Community / Economic Development

Want a Stronger Economy? Focus More on Racial Inclusion

"We asked the question: How much higher would total earnings and economic output have been in 2012 if racial differences in income were eliminated"...

November 16, 2014 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Toledo Healthcare Nonprofit Wants City Parkland for a Parking Garage

ProMedica is a locally owned nonprofit healthcare organization that is in the process of moving 900 employees from various suburban locations in the Toledo area into its newly renovated riverfront headquarters in Downtown Toledo.

November 14, 2014 - The Toledo Blade

Glasgow

The Undeniable Urbanism of the 'Plot'

According to researchers and practitioners in the United Kingdom, there's still room for another urbanism. Chuck Wolfe digests the recent Summit on Plot-Based Urbanism from Glasgow.

November 14, 2014 - myurbanist

Berlin Playborhood

Berliner Kinder: Berlin and its 'Playborhoods'

Are you thinking about playborhoods, playsheds, and free-range kids? Berlin's Kolle 37 hits it out of the park. Literally.

November 14, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Shenzhen Crumbling Buildings

China Filling 'Ghost City' with Rural Farmers

In a bid to urbanize its vast interior, China plans to settle one of its vast pre-built cities with workers unused to city life. Upon arrival, they undergo training to become instant urbanites.

November 13, 2014 - The Guardian

Paris Park

Women Unwelcome in French Public Spaces

Suburban Paris plays host to a disturbing trend: no comfortable public spaces for women, especially for women from immigrant and low-income groups.

November 12, 2014 - Citymetric

Los Angeles Civic Innovation Lab

The Next Frontier of Engagement: Civic Innovation Labs

The recent growth in civic innovation in city halls throughout the country has led to taxpayer investment in private sector organizations addressing social issues, but do these programs really lead to tangible, broad, citizen benefit?

November 12, 2014 - Maayan Dembo

China's Baby Bust

When China relaxed its rigid one-child policy last November, health officials were expecting an additional two million births to result. As of Sept. 30, they have received only 804,000 applications from eligible couples.

November 11, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Berlin Hackeschen Höfe

Lessons Learned from Berlin Shopfronts

Susan Henderson looks to Berlin's delectable shopfronts for pointers. Not from the usual suspects like Kurfürstendamm and Friedrichstrasse, but from the neighborhoods of Prenzlaur Berg, Scheunenviertal, Kreuzberg, and of course, Hackeschen Höfe.

November 10, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Main Street

The Many Benefits of Traditional Development

Charles Marohn assesses some of the economic benefits of traditional commercial development as compared to those of auto-oriented commercial development.

November 8, 2014 - The American Conservative

Detroit's Bankruptcy Exit Plan Approved

Federal judge Steven Rhodes approved Detroit’s plan to shed $7 billion of the total $18 billion debt.

November 8, 2014 - The Washington Post

Portland's Unique Tours Offer Insight Into Neighborhood History and Culture

A small non-profit in Portland, Oregon is attempting to provide neighborhood-based historic and cultural information for residents and tourists in specific, unique ways.

November 7, 2014 - Urbanful

Tailoring Bikeshare for Underserved Communities

As discussed on Longbeachize by Brian Addison, a new movement in Long Beach is working to make bikesharing more accessible for marginalized communities.

November 6, 2014 - Longbeachize

Los Angeles Residential

How Affordable Housing Can Compete

With the backing of powerful nonprofit and for-profit investors, the Housing Partnership Equity Trust is making waves with its triple bottom line approach to affordable housing. More importantly, it’s making money.

November 4, 2014 - Next City

Los Angeles Residential Street

Explaining the Country's Worst Rental Market

A recent study reveals that Los Angeles is the least affordable city in the country. The incentives of homeowners all but ensure that the city will never have a mandate to increase its housing supply and restore health to the city's economy.

November 4, 2014 - Josh Stephens

Cincinnati Over-the-Rhine

The Charms of Affordable Cities (Not Named San Francisco or New York)

A recent post identifies a sweet spot in the urban market: affordable cities like Cincinnati and others in the Rust Belt that provide an attractive alternative to more expensive, if more famous, cities on the coasts.

November 1, 2014 - New Geography

Hoover Dam

Mapping the New Deal

The Living New Deal Project Map from the University of California, Berkeley was released earlier this month, pinpointing all of the New Deal projects around the United States.

October 31, 2014 - Vox

play fountain

For Playable Cities: Make the City a Playground

The "Using Behavioral Economics to Create Playable Cities" report suggests that so much time spent in front of screens, and the continued need to counter the obesity epidemic, requires new thinking about play for children living in cities.

October 30, 2014 - Next City

Racial Inequalities Withholding $2.1 Trillion from U.S. GDP

A new study by PolicyLink and the University of Southern California's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity showed that U.S. GDP would expand by $2.1 trillion if racial minorities had equal access to opportunities within the job market.

October 30, 2014 - National Journal

An Interview with Kaid Benfield, Urban Resilience Guru

PlaceMakers asks Kaid to give us his idea of where we are in the effort to integrate smart growth strategies in the broadest sense into community planning and design.

October 29, 2014 - PlaceShakers

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.