Community / Economic Development

After a flawed parking study on Manhattan's core last fall, the NYC Department of City Planning have released a revised version that calls for an end to parking minimums, especially those linked to affordable housing.

January 4, 2012 - Streetsblog New York City

The formula for Detroit's current status is complicated -- a mix of local, regional and national socioeconomic forces. But while many hands have shaped the good and bad of today's Detroit, the impact of current federal policy is easy to spot.

January 4, 2012 - City Limits

The California State Supreme Court recently upheld the eradication of the state's roughly 400 redevelopment agencies, and now officials from those groups are trying to convince legislators to give back some of their spending powers.

January 4, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

As crop prices rise, Iowa land formerly thought useless for farming is being tilled and planted.

January 4, 2012 - The New York Times

Projects across the country seek to definitively identify the names of city neighborhoods -- a process that's both difficult and important to local pride, according to those behind these efforts.

January 3, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

On South Florida's radar: three "Las Vegas-style casino resorts," the prospect of which has already begun impacting nearby development. Fred A. Bernstein reports.

January 3, 2012 - The New York Times

Walmart stores -- once vilified by cities for their impact on local smaller retailers -- are now getting the red carpet treatment from some urban cities. Walmart has adapted its store design, and cities need the tax revenue from large retailers.

January 3, 2012 - Shopping Centers Today

To the ire of environmental critics, the Chinese State Council has moved some bureaucratic roadblocks to likely enable the building of a $3.8 billion dam.

January 3, 2012 - The New York Times

Will Doig takes us through some of the biggest projects to look out for across the nation this year, proving that cities are neither as cash-strapped nor as unimaginative as we perhaps thought.

January 2, 2012 - Salon

This piece from The New York Times goes inside the economic powerhouse of Mumbai's Dharavi slum to profile the informality that both troubles it and brings it prosperity.

January 1, 2012 - The New York Times

The continuing recession and housing crisis are being further decimated by federal cuts to housing aid, according to The Nation.

January 1, 2012 - The Nation

University Place, Washington is a small town struggling through the recession. With its credit rating recently downgraded and labeled a "negative outlook," the town is facing new challenges as it tries to emerge from the hole.

January 1, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Atlantic Cities collects the new slogans cities adopted in 2011 to help define their city and improve business and tourism.

December 31, 2011 - Atlantic Cities

Your probably heard of ecotourism -- responsible tourism to natural areas. Apocalypse tourism celebrates the the end of the world on December 21, 2012, and Mexico's tourism board has the event locked up.

December 30, 2011 - CNN

New street furniture is being installed in Toronto, but locals are already sick of it. They're called "information pillars" and are supposed to offer helpful directions and info to pedestrians, but critics complain that they're mostly advertisements.

December 30, 2011 - The Globe and Mail

The court's decision is likely to have far-reaching effects on how cities in California finance and facilitate urban redevelopment.

December 30, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.

December 28, 2011 - Salon.com

New legislation by the Maharashtra State Governments would allow private land owners to apply for city boundary expansions as a tool to ease congestion.

December 27, 2011 - Hindustan Times

After the earthquake, Haiti's recovery has not been in rebuilding the center city, but through decentralization and the development of farming. But even this plan, reports Randal Archibald, is fraught with challenges.

December 26, 2011 - The New York Times

Academic Mario Polèse argues that the history of local economic development is a "story of academic fads", that have "proven of little practical use."

December 26, 2011 - City Journal