Community / Economic Development
Cities and Corporations Learn to Cooperate
Large companies are choosing cities rather than suburban office parks to locate. A recent article details how corporations can make the most of their urban environment.
The Case for Neighborhood Bars...and Why Planning is Like Cooking
Beyond permits and specific plans, urban planning is the creation and facilitation of a user experience, where the neighborhood bar is an essential ingredient to the cohesiveness of a neighborhood.
'May the Use Be With You': San Francisco and Chicago Wooing George Lucas's Museum
After a plan to locate a new museum for the film memorabilia of George Lucas at Crissy Field in the Presidio in San Francisco failed, the City by the Bay and the Windy City have entered competing proposals for the location of the museum.
California Updates Main Street Planning Guide
A newly revised guidebook by the California Department of Transportation describes how to plan and design highways and arterials that also serve as community commercial centers.
Community Gardens as Harbingers of Gentrification
Lauren Markham examines the value of community gardens to the bottom lines of developers—because one person's blighted back yard can easily become another person's veggie garden marketing pitch.
How Green is My Neighborhood? Let Me Count the Ways
Neighborhood-scale sustainable development is flourishing, as are tools for assessing and certifying the triple bottom line of projects. Ten neighborhood rating tools are reviewed for their best fit for planners, developers, and communities.
A Closer Look at Detroit's Blighted Properties
The New York Times has produced a pair of visualization tools to present the findings of the recent report by Detroit's Blight Removal Task Force.
Tough Times Falling on Detroit's Casinos
First floated as a redevelopment strategy in 2007, Detroit's gamble on casinos has yielded a mature market. Now come reports that even a big name investor hasn't been able to turn around the Greektown Casino.
Supply and Demand: Debating the Blame for Gentrification
Jim Russell and Daniel Kay Hertz are engaged in an ongoing debate about how supply and demand in markets of so-called "superstar metros" influences processes of gentrification.
Report Recommends $850 Million to Eradicate Detroit's Blight
The Detroit Blight Removal Task Force released its highly anticipated "Every neighborhood has a future...And it doesn't include blight" report today.
The Lay of the Land in the Columbus Success Story
Aaron Renn recently explored Columbus, Ohio, where he found a city fueled by growth and doing many things right, but lacking the differentiation it merits among the country's urban marketplaces.
Estimates of Recoverable Oil from California's Monterey Shale Reduced 96%
What a revision! The EIA changed the recoverable oil reserves in California's vast Monterey Shale formation from 13.7 billion barrels to 600 million barrels using existing technology. Also, for the first time, a California county banned fracking.
'Agrihoods' Produce Food Locally, Cooperatively
Urban Times reports on several 'Agrihoods' maturing all over the United States.
5 Innovative Tech Solutions for Civic Disengagement
Communities have a growing number of technological resources available to face the challenges posed by a growing population and a resource constrained world.
Does New York City Need More Bank Branches?
The question: "Why are there so many damn banks? Why did we even download this sweet banking app that's supposed to do everything short of pushing cash out of the headset jack?"
7 Reasons Community Development Financial Institutions Lack Investors
Community development financial institutions are great places for impact investors to put their dollars, but the money isn't flowing. Rosalie Sheehy Cates discusses the barriers in connecting CDFIs and impact investors, and a way forward for both.
Lessons from San Francisco’s Healthy Corner Store Program
An article from the SPUR's "The Urbanist" shares insight into the work of the Southeast Food Access Working Group (SEFA).
Detroit Residents Plant 15,000 Trees in a Day
The story of Hantz Woodlands—and a local philanthropist's vision to transform urban blight into an urban forest.
Gil Penalosa's 14-Point Prescription to Make St. Paul Great
Gil Penalosa was in the Twin Cities recently as part of the annual Placemaking Residency, convened by the Saint Paul Riverfront Corp. At the end of his stay, he prescribed 14 action points for Saint Paul.
Why School Integration Requires Neighborhood Integration
Emily Badger examines the role of housing segregation in obstructing the promise of Brown v. Board of Education.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
