Community / Economic Development

Indiana State Capital

Indianapolis Installing New Streetlights for the First Time in 35 Years

Indianapolis officials including Mayor Joe Hogsett gathered this week to celebrate the installation of the city's first new streetlight in 35 years.

June 10, 2016 - Indianapolis Business Journal

110 South

New Promise Zones Include South Los Angeles

South L.A.'s inclusion in the Promise Zones program marks a shift in the way the federal government measures poverty.

June 10, 2016 - LA Streetsblog

Kids on bikes

Op-Ed: Jane Jacobs Wouldn't Recognize the Cities of Today

Without children at the center of activity, the urban neighborhoods of today offer little compared to the ideals expressed by Jane Jacobs, according to this strongly worded critique of contemporary urbanism.

June 7, 2016 - The American Conservative

Brewery

Op-Ed: Don't Ditch Those Industrial Land Uses

An op-ed describes the choice by many cities to prioritize residential projects in old industrial spaces as short-sighted and potentially unjust.

June 6, 2016 - Next City

Homelessness

Cities Facing Lawsuits Over New Homeless Crackdowns

As more cities attempt to crackdown on homelessness, legal fights have broken out as advocates for the homeless fight back against the criminalization of panhandling and camping in public.

June 6, 2016 - The Washington Post

Crowd

How (and Why) to Start a Local Data Intermediary

A new guide helps communities set up groups that can help analyze their neighborhood data and put it to good use.

June 3, 2016 - Next City

Detroit Vacant

'Vacant Home Tour' Reimagines Blight

It's not your typical walking tour: A resident-led project in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania explores the history of a community through its blighted properties.

June 2, 2016 - Community Progress Blog

Miami

100 Resilient Cities Program Reaches 100 Members

The Rockefeller Foundation’s global initiative for urban resilience rounded out its membership this month with the addition of 37 cities.

June 2, 2016 - The Guardian

Demolition

Tear It Down and They Will Come?

There's a rationale for the demolition of vacant properties in cities like Chicago, but does that mean the city should be celebrating these programs? The planning of shrinking cities, it turns out, is still very much a work in progress.

June 2, 2016 - WBEZ

Boston Skyline with Dome

Boston Looks to Artists in Cultural Plan Development

A program in Boston to "enliven and strengthen" the arts and creativity in the city's diverse neighborhoods employed artists to seek out and define how people interact with art in their community.

June 2, 2016 - Barr Foundation

Birmingham, Alabama

Exploring Birmingham's Uneven Revitalization

WBHM is producing a series of articles on the revitalization of Birmingham, Alabama.

June 1, 2016 - WBHM

Texas Suburb

The Suburban Tale of Texas Growth

The state of Texas is expected to double its population between 2010 and 2050. Just how, though, is worthy of more scrutiny.

June 1, 2016 - The Dallas Morning News

Qualcomm Stadium

AIA San Diego Op-Ed on Chargers' Stadium Ballot Initiative: 'Not So Fast'

The San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture believes the NFL Chargers’ downtown stadium proposal is full of risk and lost opportunities. AIA - SD opines the existing stadium site is superior both for the fan and the taxpayer.

June 1, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Who is NYCxDESIGN?

NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s annual celebration of design, recently wrapped up its fourth season. To learn more about who makes up the design community, photographer Charles Aydlett asked attendees how they would like to see design evolve in the city.

June 1, 2016 - Doggerel

New York City

An Accurate Answer to an Interesting Question: Are Compact Neighborhoods Really Most Affordable?

Contrary to recent claims, the evidence really does indicate that compact, multi-modal neighborhoods tend to be most affordable overall, considering both housing and transportation costs.

June 1, 2016 - Todd Litman

Detroit Vacant Properties

Federal Agencies Investigating the Rising Costs of Detroit's Blight Program

Detroit's aggressive blight reduction strategy, to demolish vacant homes by the thousands, is coming under scrutiny for rising costs. The FBI and the U.S. Inspector General are investigating.

May 31, 2016 - Detroit Free Press

Soup Kitchen

Talking Point in D.C. Homeless Housing Debate: 'Homeowner Lives Matter'

An already controversial proposal to disperse homeless shelters and service around Washington, D.C. is finding new ways to be controversial.

May 29, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

Sports Authority

This Month's Bad News for Retail Could Be of the Fundamental Variety

The retail sector got a wake up call this month.

May 29, 2016 - The Record

Orlando City, Stadium

Orlando's Stadium Finds a New Route to Public Funding

The owner of the MLS's Orlando City soccer team has found an innovative way to finance his team's new $156 million stadium, funded by foreign buyers of American green cards.

May 28, 2016 - New York Times

Hospital Signs

A Missing Conversation: Medical Centers and the Built Environment

Hospitals, medical research centers, and the like are supposed to represent health, but are often an unappealing and monolithic presence in the urban landscape. How can the form of health centers fall in line with their function?

May 25, 2016 - The Brookings Institution

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.