Since its founding in the mid 1990s, Alliance for Downtown New York has long been one of the world's leading business improvement districts. This non-profit organization has presided over the reinvention of New York's historic Financial District as a thriving 24-hour live/work district, while retaining a respectable share of the city's financial services sector. The Alliance built a network of Wi-Fi hotspots that lit up nearly every major public space in the district - not just outdoor locations like Bowling Green and City Hall Park, but also indoor atria like the Winter Garden and 60 Wall Street.
Community / Economic Development
Fighting The Blight Of Vacant Retail
Time Magazine takes a look at the growing problem of vacant storefronts across the U.S., and what some intrepid souls are doing about it.
Time Magazine
Worker Bees
Michael S. Thompson of the Chicago Honey Co-op discusses his urban beekeeping operation and how it provides jobs to otherwise hard-to-employ people.
Orion Magazine
The Rural Recession
A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.
The Daily Yonder
Top 10 Cities for Today's Youth
The Wall St. Journal assembled a panel to determine which cities will be the next 'youth-magnets,' using factors like economic diversity and lifestyle to make their selections. Number one? A tie between Washington, D.C. and Seattle.
The Wall St. Journal
1 in 3 Mortgage Applications Denied in 2008
The Federal Reserve announced that 32% of loan applications were denied last year, and applications on the whole were down by a third from 2007.
Builder Magazine
TOD Becoming Popular -- And Expensive
HUD-subsidized housing in transit-oriented developments could become more expensive as it ages out and TOD becomes more popular, says a new study by AARP, Reconnecting America and the National Housing Trust.
Reconnecting America
Creating Neighborhood Capital from Strip Malls
Strip malls are in virtually every American city, but they're rarely an important part of those cities. Ava Bromberg says they can be. Her idea is to turn strip malls into community-owned hubs that generate capital within their neighborhood and keep it there.
The Debate Over Metropolitan Planning Organizations
In the midst of an important debate in Washington, DC over the future of America's transportation funding, a report issued this month by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified several challenges facing regional transportation policy.
Northwest Hub
How to Speak Senior Citizen
Elaine Cogan gives these tips for talking about planning issues with senior citizens and getting the most out of them throughout the planning process.
Planning Commissioners Journal
A World-Class Waterfront Once Again
San Pedro, a port city near Los Angeles, is looking to boost its image with a 1.2 billion dollar makeover. Plans include a promenade, a cruise terminal, and a vibrant commercial district and could take up to 10 years.
Los Angeles Times
"Attached" to Urban Economic Growth
A new study suggests that cities for which residents have a higher degree of emotional attachment and loyalty have greater levels of economic growth.
The Globe and Mail
Sickness, Poverty and Obesity: Is Environment To Blame?
The relationship between poverty, poor health and obesity is complex, writes Daniel Engber. However, research is showing that "obesogenic" environments and social inequality play leading roles in all three.
Slate.com
Public Art Flourishing in Northwest
New public art projects are popping up across the Pacific Northwest. Some of Seattle’s traffic signal boxes are getting a makeover, as artists add decorative touches to them.
Northwest Hub
South American Olympics Overdue or Undercooked?
As the International Olympic Committee prepares to announced the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics this week, South Americans are hoping it's finally their time. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is one of four finalists, but some say the city isn't ready.
Time
Olympic Impact on Chicago Likely Modest
High hopes for city change are attached to Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Even if the city wins the bid this Friday, the impact is likely to be modest, according to Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin.
Chicago Tribune
One of the Nation's Largest Green Streets
Sacramento, CA has developed one of the longest green streets in the nation, improving storm-water management and connecting the residential area to the Swanston Light-Rail Station Area.
Sacramento Press
California's Prop 13 Benefits Older Generations, Punishes Younger
A new study from USC concludes that the benefits of California's Prop. 13, which froze property tax rates, are unequally distributed among generations of homebuyers.
Urban Planning Research Blog
Planetizen picks
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TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp Webinar
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Wednesday, December 2, 11am PST/2pm EST
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Learn More:
TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp - Modeling Buildings
- Subway Sociology
- Free Electricity for the Poor
- Fort Collins is Feelin' Fine
- The $28 Trillion Question
- Visualizing Unemployment During the Recession
- Windsor + Detroit = BFF?
- Canada Increasing Investment in Carbon Capture
- DC Metro's Death Toll Rises
- Function Over Geometry
- 'Getting Religion' in Water Conservation
"Hoboken Daylighting" In Lieu Of Bump-Outs -- Ian Sacs
Learning from TTI -- Michael Lewyn
Automobility and Freedom: Conflicts and Resolutions -- Todd Litman
Somewhere Between Blight and Gentrification... -- Diana DeRubertis
The Future of American High Speed Rail: Regional and Slow -- Robert Goodspeed
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