Community / Economic Development

Mural Los Angeles

Why New Affordable Housing Draws the Short Straw in Los Angeles

Cecilia Estolano, former Executive Director of Los Angeles’s Community Redevelopment Agency, diagnoses why the region has been unable to provide housing for working-class citizens.

September 29, 2016 - The Planning Report

I-5 Widening

Critiquing the $1.9 Billion Project to Widen I-5 in Los Angeles County

Streetsblog slams Caltrans for wasting $1.9 billion on futile freeway widening projects.

September 29, 2016 - LA.Streetsblog

Atlanta BeltLine

Leadership Shakeup at the Atlanta BeltLine

All is not well at the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, after two prominent board members, including Ryan Gravel, who originally proposed the idea for the BeltLine, resigned this week.

September 29, 2016 - SaportaReport

The gentrifying street-scape of the South Park neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California

Downtown L.A.'s Chinese Real Estate Cycle

Chinese developers are pouring money into high-rise housing projects in Los Angeles. But will these be pieds-a-terre for absent buyers? And how are developers dealing with the American regulatory environment?

September 29, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Mexico Border

Tale of Two Cities: A U.S.-Mexico Bike Trail

Election rhetoric aside, towns on the U.S.-Mexico border share common urban challenges. A proposal is in the works to connect Brownsville, Texas and the Mexican city of Matamoros via bike path.

September 29, 2016 - CityLab

Tuscany

'The Well-Tempered City': An Epic Book, and Why

In a review of Jonathan F.P. Rose's new book, 'The Well-Tempered City,' Chuck Wolfe enthusiastically endorses Rose's refreshing world view.

September 28, 2016 - The Huffington Post

Fund Clean Energy - Stop HRL Coal Fired power station - withdraw federal grant

Clean Power Plan Showdown in U.S. Appeals Court on Tuesday

The Obama Administration's most powerful environmental initiative, the Clean Power Plan, was put on hold by the Supreme Court last February. It was heard by 10 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. on September 27.

September 28, 2016 - The Associated Press

London Eye

London Housing Prices Drive 30-Year-Olds Out of the City

Study finds 30-somethings in London leaving the city in increasing numbers.

September 27, 2016 - The Guardian

Buffalo, New York

Geographers Seek Patterns and Solutions to Help Declining American Cities

Geographers publish results of a two-year study on declining cities around the country in a new book, "Shrinking Cities: Understanding Urban Decline in the United States."

September 27, 2016 - Next City

Cleveland

Cleveland–East Cleveland Merger Plan Overlooks Main Issue

East Cleveland, a struggling suburb of Cleveland, has ended up in so much fiscal distress that it is considering allowing Cleveland to annex it as a desperation move. We may need to rethink our decades of assumptions about home rule in the Northeast.

September 27, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Burning Man

There Goes the Neighborhood: Oh No, Not Burning Man!

Ben Brown unpacks the components of polarization. Recognizing some people are really pissed off for some really good reasons doesn’t seem to help us make better decisions, whether we’re talking about electing a president or planning a park.

September 27, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Car Production Line

In Brooklyn's Navy Yard, a New Manufacturing Incubator

New Lab repurposes a gritty shipbuilding warehouse, giving manufacturing startups the support that software firms get from your typical incubator.

September 27, 2016 - Curbed

Little Free Library

101 Small Actions With Big Effects in Cities

The Curbed team has compiled a laundry list of creative and effective ways for people to give some love to their cities.

September 26, 2016 - Curbed

New York State Capitol

Corruption Charges Sully Economic Development Scheme in Upstate New York

Though he was elected while promising to clean up corruption in the state government, recent corruption charges are hitting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's inner circle.

September 25, 2016 - Politico New York

California Transit Agencies Bring Affordable Housing to Scale

From developer incentives to swapping parking for housing units, two transit systems have come up with plans that tackle the region's housing shortage and its economic inequality. What have they agreed to do, and who will hold them accountable?

September 23, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

KaBOOM

Friday Fun: 50 Ways to 'Play Everywhere'

KaBOOM! announced the winners of the Play Everywhere Challenge this week.

September 23, 2016 - The New York Times

Aspen, Colorado

Aspen's Workforce Housing Buckling Under Weight of Aging Population

As residents of Aspen, Colorado's limited supply of workforce housing begin to retire, they're staying put, creating a new affordable housing crunch for younger workers.

September 22, 2016 - Marketplace

Grand Central Market, Los Angeles

L.A.'s Grand Central Market at a Turning Point, Faces Gentrification

The historic Grand Central Market has ridden the ups and downs of Downtown Los Angeles better than most retail locations, but can it retain its heart in the face of gentrification.

September 21, 2016 - Los Angeles Magazine

St. Louis

St. Louis Leading Large Metros in Immigration

Of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the country, St. Louis had the largest percentage increase in foreign-born immigrants between 2014 and 2015.

September 21, 2016 - St. Louis Riverfront Times

Tech Shuttle

Tech Shuttles: The Bay Area's Seventh Largest Transportation Provider

A new survey has found that every day more than 800 tech buses are traveling on the region's roadways, carrying around 34,000 passengers daily

September 20, 2016 - San Francisco Business Times

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.