Community / Economic Development
Land Use the Subject of Latest IPCC Report
Not urban land use, but in the literal sense: land used to produce food, graze livestock, supply drinking water, grow trees, and sequester carbon. As the climate warms and the population grows, crop yields will decrease and land will be degraded.
Cities Benefit From Programs to Welcome Outsiders
St. Louis’ Mosaic Project offers an example of how U.S. cities can welcome foreign talent and benefit from their skills.
How to Reduce the Influence of Private Equity in Affordable Housing
The risk of onerous lot rent increases and the fear of eviction are more threatening than ever as private equity enters the manufactured housing market.
Austin Housing Authority Acquires Units on the Private Market
In an unusual move, Austin's housing authority is buying apartments on the private market to rent to Housing Choice Voucher holders.
Denied: No Sitting on Rome's Spanish Steps
Rome's Spanish Steps are no longer a place for sitting.
Study: Good Access to Transit Attracts Startups
Startups are increasingly abandoning the suburban office park to try their luck in denser urban cores. According to this study, good transit is one factor behind that trend. But it's not the only one.
It Doesn't Matter if Your Neighborhood Is Going to Eventually Gentrify
“We could use some gentrification here.” Let's never say this—we must refrain from debating the long-term likelihood of gentrification in distressed places.
'Yes In God's Backyard' Offers a New Way Forward for Housing Advocates
San Diego housing advocates have coined a new term: "YIGBY," or "Yes in God's Backyard," to advance prospects for affordable housing development on property underutilized by houses of worship. The city's planning department is receptive.
Plans Revealed for 'Epic Universe': the Country's First New Theme Park Since 2001
The Universal Epic Universe, proposed for Orlando, Florida, has aspirations as a transit-oriented theme park.
A Frank Discussion About Struggling Suburbs
Many suburban areas outside thriving urban cores are struggling to deliver vital services and maintain property values as job and population growth stagnates. It's time to confront the realities of those communities, according to this article.
Kids and Urbanization
The question of whether there is space for children in rapidly changing cities was under investigation in two recent studies with somewhat contradictory findings.
Hepatitis A Outbreak in Philadelphia Leaves City Scrambling
Philadelphia isn't the first city to deal with a Hepatitis A outbreak after wavering on the question of whether to deploy public bathrooms and hygiene stations
2.5 New Jobs for Every New Home in Boston
The Boston region has achieved a jobs-housing imbalance only bested by the San Francisco Bay Area since the Great Recession.
Ode to Third Places
Urban strategist Michele Reeves writes about the of third places importance in the urban fabric.
Planners Can Help Increase Opportunity and Fairness
Transportation and land use planning decisions affect economic opportunity and mobility—the chance that children become more economically successful than their parents. We can help create more equitable communities.
Shuttering a Large Coal Plant: A Tale of Two States
Environmentalists in California are upset that Los Angeles will build a new 840-megawatt natural gas plant to replace a 1,800-megawatt coal plant. The coal plant has been crucial to the economic development of Millard County, Utah.
Et Tu, Portland?
Opinion: The Rose City joins the nationwide attack on neighborhood-scale public involvement—and throws its pioneering model of grassroots democracy under the bus.
'Community Preference' Housing Policy Under the Microscope on Either Side of the Country
A new study out of New York City reveals the worsening effects of segregation due to the city's "community preference" affordable housing policy, Seattle sets out to craft a policy of its own.
'Urban Green Spaces': A Book for Planners and Laypeople
"Urban Green Spaces" is informative, even for practitioners, and a good read, according to a book review by L.A. County park planner Clement Lau.
As More 'Superstar' Cities Emerge, the Gap With Other Cities Grows
Some cities, like Nashville, have been keeping pace with the economic growth of more internationally renowned cities like San Francisco and Seattle.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
