• Syracuse I-81 freeway transformation clears legal hurdle

    The demolition and replacement of Syracuse’s I-81 viaduct with a “community grid” cleared a key legal hurdle , as a New York State court unanimously overturned a lower court ruling blocking the project. The February 9 decision apparently opens the door for one of the nation’s most important...Read more

  • Redevelopment plan advances for Tulsa massacre area

    A century after devastating destruction of Greenwood, the city supports a community-driven plan to redevelop publicly owned sites in and near the neighborhood.
    A century after one of the worst race massacres in US history, the City of Tulsa is advancing plans to redevelop publicly owned land in and around the Greenwood neighborhood, north of downtown. One of the wealthiest Black communities in the US in 1921, Greenwood was demolished by a white mob,...Read more

  • The next generation of urban mechanics

    Why mayors are increasingly acting like city planners
    Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing 20 mayors from all around the world, as part of an open-ended inquiry into how municipal leaders have managed the concurrent crises of an all-consuming pandemic, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and an agonizing lack of...Read more

  • Cities moving ahead with pre-approved house plans

    Pre-approved building plans can address the housing crisis by reducing regulatory friction around high-quality residential designs that fit a community’s vernacular.
    The nation faces a housing crisis, with a deficit of 2.3 homes nationwide pushing up prices in many markets—even in the nation’s heartland. “There is a gap between the supply of homes and the number of households that want homes,” and that gap is getting bigger, says Jennifer Krouse of Liberty...Read more