Community / Economic Development
Libraries Remain Central to Communities
A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that despite the increasing use of tablets and e-readers, Americans still love books and still rely on libraries as a central cultural institution.
Defending Kansas City's Historic Tax Credit Program
Historic and affordable housing tax credits recently came under fire from a Missouri state senator. Kevin Collison, writing for the Kansas City Star, responded.
Are Social and Economic Justice Planning Outcomes?
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Planning Commission Chair Carl Weisbrod while promising planning decisions that produce economic and social justice benefits. The question is to what degree planning can influence those outcomes.
10 Unexpected Cities to Love
A valentine to ten cities around the world that are quietly creating urban paradigms to admire and emulate.
College Campuses as Multi-Modal Models for Cities
A new report argues that city governments have some of the same incentives for de-emphasizing single-occupant commuters as colleges—such as attracting younger workers and freeing up land used for parking.
Upwardly Mobile Latinos and 'Gente-fication'
Around the country, highly educated, upwardly mobile Latinos are choosing urban settings in traditionally Latino neighborhoods over the suburbs. The effects of "gente-fication" ("gente" is Spanish for "people") are distinct from gentrification.
Will Skyrocketing Rents Evict the Arts and Non-Profits in S.F.?
It's not just residents who are suffering the country's highest rents. Non profits are suffering too. However, some are displaying adaptability and creativity in dealing with high rents, notes consultant David Prowler.
Google's Next Futuristic Setting: A Giant NASA Hangar in Mountain View
Google buses, Google ferries, and now, a Google hangar.
City Visas: The Right Way to Lure Talent?
Should dying cities like Detroit get their own visa programs to attract skilled foreign workers? What about prosperous cities like New York and London?
New Proposal for Makeover of LOVE Park in Philadelphia
After months of back and forth, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council President Darrell L. Clarke “reached an agreement that would allow the rehabilitation of John F. Kennedy Plaza and the sale of the garage beneath LOVE Park.”
What 'Second Cities' Teach About Branding
A recent news broadcast showed the mayor of Tacoma with a backdrop of the city of Seattle. The feeling of being hidden in the shadow of larger, older neighbor cities is familiar all over the world, but what are “kid sister” cities to do about it?
Ranking Freeways Without Futures
The Congress for the New Urbanism releases a Top 10 list highlighting the worst, most ready-to-be-junked urban freeways. New Orleans, Syracuse, and Detroit make the list. Boulevards are a viable and much-needed alternative, says CNU.
The Revitalizing Power of Alleys
Cities around the country are implementing alley improvement programs as a tool for neighborhood revitalization, with benefits to the economy and the environment. A recent article celebrates the strides cities have made in reclaiming alley spaces.
Study: New Mexico MainStreet Achieves Dramatic Success
A new study shows evidence of dramatic positive impacts for the New Mexico MainStreet program, a state program working in coordination with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
New Study Changes the Narrative on Slums
Researchers are building a more complete archive of life in slums, home to one-third of the urban population of developing countries. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejects assumptions about the benefits of slums.
Placemaking Lessons Learned from Seattle's Super Bowl Parade
Last Wednesday, an estimated 700,000—more than the city's population of 635,000—welcomed the Seahawks home, without major incident. Writing in The Atlantic Cities, Chuck Wolfe describes five lessons for placemaking through words and photographs.
Train Stations Plan for the Future
In many places across the country, rail is breaking ridership records as we move away from the personal car. How does a rail hub manage the influx of passengers while being a good neighbor?
Debate Over Minneapolis Skyways Continues
Minneapolis is working to turn the deteriorating Nicollet Mall into a vibrant public space—even hiring James Corner Field Operations (of High-Line fame) as designer. Will the revitalization of the area require the removal of the mall’s four skyways?
TxDOT: I-345 Stays in Dallas
Advocates presented a compelling case to remove the aging stretch of Interstate 345 that bisects Dallas adjacent to downtown. But state transportation officials have decided to rehab, rather than remove, the freeway.
Ped-Friendly Proposal for Houston’s Downtown Convention Center
In anticipation of the 2017 Super Bowl, Houston First Corp. is seeking approval of a project to improve the city's convention center and “reshape the once-moribund East End of downtown into a dynamic new focal point of the city.”
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
