Community / Economic Development
Popular Federal Tool for Investing in Distressed Areas Again Under Threat
A year after it was rescued from elimination, the federal New Market Tax Credit program is again facing extinction. Congress must act before the end of the year to save the popular tool for subsidizing investment in underserved communities.
Public Art on the Cheap: Providence's Custom Metal Trashcans
In Providence, Rhode Island, local craftsmen are turning trashcans into art. The metal bins are custom-worked with designs celebrating local businesses and more general themes.
Lawsuit Aims to Chop Down Proposed Minneapolis Park
A park planned to accompany Minneapolis' new football stadium has raised controversy because of the amount of proposed subsidies. While the details are worked out, planners consider the elements that will ensure its success.
Is Suburban Exploitation to Blame for Camden's Decline?
Are failing cities like Camden, New Jersey, to blame for their own downfall? Or are they the victims of a regional exploitation in which the suburbs foist their problems onto the nearest urban center?
When Driving Wanes, Local Economies Gain
Want to boost your local economy and produce significant environmental dividends at the same time? Just drive one mile less per day says a new report from CEOs for Cities.
Whole Foods as Gentrification Bellwether
Whole Foods' newest store in Gowanus, Brooklyn is causing local vendors and artists to tread "a fine line" between reaching new customers and supporting what they think of as new, "big" development.
2013 Started a New Chapter in L.A.'s Story
Will 2013 be remembered as the year that Los Angeles embraced a new urban identity? Cultural, political, and planning and design-related events over the past year seem to suggest the city is experiencing "an urban reawakening".
Denver to Focus on Reviving Long-Neglected Area of the City
A $1.8 billion proposal to bury I-70 beneath a landscaped lid is just part of an ambitious plan to remake a 23-mile corridor of northeast Denver that includes the Elyria-Swansea and Globeville neighborhoods.
The Economic Benefits of Better Streets
New York's street re-designs have been praised for increasing safety and improving mobility for all users. But what effect have they had on the local economy? A new report from the city's DOT makes the business case for better streets.
Tools for Revitalizing CA's Cities After Redevelopment
When California's 400 or so redevelopment agencies were shuttered in 2012, cities lost an essential tool for funding affordable housing and economic development. A new white paper from the ULI recommends new tools to stimulate balanced growth.
Spain's Colossal Casino Project Dealt a Bad Hand
Las Vegas Sands and its billionaire owner Sheldon G. Adelson have cancelled outlandish plans to build a $30 billion megacasino near Madrid.
Happy City Highlights
Hazel Borys shines today's PlaceShaker spotlight on "Happy City" by Charles Montgomery. Check it out and you'll be questioning our collective priorities in no time. C'mon get happy!
Did the Community Get Too Much out of the Atlantic Yards Deal?
In a recent filing, Forest City Ratner reported that it will lose $250-$350 million of its initial investment in the Atlantic Yards project. Higher-than-expected costs to build affordable housing, among other things, are being blamed for the loss.
Summit Prescribes Walking as America's "Wonder Drug"
At America's first ever "Walking Summit", physicians, planners, developers, and community activists gathered to discuss how physical activity can help heal people and communities.
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.
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
