Community / Economic Development

Puerto Rico seems to be at the head of the pack in terms of jobs created by the federal stimulus bill. But the news isn't all sunny from the island territory, as the governor moves to slash thousands of public sector jobs.

The Legatum Institute, a London think tank, has published a report ranking countries in terms of prosperity. The U.S. took a big hit for health care.

The economy is up 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, thanks in large part to government subsidies for car and home buying. Otherwise, the impact of the stimulus has been muted, says The Washington Times.

A Des Moines venture capitalist and his wife have donated a reported $40 million worth of large public sculptures for a sculpture park, part of a significant redevelopment effort by the city.

The Friend Convalescent Hospital was the first of Walter Gropius' modernist buildings to be destroyed at Chicago's Michael Reese hospital. Bulldozing began on Wednesday with more still to go.

SMA Solar Technology AG, the German company responsible for about 40 percent of the world's solar market will be opening a plant in Denver.

NYC's Mayor Bloomberg oversaw the rezoning of thousands of blocks, yet many of the development projects he envisioned as the key to the city's future success are now stalled or in jeopardy.

Liquor stores and religious uses are the only building markets staying afloat in Florida, say experts.

Affordable space, city incentives, and good transport are bringing Oakland, CA back to its roots as a center of the food processing industry.

With closed borders and a military lockdown on all imports and exports, the Palestinians of Gaza rely on a network of smuggling tunnels to obtain goods.

Extensive investments in rail are slashing travel times in China, and creating a vastly more connected and accessible country.

A collection of non-profits working with HUD is promising to spend $4 billion on updating affordable housing across the country to be more sustainable.

Jacobs' ideas about urban planning bumped her to the top of her Top Urban Thinkers list, but economists are turning to her other books to rethink local economies.

What does Main Street America look like today? A journalist, a public radio producer, and two Harvard PhD students set out to visit actual Main Streets across the country to find out.

2009 is expected to turn out as a bad year for residential constructoin in New York City. After five consecutive years with more than 30,000 units constructed, at total of 6,300 are expected this year.

American cities are struggling to figure out how to transition formerly industrial areas to become vibrant and successful parts of the city once again. Neal Peirce says they should look to Barcelona, which accomplished it ten years ago.

The problems facing urban America can be exemplified by looking at the city of Las Vegas, according to this piece from the Brookings Institution's Mark Muro.

Developers and NYC's Mayor Bloomberg have hit a speed bump in revitalizing the Gowanus Canal. It may be designated as a Superfund site.