Community / Economic Development
Atlanta's Ambitious BeltLine Takes Shape
Despite recent controversy that claimed the BeltLine Inc’s president, when the 2.25-mile Eastside Trail opens this week, Atlanta's long-awaited Beltline will take its “most significant step forward yet,” reports Bill Torpy.
Cut-Throat Competition to Lure Conventions Pits City Against City
With the convention industry still hobbled by the effects of the recession, and a glut of convention space across America hungering for events, cities are going to extreme lengths to attract the expected injections to their local economies.
The Secret to Savannah's Surging Downtown
Lively walkable streets teeming with tourists bouncing between unique stores make Savannah's downtown the envy of many cities. But this state of affairs hasn't always been the case. Greg Bluestein looks at the secrets to Savannah's success.
The American City Makes a Comeback
Architectural Record explores the rebirth of the American city through the lens of three cities reinventing themselves through public initiatives, architecture, and urban design: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City.
Fetishizing Urban Decay Becomes Fashionable at NYC’s Newest Attractions
Sarah Goodyear attributes the appeal of NYC's High Line, and the recently opened Barclays Center, to not only smart urban design, but also the nostalgia of urban decay.
Investing in Port Cities Now, Reaping Benefits Later
With the expansion of the Panama Canal expected to be complete in 2015, U.S. Port Cities are uniquely positioned to reap economic benefits of increased industrial activity.
LocalData: An App for Grassroots Planning
A free digital toolkit allowing communities to collect, analyze, and share their own data will be launched nationally at the end of the year.
Aging in 'Connected' Places
Ben Brown argues that design adaptations intended to accommodate America's swelling senior population by "aging in place" will be unable, on their own, to meet the challenge. He looks at one model of support that goes beyond universal design.
Scenes from The World's Factory
A journalist offers a personal account and striking images from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, China, home to factories that the produce a wide variety of exported goods.
The New Breed of Public-Interest Designers
An emerging field of public interest design embeds architects and designers in communities that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford good design.
Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Move South and Buy LA's Luxury Housing
The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing numbers of technology entrepreneurs who are buying luxury homes in beachfront areas around Los Angeles, earning the stretch from Santa Monica to Playa Vista the name "Silicon Beach".
Urban Agriculture in the Sky: Hong Kong's Farming Boom
In one of the world's most dense cities, urban agriculture finds its place on the rooftops of Hong Kong buildings. Fears of tainted imports is spurring much of the growth.
Williamsburg: Brooklyn’s New 'Hipster Epicenter'
For many locals, Williamsburg in Brooklyn was a weird neighborhood one passed by when getting into lower Manhattan. Now it is the center of gravity of creativity in New York City. Metropolis magazine takes a walkabout in the neighborhood.
Will Vancouver Lose It's Farming Mojo?
Vancouver has the most farmland and farmers in North America. However, as Vancouver booms, the thriving agricultural belt that surrounds Greater Vancouver is at risk from an expanding city.
Seven Strategies For Inner City Growth
Participants from a conference called the Inner City Economic Summit offer a variety of themes on "What Works" for meeting the needs of inner cities economies.
The New Model for Low-Income Housing
San Francisco's new experiment in low-income housing is a beautiful one; a new building combines eye-popping design and amenities you wish you had.
The Great Brooklyn Bait-and-Switch
No one should be surprised that at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards site, nothing is, or ever will be, as promised, writes columnist Roberta Brades Gratz.
Turning Kids Into Planners
An experiment in Germany engages kids to build micro-cities as playgrounds. The idea is coming to downtown Philadelphia.
Real Estate Investment in the Hands of the 99%
A new skyscraper is set to grace skies over Bogota, Colombia. Instead of one wealthy developer, the tower is being funded by thousands of people, each with their own stake in the property.
The Epitome of Community Within a Los Angeles Housing Complex
Park La Brea, the nation's largest housing complex west of the Mississippi, like much of Los Angeles, has changed dramatically over the decades. Yet, an overwhelming sense of community and identity has endured.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
