Community / Economic Development
Top 10 Books - 2014
Planetizen is pleased to release its twelfth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2013.
Large Companies Moving Back to Cities
The movement stems from demographic changes in the work force. For companies seeking younger hires, they need to go to where they prefer to live. Suburban campuses may be replaced by urban headquarters or the addition of satellite offices in cities.
Can Newark's New Image Survive Cory Booker's Departure
Cory Booker entered office with a goal of transforming Newark's reputation from failed city to recovering city. J.B. Wogan examines whether the new senator used the city as a platform to boost his own image, or enacted meaningful change.
Putting a Value on Creative Capital
A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates the impact that all those actors, writers, and artists have on the national economy.
Obama Takes on Inequality
In a major economic speech delivered yesterday, President Obama called America's growing inequality and lack of upward mobility “the defining challenge of our time”. Though he may have diagnosed the disease, did he prescribe an effective cure?
The Startup City You Probably Haven't Heard About
There are some cities that give you everything you need and others that make you work for it. This article profiles efforts to build a startup community in Tallahassee through the eyes of the city's growing network of entrepreneurs.
13 Ways to Kill Your Community
Scott Doyon reviews the book "13 Ways to Kill Your Community", by Alberta Legislative Assembly member Doug Griffiths and journalist Kelly Clemmer. In it, the authors reveal some of the "curiously recurring behaviors" that harm cities of all sizes.
Technology and Robust Economies Drive Rural Town Revival
Population loss has been a fact of life for many of the United States' rural towns for decades. But if the experiences of rural towns across Minnesota are any indication, manufacturing, farming, and technology may generate a widespread rural revival.
Should Universities Help Pay for City Services?
The University of Massachusetts at Lowell has spent $600 million on construction projects over the past six years alone. But as the university grows, local leaders are asking for payments in lieu of taxes to offset the demand on municipal services.
Miami Becomes Safe Harbor for Cash and Celebrity Architecture
Rowan Moore looks at the multiple layers that are conspiring to make a maturing Miami the "new Most Exciting City in America". Diverse cultural offerings and branded architecture are attracting international investors.
Why Many Cities Should Start Looking Beyond Eds and Meds
For many years, economists have touted the higher-education and health care sectors as powerful engines for local economic growth. However, a growing chorus of observers are warning about the continued validity of that premise.
Healthy School Food Initiative Nourishes L.A.'s Economy
A push by the Los Angeles Unified School District to increase its supply of healthy and locally-produced foods is paying dividends for area farmers and businesses.
San Francisco's Crisis of Affluence
The booming tech industry has brought economic development to the Bay Area. But lavish lifestyles, astronomical housing prices, and rising evictions has put the industry in the crosshairs of a very public backlash. Can the city broker peace?
12 Bold and Bizarre Visions for Cities
There's no shortage of bold and bizarre ideas for how to make our future cities more livable, sustainable, and efficient. Whether many of these ideas are feasible is another story.
27 Ideas for Keeping the Twin Cities Prosperous
A study prepared for the McKnight Foundation’s Food for Thought series has searched far and wide for lessons for keeping Minneapolis-St. Paul a prosperous and livable place.
Vacant Buildings: Renovate, Demolish, or Disguise?
To battle blight caused by the plague of vacant properties left by declining populations and the Great Recession, cities and property owners are resorting to some sly tactics.
To Help Clean the City, Amsterdam Gives Alcoholics Free Beer
Should you pay alcoholics in beer? This is the ethical dilemma thrown up by a city project in the famously liberal city of Amsterdam.
China Loosens One-Child Policy
The Communist Party announced on Nov. 15 two huge changes to two long-term policies that exerted enormous control over its citizens. More couples will be allowed to have additional children and "reeducation through labor camps" will be abolished.
How Parking Meters Turned Around a Struggling Downtown
The revival of Old Pasadena is one of the truly great urban success stories from the past few decades. The area's comeback was not based on shifting demographics or "political will", writes Colin Marshall, but a less sexy foundation: parking reform.
10 Ways Cities Are Turning Back Time
It's back to the future for global cities, now that we've realized what a mess the 20th century was.
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 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
