Community / Economic Development

2,200 cities, counties and arts orgs applied to ArtPlace to fund their creative placemaking projects in 2012. 47 projects, ranging from an arts campus in rural Sitka, Alaska to a series of "aerial nets" along a Philadelphia waterfront, made the cut.

June 12, 2012 - ArtPlace

Two assistant professors from the University of Chicago and BYU have found that the addition of a Wal-Mart store in a neighborhood can raise the value of homes within a mile of the store, reports Mary Ellen Podmolik.

June 12, 2012 - Chicago Tribune

Aaron M. Renn looks at Chicago's struggles over the last decade - one that saw the city "increasingly falling behind its large urban brethren" - and asks whether its aspirations for becoming a global city are delusional.

June 11, 2012 - City Journal

The waning popularity of its transportation system and the lack of attention to its lower-income population has put Curitiba’s “reputation as an urban planning model” on the line.

June 9, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Scattered-site rental management is something nonprofits have long found to be a challenge. But there are ways of pulling it off, and those who have done it tell Shelterforce how, and why it’s worth it.

June 9, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

With "guys in suits" having replaced the "artists, weirdos and blue-collar families" that surrounded Adam Davidson while growing up in the Village in the 1970s, he wonders if mom-and-pop shops can survive the neighborhood's extreme gentrification.

June 8, 2012 - The New York Times

The high cost of driving in Los Angeles has led some residents to swap their cars for bikes, buses, and the subway. This change has inadvertently allowed them to find freedom in their lives and a better connection with the City of Angels.

June 8, 2012 - Good Cities

Twitter’s move into San Francisco this month is part of a new trend of tech companies setting up in the city, causing rents to skyrocket, and forcing lower-income residents out.

June 7, 2012 - The New York Times

John Yung traces Cincinnati's dramatic comeback over the last decade, and gives credit to the Center City Plan developed in 2002 by HR&A and Cooper, Robertson & Partners for laying the groundwork for the city's subsequent revitalization.

June 6, 2012 - UrbanCincy

Marissa Gluck attributes downtown L.A.'s resurgence to some unlikely community development partners - our four-legged friends.

June 6, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

In the first part of a series examining the failure of Portland-area fair housing, Brad Schmidt explains how a region that prides itself on its progressive values and openness to diversity is "harboring a form of institutionalized racial inequity."

June 5, 2012 - The Oregonian

Hazel Borys argues that "the payback of livable places really can’t be calculated in dollars, or pounds of fat or carbon, or even hours. The payback of place is passion."

June 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

No one wants to be stuck in traffic. But next time you find yourself pounding the steering wheel out of frustration just think about Eric Dumbaugh's findings regarding the connection between congestion and economic productivity.

June 3, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Planned as intensely for the two weeks this summer when the world's attention will be focused on the XXX Olympiad as the decades following the end of the last race, Anthony Faiola examines whether London's Olympics provide a model for future hosts.

June 2, 2012 - The Washington Post

A new development intending to jump-start downtown Newark's renewal, and designed by Richard Meier, is banking on the stimulating powers of an unlikely economic engine - teachers.

May 31, 2012 - Fast Company

A new series of documentary films seeks to explore the value and impact of public interest projects designed using the SEED process, which is based on a belief that design can be a catalyst for positive change within the public at large.

May 30, 2012 - SEEDocs.org

Dan Rosenfeld looks at two recent projects in L.A. that incorporate public art components and finds that "investments in public art may provide the highest financial returns of any funds committed to an aspect of a transit project."

May 29, 2012 - Urban Land

The sale of distressed mortgages is far less publicized than talk of the market for foreclosed properties. But these loans are being actively traded—in 2011 this activity included 149,000 loans which translates to roughly $26 billion in trades.

May 27, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

Looking for a long read this long weekend? Check out Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley's article on the keys to creating collaborative metropolitan areas that can successfully compete in the global economy.

May 26, 2012 - Next American City

The Grid solicited ideas from some of Toronto's smartest people for how to make the city better, no matter what the cost or feasibility. David Topping and Katie Underwood deliver the inventive results.

May 24, 2012 - The Grid