resilient, more adaptable, and more...[read more]

I've owed a comment on this for a while. ROMA, the outfit charged with developing a plan for downtown Austin, has proposed a density bonus ordinance for downtown residential development (available here).   Austin's had a temporary density bonus program since 2007.  ROMA is proposing to make that program permanent. All things...[read more]

Sea-level rise planning map for State of Maryland. Click for the larger version.You know those alarming GIS maps that show parts of South Florida or the eastern seaboard swallowed by sea-level rise? You could make a case that they're a bit misleading, because states and local governments are likely to take action to keep waters from...[read more]

Recent developments in Kibera and Dharavi, two of the most high-profile slums in the world, underscore the importance of including informal workers in planning decisions. In Kibera, a UN-backed slum clearance is underway amidst protest from residents whose livelihoods are at risk. The redevelopment plan for Dharavi has been stalled due...[read more]

I have had a number of discussions with colleagues about the importance of addressing social equity and poverty wherever we are - in an industrialised country or a developing one - and about how important these are to sustainability. A post by Kaid Benfield earlier this week on the NRDC Switchboard drove home the point that every...[read more]

Wow.  On Monday, before heading out to toss the first pitch at Tuesday's baseball All-Star Game, the president kicked off a White House forum on urban policy by criticizing past federal measures that have encouraged sprawl and promising a new look at ways, including support for public transit, to help metropolitan (in other words,...[read more]

Raining downtown, and that's just fine. flickr:bobtravisVirginia is in the process of updating statewide Stormwater Regulations. A draft has been written, and it's open for public comment until August 21, 2009. Some people are concerned that the stricter caps on nutrient loads, as they are currently written, will promote low-density...[read more]

Tales of a City PlannerRed TapeOne of the biggest complaints in government is red tape. In fact there is probably some local politician who is saying right now that they are going to “cut the red tape in government and stop waste!” Only to see a free for all in backhand deals, lack of accountability and transparency and possible scandal...[read more]

The Centre for Cities was quite busy today. We co-produced two reports on regeneration, launched together this morning in London: (1) We wrote Regeneration and the Recession - the latest report from the All Party Urban Development Group; and(2) My colleague, Catherine Glossop, wrote a chapter for Regeneration in a Downturn - a...[read more]

A number of government sponsored initiatives are targeting sustainable technologies that want to provide an easy fix to climate change (renewable energy, fuel cells, energy efficient home upgrades.) But when it comes to sustainable progress, if we are going to delve into the policy game then we should be including measures that actually...[read more]