Community / Economic Development
Streetcars: The Latest Must-Have Accessory for CA's Cities
Los Angeles recently took a major step in its plan to return streetcars to downtown's streets. But they're not the only Southern California city pursuing the nation's trendy transit mode. Bill Fulton examines the attraction.
Making Placemaking Fun
Looking for new ways to explain best placemaking practices? Today's guest Shaker, Amanda Thompson, has a novel take: dance. Complete with video!
Livable Cities Awards Enable Healthy Urban Infrastructure
Rain water collection in Yemen, shaded bus shelters in Uganda and a pop-up modular park in Argentina are the legacy of Philips's Livable Cities Awards.
BeltLine Success a Symbol of a Changing Atlanta
With just two miles of an eventual 22 transformed from old rail tracks to trails, Atlantans are enjoying a taste of the planned $2.8 billion BeltLine. Despite its early success, the future of the ambitious project is far from settled.
Lack of Diversity Plagues Jacobs's Vision of Urban Change
Fifty years after Jane Jacobs published her seminal book, "her vision of urban change [has] won the day," says Inga Saffron. Though her vision of physical diversity has prevailed, "that vision is also giving us a new kind of sterility."
With 'Promise Zone' Program, Obama Looks to Aid Distressed Neighborhoods
Many have commented that for a President with a strong urban background and constituency, Barack Obama has given scant attention to urban issues. Will a new program announced today change that narrative?
Planning for People
Instead of planning cities around shiny, tomorrowland dreams of our own invention, how about planning them around something we can count on: the needs of people! Complete with a groovy, vintage planning video mash-up.
Economic Development and Planning: It's a Match!
Mitchell Silver, Raleigh City Planner and President of the APA, is on a mission to get planners to realize the importance of return on investment (ROI) in their projects. Raleigh is providing the testing ground for his arguments.
Valentines for City Enthusiasts
If you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day card for the planning enthusiast in your life, search no further. Five different Valentines show appreciation for cities and the people that live in them.
Cars and Vibrant Cities: Opposites That Don't Attract
New research out of the University of Connecticut shows that making room for parking in cities only leads to more cars, and less people and economic development.
Urban Farming Model Takes Off In Boston Suburb
A suburban farming model based on shared private garden plots springs up in Needham, Massachusetts. Could Kate Canney's experiment be an antidote to the challenge of finding farmland that plagues prospective farmers nationwide?
Can Redevelopment Heal Kent's Old Wounds?
A $110 million mixed-use development being built in the center of Kent, Ohio is being touted as the gateway to a new economic era, and is helping the city's major institutions put a four-decade-old tragedy behind them, reports Keith Schneider.
To Reduce Urban Poverty, Empower
Offering a list of policy innovations in several emerging mega-cities, URB.im managing editor Josephine d’Allant argues for empowerment over charity in the battle to improve conditions for the urban poor.
Making a Place for Artists in New Orleans
Appealing to artists is a common method of urban revitalization, but keeping artists and musicians around after a community is revitalized is an equally difficult task.
Unique Partnership Crucial to Cincinnati Neighborhood's Renaissance
Craig Chester describes the "unique partnership" between city leaders, local corporations and private developers that has helped transform Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood into "one of America’s greatest smart growth success stories."
Neighborhoods First (and Goal)
Howard Blackson's words of advice for San Diego's new administration are applicable wherever it is you call home. Neighborhoods first!
Businesses Seek a Slice of the Pacified Pie in Brazil’s Favelas
Following the surge of “pacifying” missions in many of Rio de Janeiro’s famed favelas, Forbes’ Ricardo Geromel discusses the arrival of private sector investments and how they may evolve in the future.
The World's Most Expensive Cities
The Economist Intelligence Unit has released its list of the world's most expensive cities. Not one city from North America cracks the top twenty.
The 'Troubling Irony' Beneath the High Line
Presenting the case of New York's High Line, student Sahra Mirbabaee questions who benefits from the city's investments.
Film Review: Gentrification and Rezoning in Downtown Brooklyn
Kelly Anderson's documentary My Brooklyn tells the story of gentrification through the lens of corporate interests in urban planning.
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
