Community / Economic Development
London’s Lived-In Look
London calling! PlaceMaker Hazel Borys fuses her passions for great cities, efficient transit, civic art and form-based coding into one lavishly documented examination of the English capital. Cheers, mates!
To Compete, Phoenix Must Grow Up, Not Out
As Wellington 'Duke' Reiter notes, for the past several decades Phoenix has shown it expertise in horizontal growth. But, as development heats up again after the Great Recession, he says the city's growth must be managed to increase density.
Elite Citadels: The Global Growth of the Gated City
Gated communities were once confined to specific neighborhoods or suburban areas, but as the global financial sector grows, entire cities are becoming gated enclaves where the 'one per cent' network and drive national policies, says Simon Kuper.
Are Cities Killing Their Creative Edge in the Quest for More Revenue?
As the world's centers of business and politics compete to create ever more lucrative commercial and residential zones, creative spaces are being razed and redeveloped. Is the ability to nurture creativity and diversity being lost in the process?
How to Make a Resilient City (budget)
Building intensity can do just about everything: make a city budget more resilient, conserve land, and encourage infill. And possibly make your morning omelet.
What Does it Feel Like When a City is Turning Around?
Cleveland resident Anne Trubek notes a change in the city's zeitgeist. Whereas decades of disinvestment once led to cheerleading, today's mood is more proactive. A sense of civic obligation reflects an exciting but anxious time in the city's history.
Suburban Poor? Are You Sure?
Brookings Institute's “Confronting Suburban Poverty” is generating a lot of buzz. Community development leaders and planners took to Rooflines to voice opinions and critiques of the book, moving its authors to submit a response that you must read.
The Case for Protecting Strip Malls from 'Commercial Gentrification'
As our suburbs diversify, the most affordable commercial districts found in such areas (often in strip malls) become an important entry point for immigrants to build their 'American Dream'. Kaid Benfield asks if such opportunities deserve protection.
D.C. Bike Share Steers Economic Growth
Real estate listings tout proximity to it, retailers want to be near it, and communities are clamoring for it; Capital Bikeshare has become an economic development tool that some think could be as potent as cars and Metro in guiding development.
Gas Tax Woes: A Tale of Two New England States
As states struggle with ways to increase transportation revenue to shore-up aging infrastructure, we look at Conn. and N.H. Due to indexing, one will increase its gas tax by 4-cents on July 1, while the other rejected a 12-cent increase over 3 years.
Stereotypes Undergird Coverage of Detroit Whole Foods Opening
When does the opening of a Whole Foods generate national media attention? When the location is Midtown, Detroit.
Maryland County Seeks to Spur TODs by Fast-Tracking Approvals
Prince George's County will streamline the review process for developers who build around public transit stations, writes Miranda S. Spivack. The bill could speed up the approvals process by as much as a year.
From 'Deadwood City' to Thriving Downtown: Redwood City's Remarkable Comeback
Downtown Redwood City (near San Francisco) has seen an amazing turnaround due to an aggressive program of code reform, strong investments in public spaces, and a strategy of using entertainment as a catalyzing force.
Sharing Transit Costs Produces Shared Benefits in D.C.'s NoMa Neighborhood
Jay Corbalis profiles NoMa (short for “North of Massachusetts Avenue”), Washington D.C.'s fastest growing neighborhood, where a building boom has been propelled by an innovative transit funding partnership between the public and private sectors.
The One About the Parking-Pinched Merchant…
Small business owners who drive themselves nuts arguing against the reuse of on-street parking with other balanced transportation solutions is a shame because there is so much good data to prove it's actually very good for business.
'Handshake Buildings' Demonstrate Successes and Failures of China's Urbanization
The migrants that have swelled China's cities in recent decades still remain 'second-class citizens', unable to sell their rural land or have access to public services like schools or medical care. Will the country's new leaders change this?
The Cost of Walmart
A new report tallies the cost to public coffers incurred by Walmart employees who rely on public-assistance programs to supplement their low wages. The report should provide food for thought for any community seeking to attract the retail giant.
Removing the Obstacles to Infilling Los Angeles
City leaders from the Mayor on down recognize that infill development is necessary to create a more livable Los Angeles. So why does the public sector allow so many obstacles to stand in the way of small-scale development?
Rwandan Town Takes Top Honors at CNU Charter Awards
A student project to radically rethink housing projects on New York’s Lower East Side and a holistic approach to a Rwandan village took top honors at the 2013 CNU Charter Awards, announced this week at CNU 21 in Salt Lake City.
The World's Top Travel Destinations
Planning a trip to Bangkok this year? If so, you're not alone. The Thai capital tops MasterCard's new ranking of the world's most visited cities, with nearly 16 million tourists expected to see the city this year.
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.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
