What power do US mayors really have?
Author and legal scholar Richard Schragger says the US's big-city mayors focus on policies far outside their control and lose sight of the ways they can actually effect change.
Government / Planning and zoning
Planning and zoning
It’s time for transportation planners to move beyond ‘level of service’
This car-centric assessment of roads and mass transit fails to consider the wide range of needs that people and cities have regarding transportation networks.
With green space equity, it’s all about proximity and quality
Bigger parks are not necessarily better for public health, according to recent findings from Peak Urban. There's a strong case for focusing on smaller parks and gardens, especially those encouraging physical activity.
A Dublin student aims to make Temple Bar more accessible for wheelchair users
This young activist believes that historic preservation shouldn't get in the way of making cities safer.
A Singaporean firm has become the go-to master planner for African cities
Surbana Jurong has signed contracts to do city master plans in ten African countries. Why is the continent relying on outside firms to map its future?
Manchester follows Asia’s lead in designing age-friendly cities
Perhaps no UK city is better equipped to respond to its changing demographics than Manchester, where one third of the population will be 50 or older by 2040.
Capitals are increasingly at risk. Are backup cities the answer?
A Philippines city prepared for natural-disaster-prone Manila aims to succeed where Japan has failed.
What does the preservation of ‘neighbourhood character’ really protect?
Australia needs to build an extra 50,000 houses each year to meet demand. Current policy is making it awfully hard to do so.
Why do wealthy cities have a housing shortage?
Economies and populations have concentrated in a handful of cities, while homes have gotten more expensive and harder to build. A growing movement is calling for change.
How land banks are supposed to work
Land banks let local governments acquire and revitalise abandoned and vacant property – that is, if they can resist the temptation to give elected officials too much power over the process.
Could zoning help the UK build its way out of a housing crisis?
A new report takes aim at the UK's arbitrary approach to building permits.
Seattle’s ‘Stay Healthy Streets’ show the highs and lows of rushing the process
After the city moved quickly to restrict cars on some residential streets, many locals wondered why they didn't have a chance to weigh in.
In the Covid era, the relationship between cities and megadevelopments makes even less sense
In this environment, large-scale projects like Sidewalk Labs’ Waterfront Toronto appear increasingly untenable.
