Perspectives

Between meetings, sessions, and walks, NPC26 moved quickly. Some moments stayed.

So many of the vast open spaces across the American West are made up of an array of small, private, vacant parcels. The breaking up of large ranches has mapped the open range for a sprawling future. Would-be homesteaders are drawn by the dream of cheap land and a quiet life in a house on the prairie. While the challenge and cost of homesteading in rural areas without infrastructure keeps many of these parcels vacant, it is fairly common that people move out to their little p

This study investigates the role of ethics in urban planning in the context of Smart Cities and challenges such as spatial inequality, conflicting stakeholder interests, and technological dependence. This paper highlights the need for a balanced approach to planning that integrates ethical principles with practical considerations.

Planning2050 is a volunteer-led movement driven by planners, civic leaders, and institutions who believe that better planning starts with shared accountability. In a time when cities and regions face increasingly complex challenges—from housing affordability to climate resilience—the planning profession must evolve. This initiative is about raising the bar on what it means to plan effectively, inclusively, and transparently. At the heart of this effort is a performance-based

In a world full of engineers, architects, and cartographers, why do we need planners? To answer this, we must first understand who planners are and what they do. As stated by Kevin Lynch in his masterpiece The Image of the City , a city is an integration of five core elements—paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. These components shape how individuals perceive and navigate the urban landscape. While each element plays a unique role, who brings them together into a c

After some moderate turbulence, my flight landed in Pittsburgh, returning from the American Planning Association’s 2025 National Planning...

Regenerative urbanism is, at present, an emerging, unorchestrated response to our sustainability planning predicament. That predicament is,

The real estate industry is a crucial part of the economy due to its significant capital holdings and its close relationships with other...

A reflection on Planned Cities. The winner of the Best Newsletter Article of the Year by the APA Divisions Council.

Brazil’s urban struggles highlight inequality and modernization's clash. Protests in 2013 emphasized space’s role in equity-focused policy.

Through his writings, Jean Gottmann succeeds in developing a concise framework that explains and conceptualizes overgrown metropolitan areas