Decolonial planning is about critically analyzing the ways that urban planning in North America is rooted in European, colonial notions of property, ownership, and exploitation. “Economic development” and “urban renewal” have historically been achieved without consideration of local meanings of place and indigenous and minority rights. Deconstructing the colonial frameworks of urban planning calls for the restructuring of the industry’s relationship with finance, government, and for-profit ventures.

Spending time outdoors, especially in green spaces, is one of the fastest ways to improve health and happiness. A new study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research shows that within minutes of entering a green space, stress, blood pressure, and heart rate can decrease.

Hong Kong’s real estate market is the least affordable in the world. In a controversial decision, the government of Hong Kong announced it will seize 80 acres of land from a golf club to build public housing.

Civic spaces across Philadelphia are changing. The ways these spaces are contributing to a stronger and more inclusive city include: providing compensation to community members who participate in the design process, grounding the design to serve local needs, supporting equitable growth measures when civic assets increase property and real estate values.

Enota, an architecture studio based in Slovenia, has completed the design of a new urban park in the Slovenian port city of Koper. The overhaul of the site seeks to connect two separate parts of town—waterfront area and redevelopment area—into a cohesive whole.

Homelessness sparks heated battles over conflicting rights—the right of poor and homeless people to make use of public spaces versus the right of businesses to deter panhandling. Cities like Denver have created urban camping bans, which are spurring debates about the degree of influence that private interests, as represented by Business Improvement Districts, should exercise over the management of public space.

The redevelopment of the Upper Harbor Terminal is an opportunity for Minneapolis to create a national model for equitable economic development. The mayor is dedicated to ensuring that the economy of north Minneapolis, a neighborhood which has seen decades of disinvestment, will benefit first from the project.

The fate of the Makkasan area, a green space in the middle of Bangkok, is pitting communities and conservationists against developers and cash-strapped authorities. A group of Bangkok residents has launched a social media campaign called the Makkasan Hope project to push for a redevelopment of the space that will include a park, a rail museum, and the preservation of many old buildings instead of a mall.

A small but important stretch of path of the Atlanta BeltLine connecting Edgewood and DeKalb avenues—where Old Fourth Ward meets Inman Park—is officially open. Take a look at the photos from its opening day.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trails organization, recently announced their vision for the Great American Rail-Trail—a mega bike trail that would connect 4,000 miles of rail-trail and other multi-use trails to form a path across the country from Washington, DC to Washington State.