An Urbanist Reading List

Who to Subscribe to on Substack

We love cities—and we love reading about cities. These days, thanks to Substack, we’ve come across the writing of so many great people writing great content about them. Below is a list of nearly 100 Substack publications that cover all things city: urbanism, transportation, housing policy, real estate, and urban politics. We’ve learned so much from and immensely enjoyed their writing, and we think you might, too. Give ‘em a read and subscribe!

This list, alphabetized by publication name, is almost certainly incomplete. If we missed anyone, please let us know in the comments!

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Aaron Shavel by Aaron Shavel, a NYC-based civil engineer writing “about public transportation, construction and infrastructure policy.”

Abundance New York by Catherine Vaughan and Ryder Kessler, who write from a New York perspective about housing and homelessness, public transit and the public realm, and renewable energy and resiliency.

ARES Urbanexus Update by H. Pike Oliver, curator of the American Real Estate Society’s newsletter for real estate educators, researchers, and thought leaders.

Arpitrage by Arpit Gupta, an Associate Professor of Finance at NYU Stern who writes about real estate and finance from a YIMBY perspective.

Asphalt Jungle from Eric Weatherholtz, a real estate developer who believes that “neighborhoods are better when people can enjoy cold beer together.” Amen.

Better Cities by Sam Deutsch, who writes about a “pragmatic approach to better urban policy and politics,” with an emphasis on transportation policy.

Build Better Places by Ben Cappellacci, who “is exploring how to develop human-scale communities in today’s real estate landscape.”

Build the Next Right Thing by Seth Zeren, “a recovering city planner turned neighborhood real estate developer, neighborhood advocate, and educator” who writes about ways to strengthen cities and neighborhoods.

Building Optimism by Coby Lefkowitz, who explores “how to create better places for all in our shared built environment through the lens of urban planning, real estate development and placemaking.”

Carbon Upfront! by Lloyd Alter, an architect, real estate developer, and prefab entrepreneur who now teaches and writes about sustainable design.

Car Free America by Mark R. Brown, AICP, a city planner and complete streets designer who writes about mobility and car-free streets.

Challenger Cities by Iain Montgomery, an “interview series exploring how cities can adapt, evolve, innovate and change to become…better places where everyone can live, work and play.”

Changing Lanes by Andrew Miller, co-author of the forthcoming The End of Driving who writes about how innovation in transportation and artificial intelligence will reshape our society.

Chris Arnade Walks the World by Chris Arnade, who walks and writes about the cities he visits across the globe.

Chuck with Strong Towns by Charles Marohn, a recovering transportation engineer and the founder of Strong Towns, who writes about helping cities and towns become financially strong and resilient.

City Observatory by City Observatory, which provides “free commentary on a range of urban issues, including housing, transportation, climate, economic development and equity.”

City of Yes by Ryan Puzycki, who writes about urbanism in theory and practice from the perspective of an Austin-based housing advocate and zoning commissioner.

A City That Works by Conor Durkin and Richard Day, writing about “policy analysis and ideas on how to make Chicago work better.”

Civic Insighter by Greg Jordan-Detamore, an alumnus of Code for America, who writes about government and policy, cities, design, education, languages, travel, and more.

Civilization Lab by Michael Adams, who is studying government, building tools to make it work better, and writing about it from the perspective of San Francisco.

College Towns by Ryan M Allen, professor at Soka University of America, who writes about “where urbanism and higher education meet.”

Construction Physics by Brian Potter, who writes “about the technology and economics of building construction, with a focus on improving productivity and reducing costs.”

The Corner Side Yard by Pete Saunders, an urban planner with a focus on cities in the Midwest.

Cornerstone by Luca Gattoni-Celli, founder of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, who writes about urbanism from “the trenches of local housing policy debates.”

The Deleted Scenes by Addison Del Mastro, who writes daily about urbanism, land use, suburbs, small towns, and the built environment.

The Discourse Lounge by Darrell Owens, a Bay Area-based housing activist who writes about urban politics, housing affordability, transportation, culture, and urban living.

Dust to Density by Alex Yuen, a practicing architect, urban designer, and real estate developer who writes about “the hidden connections between culture, economics, and design that explain why our cities transform the way they do.”

The Emergent City by an Australian city strategist who writes about “issues at the intersection of urban planning, politics, culture, design and economics.”

Erdmann Housing Tracker by Kevin Erdmann, who “discovered a new framework for understanding the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and costly housing markets” that he applies to understanding housing markets today.

Exasperated Infrastructures by sam sklar, who is “tired of the way American urban planning solves the wrong problems” and writes about it.

Flâneurbanist by Billy Cooney, an urban planner by training who writes “mostly about transportation and land use policy, as well as the politics involved in community planning.”

For the City Girls by Brittany Simmons, a Detroit-based urban planner who shares her “ideas, thoughts, and musings about urban planning, city life, and design.”

The Future of Where by Bill Fulton, an urban planner and former mayor who writes about how to navigate a world in which the concepts of proximity, location, and place have fundamentally changed since the pandemic.

Governing San Francisco by Zack Rosen, whose ”goal is to help civic leaders of San Francisco be more informed in what we say and effective at what we do.”

Ground Floor by Henry Grabar, a Boston-based journalist and the author of Paved Paradise, sharing his thoughts about cities.

Home Economics by Aziz Sunderji, a former strategist at Barclays whose “newsletter contextualizes the American housing market using data visualization.”

Hot Blocks by Greg Shill, a University of Iowa law professor writing about firms, cities, and transportation.

In Practice by Laura Foote, Yimby Action Executive Director, who “chronicles the battles fought and lessons learned on the road to housing abundance.”

Ingenious Cities by JPER, which shares summaries of the most compelling research coming out of the Journal of Planning and Education Research.

Interplace by Brad Weed, who provides “a critical look at the interaction of people and place by an ex-Microsoft pioneer in interaction design.”

Jeremy’s Quarterly by Jeremy Levine, who writes [more than quarterly] about housing, governance, movement building, and mushrooms from a California perspective.

The Last Ward by Austin Berg, who writes about “how power is brokered, deals are cut, and Chicago’s future is decided.”

Logan’s Substack by Logan Bryck, a classical musician in San Francisco who writes about “urbanism, the housing shortage, work, social (dis)connection, and male malaise.”

Maximum New York by Daniel Golliher, who writes and teaches about civics and politics to help New Yorkers understand how their government works and how to make it better.

Metro Mosaic by Dipali Gupta, a native New Yorker hoping “to transform New York City one vibrant tile at a time.”

Modern Power by Misha David Chellam, who writes about abundance, broad YIMBYism, effective government, and how to build and exercise modern power in California.

Momentum to Build Community by Ryan Kilpatrick, whose “mission is to support places where people flourish.”

Moving Day by Susan Crawford, who writes about “the intersections among climate, thriving lives, and power.”

Neighborhood Mom by Neighborhood Mom Emily Brown, an “urban planner turned mom exploring how policies, design, and systemic change create strong community and build family-friendly cities.”

The Neighborhoods by Rob Stephenson, a Brooklyn-based photographer and musician, who chronicles his visits to every neighborhood in NYC to create a snapshot of modern-day New York.

The New Urban Order by Diana Lind, who writes about the future of cities and covers topics such as housing, climate, urban tech, downtowns, and a whole lot more.

NYC Politics 101 by Sachi Takahashi-Rial, who writes about city and state government from her experience as a board member of Open New York and Manhattan Community Board 5.

NYCuriosity by Tal Roded, who is “exploring NYC policy developments through insights into NYC open data and [his] own background in economic research.”

onHousing by Aaron Lubeck, founder of Southern Urbanism, who writes from North Carolina about housing, urbanism, placemaking, and politics.

Pencilling Out by Zak Yudhishthu, who writes from Saint Paul about “urban economics, particularly housing and land use policy and neighborhood change.”

The Post-Suburban Future by Andrew Burleson, Board Chair and cofounder of Strong Towns, who writes about the future of urbanism from the perspective of an advocate and former urban planner.

The Practice of Community by Lee Nellis, who writes “for anyone who is striving to get things done in their community or who works professionally at the community level.”

Practice of Place by Max Musicant, who shares “lessons, tools, and inspirations for placemaking practitioners” based on his decades-long experience.

ProFound City Insights by Dr. Patricia Tice, a transportation engineer, planner, and researcher who writes “about urban design, driver behavior, and livable communities.”

The Public Space by Lenny Zaleski, who tells “stories about public transit, the environment, urban planning, and community building from a human perspective.”

Regions by Connor O'Brien, a researcher at the Economic Innovation Group who writes about progress, innovation, entrepreneurship, American dynamism, and immigration reform.

Resurgence: A Journey by Chuck Wolfe, “a multinational urbanism consultant, photographer, and author of three books addressing how to determine the intrinsic identities of cities and urban places.”

Rezone by Daniel Heller, who uses data and AI to provide insights into rezonings and planning changes in cities around the country.

Sidewalk Chorus by Sebastian Hallum Clarke, a member of Manhattan Community Board 8 writes about “topics that impact New Yorkers’ lives, like housing, transportation, local government, and taxation.”

Sinocities by Andrew Stokols, who writes about “cities, China, geopolitics, technology, and everything in between.”

Southern Urbanism, a publication committed to building better cities in the South.

Startup Cities by zach.dev, who writes from an “apolitical, non-utopian perspective on how startups can (and are!) building new neighborhoods and cities.”

Streetbeat by John Surico, who writes a “a monthly newsletter on cities—our streets, spaces, and urban lives—and how they're rapidly changing.”

Street Stack by Matt Choi, who shares his “observations and ideas from the left-field of urban planning and urban design.”

Supernuclear, a guide for people who want to live with or near friends that covers cohousing, coliving, and how to your neighbors for weekly stoop coffee.

Su$tainable Mobility by Alex Mitchell, who writes about investing in sustainable transportation, including electrification, mode shift, active and public transit, and mobility aggregation.

Thesis Driven by Brad Hargreaves, who provides “thoughtful qualitative and quantitative analysis of emerging themes and opportunities [in real estate] as well as the GPs behind them.”

Thomas’s Substack by Thomas D. Wilson, author of Exceptional Places, who writes about his “keen interest in cultural exploration and historic places.”

Thoughts About Cities by AccessiblyUrban, a Chicago-based transit planner who writes about urban transportation from the perspective of someone who has “driven the bus” and “planned the bus route.”

The Transit Guy by Hayden Clarkin, a transportation engineer and planner who “focuses on the intersections of policy, governance, transit, and urban life” to offer a “comprehensive vision for public transit and great cities.”

Unpopular Opinions by Angie Schmitt🚶‍♀️, an urban planner and traffic safety expert in Cleveland who writes about urban affairs, as well as parenting and politics.

Urban Career Boost by All Things Urban, which aims to help you “elevate your career and discover jobs, education programs, events, career advice, and unique opportunities.”

The Urban Condition by Benjamin Schneider, a freelance journalist writing about urban planning and the future of cities as he reports from his forthcoming book, Living for the City.

Urban Proxima by Jeff Fong, a technologist and housing activist who writes “about the ways technology changes (or soon could change) urban life.”

Urban Solutions Journal by Laura Puttkamer, a journalist “focused on bringing nature into human-centric spaces.”

Urbanism Now by Ray Berger, who writes a “weekly newsletter summarizing the most important, innovative, and thought-provoking urbanism articles from far and wide.”

Urbanism Speakeasy by Andy Boenau, a storyteller, urban planner, and transportation engineer helping to create happy, healthy, bike-friendly communities.

We Can Have Nice Things by Stephanie Nakhleh, a Los Alamos-based journalist, who “writes about systems, housing, and local government—and what it takes to build a future that works better for more people.”

What Streets Are For Newsletter by bnjd, who writes from Houston about urban theory, transportation and land use issues, and a diverse range of history.

The YIMBY City Planner by M. Nolan Gray, research director for California Yimby and author of Arbitrary Lines, writing about housing policy.

The below publications and authors have broader beats that often include writing about cities, urbanism, YIMBYism, and/or urban politics.

Broader Beats

Agglomerations from the folks at the Economic Innovation Group, “a bipartisan public policy organization that advocates for ideas to make the American economy more dynamic and inclusive,” including ideas about housing policy.

The Causal Fallacy by Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and senior editor of City Journal, who writes about the public policy of crime, drugs, and public disorder.

The Elysian by Elle Griffin, who writes about “the future of democracy, capitalism, and humanity,” often with compelling ideas about cities.

Kneeling Bus by Drew Austin, an urban planner who writes “about how the internet has transformed our relationship to physical space, one another, and our own selves.”

Living Small by Laura Fenton, who writes a “home & garden newsletter about small spaces, sustainable living, and all the joys (and pains!) of living with less.”

From Poverty to Progress by Michael Magoon, a former Brown professor who is “promoting an awareness and understanding of human material progress and how to keep it going,” including how to make housing affordable again.

Noahpinion by Noah Smith, who writes “mostly about economics, but sometimes about other stuff like technology, geopolitics, and culture”—and Japanese urbanism!

Political Currents by Ross Barkan, a journalist and novelist who writes about New York politics, as well as national affairs, media, and culture.

The Rebuild by Tahra Hoops and Gary Winslett, who write about “making blue cities and states better and less expensive: tackling high costs, fixing broken processes, and proving that Democrats can deliver.”

Risk & Progress by J.K. Lund, who writes about risk, human progress, and human potential, and how they intersect with cities, with a goal promoting a better future for all.

Roots of Progress by Jason Crawford, who writes about “the history of technology and the philosophy of progress”, with regular round-ups of good content from across the progress studies universe.

Slow Boring by Matthew Yglesias, an early YIMBY and author of The Rent Is Too Damn High, who writes about politics and public policy.

Uncharted Territories by Tomas Pueyo, who is trying to “understand the biggest problems and how to solve,” and has written widely about cities.

Virginia’s Newsletter by Virginia Postrel, author of The Future and Its Enemies, who writes about commerce, culture, and curiosity.