Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
William Fulton

William Fulton

Columnist

William Fulton is the director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and the author of Guide to California Planning and The Reluctant Metropolis. Fulton came to Rice from California where he served as the planning director for the City of San Diego. He formerly served as mayor, deputy mayor and a member of the city council in the City of Ventura, Calif.

As it turns out, there is no one answer.
Often-uninformed city leaders struggle with the decision, and taxpayers pay the price for their lack of financial knowledge.
Regardless of where they live, urban amenities are no longer a bonus but a requirement for many millennials.
There's a push to tear them down. But they're one of the biggest things driving the urban renaissance.
The sharing economy is challenging the demand for land-use regulations, but they're still necessary.
A solution to a decades-old parking problem in one city shows how others can harness the power of market economics.
They can't just improve the physical environment if they want to revitalize poverty-stricken areas.
Urban planners have historically had to do their jobs with only the dimmest understanding of what’s going on. Now they have more information than they can handle.
Most of them actually live in the suburbs.
Services like Uber and Zipcar could radically change city streets.