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The future of Soho and Noho is now up to the City Council. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a high-profile proposal to rezone the neighborhoods, largely to allow for more residential and ground-floor retail. The proposal covers 56 blocks in the neighborhoods, largely zoned for manufacturing use — despite the area’s reputation as a prime retail destination. — The Real Deal
In support of the plan, City Planning Commission Chair Anita Laremont said: “The plan significantly advances New York City’s equity and inclusivity goals, helps to address our severe and ongoing housing crisis and serves to speed New York City's economic recovery.” According to The... View full entry
Mayor Bill de Blasio is one step closer to realizing his goal of adding tens of thousands of units of affordable housing in New York City, after a key panel passed the city’s plan to rezone a swath of industrial properties surrounding the Gowanus Canal — Commercial Observer
The proposal was approved by nine of the ten New York City Planning Commission members in a vote earlier this week. The plan calls for the rezoning of an 82-block section of Gowanus, along Fourth Avenue, between Atlantic Avenue and 15th Street. It would pave the way for the construction of up to... View full entry
North Carolina’s Research Triangle is getting a major upgrade thanks to a massive new billion-dollar mixed-use development unveiled this week by 10 Design. The firm is behind the new Downtown South Raleigh Master Plan which includes a 20,000-capacity football stadium and virtual reality... View full entry
Fans of Bjarke Ingels are in for a treat following an announcement on social media earlier today of a massive new project that would build a city completely from scratch somewhere in the western United States thanks to seed funding from billionaire Jet.com founder Marc Lore. Bloomberg is reporting... View full entry
On August 16th, the Indianapolis Star (IndyStar) announced architect Lourenzo Giple as the city's new Deputy Director of Planning, Preservation, and Design. The newly appointed deputy is determined to making changes the city has been missing for years. Giple shared with Brandon Drenon of... View full entry
Who designs cities? Architecture school may lead young designers to believe that their profession shapes the spatial and aesthetic qualities of the built environment, but a look at the composition of city planning boards suggests otherwise. City planning has existed for millennia. The Roman... View full entry
We've covered a sprawling variety of urban planning stories on Archinect this year, but as the new decade is mere hours away from the land of the densification-averse, we'd like to raise our glass and salute the fine people at Planning Peeps for tirelessly brightening our days with the memes even... View full entry
The global tourism boom that’s inundated legacy destinations like Venice, Amsterdam, and Barcelona has birthed a term—overtourism—to describe the harried state of a city besieged by too many visitors. A recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, Destination 2030, looked at cities’ readiness for tourism growth and concluded that Vancouver, [...] had “visitor volumes and activities with potential to cause strain on the city.” — CityLab
Tourism is one proven way cities can boost their economy in addition to promoting cultural awareness. However, how much strain is tourism putting on these cities? According to recent CityLab coverage by Molly McCluskey, "overtourism" is a term city development and tourism councils are using... View full entry
U.S. engineering firm Aecom will manage the development of Neom Bay, part of a $500 billion mega city on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast [...]
The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is spearheading plans to develop Neom, a futuristic city being built from scratch, as part of the government’s plans to cut its reliance on oil and attract foreign investment.
— Bloomberg
Intentions for the planned Neom megacity were first announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017, but Saudi Arabia's suspected involvement in the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi a year later caused international outrage and prominent international figures on the... View full entry
The Berlin activists who staged a protest at a vacant government building didn’t imagine they’d end up leading a €140 million redevelopment project. — Places Journal
During the 1960s, the Haus der Statistik was built for the national statistics office for East Germany. The massive complex spreads over eight blocks at half a million square feet, comprising three connected mid-rises and some smaller buildings. As years passed, the Haus der Statistik's history... View full entry
Mayor London Breed’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year will soar by $1.2 billion — making it the largest in city history — and boost investment in tackling the city’s most urgent problems: housing and homelessness. — SF Chronicle
The housing and homelessness crisis in major cities, especially in San Francisco, has been an ongoing issue. Mayor London Breed met with city officials and San Francisco residents to address new plans to address solutions towards the increased initiative towards housing and homelessness. With an... View full entry
Shade is often understood as a luxury amenity, lending calm to courtyards and tree-lined boulevards, cooling and obscuring jewel boxes and glass cubes. But as deadly, hundred-degree heatwaves become commonplace, we have to learn to see shade as a civic resource that is shared by all. In the shade, overheated bodies return to equilibrium. [...] Shade is thus an index of inequality, a requirement for public health, and a mandate for urban planners and designers. — Places Journal
In this longform piece, writer Sam Bloch delves into the history of how shade has served as an index of inequality in the urban design of Los Angeles, and how the city (and perhaps other locations) should learn to consider shade as an important public health requirement. “People living in poor... View full entry
In dire need of urban planning memes on this last Friday of the year? Have we got a link for you: Planning Peeps has compiled 2018's gems trending among city planners and urbanism disciples. Check out some of our favorites below and visit Parts 1 and 2 of the full list. All images via... View full entry
Time for a book giveaway! Archinect readers have a chance to win a copy of “Reprogramming the City”. Authored by writer and urban strategist Scott Burnham and designed by Samantha Altieri, this new book presents a collection of real-world examples of how existing urban elements can be... View full entry
... the project will create 900 apartments, some of which will be located within a 986-foot skyscraper, which would become the borough’s second-tallest tower if built; it would also have cultural space, two schools, and retail. The development has divided locals and elected officials; some tout the fact that the development will bring two schools to the neighborhood along with 200 permanently affordable apartments, but others [...] feel the project is too out of scale with the neighborhood. — Curbed NY