Community / Economic Development
ULI Launches Online Housing Resource
The Urban Land Institute just rolled out How Housing Matters, an online portal for news, research, infographics, and multimedia examining how housing affects community health.
Study: Ancient Cities Grew Much Like Modern Cities
Scientists from the Santa Fe Institute have discovered basic patterns underlying the way cities have always grown. The mechanics of "urban scaling" may have something fundamental to tell us about how large settlements evolve.
Urban Planners Should Be More Like Party Planners
Urban planners like the nightlife. They like to boogie. But one researcher argues that planners should better understand how to balance the positive and negative effects of a bustling nightlife.
Why New Sources of Capital Matter for Cites
Cities are becoming the new economic engines due to growing sectors in technology and knowledge production. Yet, cities must recognize with that transformation there comes not only opportunities but also new challenges.
The Value of More Creative Play Areas for Children
As free-range children become an increasingly rare species, designers and psychologist are also questioning the effects of the sterile, innocuous playgrounds currently in fashion. How can play, and kids, get liberated again?
A Rust Belt Revival
The cities of the Rust Belt don't get much good news these days as they suffer the effects of de-industrialization. But things may be turning around in Cincinnati, where a major investment by General Electric may herald a downtown revival.
Q&A: New Orleans Planning is 'Visionary within the Envelope of Feasibility'
The following interview, as published in the 4th Edition of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, features Jason Neville, senior planner for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.
Developer in Cleveland Can Tax Patrons Directly
Lines between public and private blur as Flats East Bank takes on the mantle of a special tax district. If the measure goes through to completion, revenue will be used to fund public improvements.
Has the Urban Planning Profession Made You Boring?
Urban planning can be an exciting and rewarding profession. It can also be extremely political and sometimes downright boring.
Here's to the Winners of the Seaside Prize and to 'Attainable Housing'
Housing supply is offering up something that looks very different than what today's households want to buy.
The Rise Of the Smart Growth Suburb
Most of the suburbs of the 20th century weren't designed to last more than a generation or two. As many suburbs decay, or get replaced by farther-flung rings of new bedroom communities, Carmel, Indiana is trying something different.
Allowing Higher Density to Fix Slums
Despite its economic dynamism, Mumbai is known for a lack of adequate housing. Citywide increases to maximum Floor Space Indices (i.e., Floor Area Ratios) will increase living space per resident, provided the right redevelopment takes place.
Miami's High-Rise Orthodoxy Hides a Better Way
Alastair Gordon lambasts Miami's high-end architectural extremes. A horizontal, nature-inspired urbanism might better address contradictions between breezy luxury and inland poverty.
What's so Miraculous about Minneapolis?
Minneapolis combines prosperity with plentiful affordable housing, an increasing rarity. Geographical factors play a role, but longstanding "fiscal equalization" policies may make the difference.
Long Island Searching for Direction
Although it hosts some of the nation’s first and most successful auto suburbs, Long Island has experienced a downturn. This infographic-focused piece delves into the reasons why.
The Resurgence of Anti-Homeless Policy and Design
A report by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley tracks the proliferation of vagrancy laws in the Golden State. Meanwhile, The Guardian notes the spread of so-called "defensive architecture."
Falling Crop Prices Bring Boom Times for Subsidized 'Farmers'
2014 federal legislation reformed the system by which farm subsidies are allotted, designed to save taxpayers $23 billion over a decade. However, falling crop prices mean the system could end up costing even more.
How to End Homelessness? Start—and Finish—With Veterans
We are so close to this goal. We should not change our focus before we meet it.
Lessons from 'The Human Scale'
How can we redirect our city building into a form that can handle the expected doubling of urban residents over the next 40 years? Great ideas can be found in this collection of soundbites from the film, "The Human Scale."
Five Reasons for Cities to Punt NFL Teams
While citizens of San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis argue over whether they can afford to keep their NFL teams, overlooked are the benefits of being rid of them, writes land use attorney and San Diego Chargers fan William Adams.
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
