Reno's blight initiative drew criticism when it removed 68 benches from a park it was renovating.
The city of Reno spent $10,000 on revitalizing CitiCenter park as part of its blight mitigation project. According to a story from Olivia Degennaro for the city's NBC affiliate, "The majority of the city's $10,000 budget paid for filling empty planters with large boulders and installing iron spikes around them; but critics of the project accused the city of trying to push homeless people out of the CitiCenter by removing the benches many of them sleep on."
While city officials claim this work was done to make the park more business friendly, advocates for the city's homeless say the removal of the 68 benches serves to try and push the city's less fortunate out of sight and out of mind. Complaining that, instead of trying to address the causes of poverty, this campaign endeavors to sweep it under the rug.
FULL STORY: Reno officials accused of classifying homeless as blight after removing downtown benches
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.