Community / Economic Development
The Three Elements That Attract People to Place
Addressing Minneapolis business leaders last week, Katherine Loflin, lead consultant to the Knight Foundation's Soul of the Community Project, explained the key factors that drive people's attachment to a city and how to lure young professionals.
My LA2050 Winners Will Transform Abandoned Places into Usable Spaces
One theme unites the winners of the My LA2050 competition: a desire to reinvigorate Los Angeles’s vacant and underused spaces.
From Memphis to Vancouver, Bikes Mean Business
Cities and companies are catching on to the economic impact of expanding bicycling amenities, writes Carolyn Szczepanski, who shares the growing body of research and anecdotal examples of the attraction between bikes and businesses.
The Economic Downside of Homeownership
A new study by two professors from University of Warwick in England suggests that higher homeownership levels correlate to higher unemployment, a finding contrary to long-held beliefs in the unmitigated benefits of owning a home.
Why Some Say China Isn't Urbanizing Fast Enough
Though China's cities have been growing exponentially, some argue it isn't urbanizing fast enough. Fearing Latin American-style slums, leaders have restricted migration. They're now being urged to ease controls to maximize agglomeration effects.
Better Block Goes Small Town
From Dallas to Denver, Las Vegas to Oklahoma City... and now tiny North Adams, Mass. The wildly successful Better Block model has primarily spawned projects in large urban areas, but small towns are starting to pay attention.
Dream of Suburban D.C. Light Rail a Nightmare to Local Residents
At an open house organized to update the public on plans to build a 16-mile light rail line linking spurs of D.C.'s subway system in suburban Maryland, planners' visions of smart growth where seen as a developer-driven nightmare by local residents.
Asia's Emergence in One Stunning Map
A simple graphic posted to Reddit recently shows that more than half of the world's total population resides within a circle drawn over Asia. For Matthew Yglesias, it "underscores the fundamental truth of 21st-century economics."
Build, Don't Bulldoze, Slums to Reduce Poverty
Indian journalist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar examines the opportunities that informal settlements provide to the poor and unskilled for ascending economic and social ladders.
The Ominous Side of America's Urban Comeback
"The comeback of the urban core is a striking reversal of long-term trends," proclaims Richard Florida. Although this rebound is good for urban growth and prosperity, it hasn't been able to solve enduring problems of poverty and disadvantage.
Kotkin Crushes His (Imaginary) Enemies
Many planners these days are promoting higher densities, especially in urban cores. Urban scholar Joel Kotkin inexplicably takes this trend to mean that a "cult" of planners favors bone-crushing crowds that would turn US cities into slums.
Does Urbanization Make Nations Less Relevant?
In the pre-modern era, city-states were the engines of global trade and diplomacy. As rapid urbanization drives globalization outside the structures of international frameworks, cities are returning to the fore as transnational actors.
The Dynamic Potential of Urbanism Without Effort
Chuck Wolfe summarizes a major tenet of his new book and suggests we risk ignoring the back story of urban forms and functions by failing to truly understand the traditional relationships between people and place.
Slackers No More, Generation X Redefines Governance and Outreach
As they move into positions of leadership in their communities and in the public sector, a generation once labelled as "slackers" is helping to change the relationship between governments and their citizens, reports Rob Gurwitt.
Largest Passivhaus Development in UK Underway
Featuring 150 Passivhaus dwelling units set amid wetlands and orchards, Architype's development in Herefordshire will also create jobs through an off-site but local prefabrication factory.
Segregation Doesn't Only Harm the Poor
Emily Badger looks at recent research that shows that racial and economic segregation harms not only minority and low-income families, but also those that've fled to affluent areas.
Reverse Migration Threatens New Jersey Suburbs
After a half century of growth driven by families fleeing New York City, New Jersey's northern suburbs face an uncertain future as young families, young professionals and retirees find a resurgent Big Apple more to their liking.
Unlocking the Value of Legacy Assets
As cash strapped communities look to maximize their return on investment, a potent argument can be made for leveraging significant investments already made in a city's legacy assets to drive economic development.
Website Provides Tools to Resurrect Abandoned Buildings
The world is full of millions of abandoned buildings; unused resources that drag down their surrounding communities. One website aims to provide advocates with the tools to reactivate them, writes Ben Schiller.
In D.C., Nearby Projects Reveal Advantages of Effective Outreach
The divergent routes to approvals for two apartment complex developments just a mile apart show how important it is to engage both government and the surrounding community early in the process.
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
