Community / Economic Development

"Creating Places for People"

That's the title of a draft report from the Australian Dept. of Infrastructure and Transport presenting model processes for creating high-quality urban environments.

October 21, 2011 - Architecture and Design

In Seattle, Feelings are Mixed on Extra Perks for "Ultra-Green" Building Standards

Under the "living building" pilot program, a handful of developments get to bypass the usual zoning for sticking to some of the most stringent building standards in the world. But one developer wants an additional 10 feet of height for it.

October 21, 2011 - The Seattle Times

Can a Canadian Company Condemn Your Land?

TransCanada is trying to use eminent domain to obtain easements from unwilling landowners for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

October 19, 2011 - The New York Times

The Megarich 1% Live in New York

Well, a good percentage of them do, with 13% of the country's 57,860 ultra high net worth individuals living in NYC.

October 19, 2011 - CNN

Portrait of a Neighborhood Razed by Robert Moses

Filmmaker Jim Epstein read "The Power Broker", the biography of Robert Moses, and set out to document one of the communities destroyed by Moses' urban renewal of the 1950s.

October 19, 2011 - MetroFocus

The "People's Library" Boosts the Occupy Wall Street Movement

As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows, it is developing into a "mini society" complete with its own forms of community and institutions, including a public library.

October 19, 2011 - City Limits

Developers in Downtown, Cleveland are Turning to the Slots to Appeal to a New Crowd

Executives of Rock Gaming LLC and its partner, Caesars Entertainment Corp, are hoping to revitalize Cleveland's downtown nightlife and create connections with nearby businesses by building Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.

October 18, 2011 - The Plain Dealer

The Challenge of City Branding

Branding a city, writes Scott Doyon, isn't as easy as creating a product brand. Cities already have identities, so a new brand can ring false if it isn't in harmony with reality. Case in point: Dunwoody, Georgia.

October 18, 2011 - Terrain.org

Why the Suburban Exodus Hasn't Happened Yet

Greg Hanscom at Grist asks, if, as polls say, so many Millennials want to live in the city, why is the downtown resurgence a trickle rather than a flood?

October 18, 2011 - Grist

Las Vegas Learns To Mow Its Own Lawn

Nevada has gone from having the lowest unemployment in the US in 2006 at 4% to the highest now at 13.4%. Once again Las Vegas is proving to be a reflection of the country's wider problems, where the top end of the market never dropped out.

October 17, 2011 - The Guardian

Innovative Public/Private Model to Revitalize a Downtown

Quincy, Massachusetts is planning to clear out 50 acres of its city center and build $1.3 billion in retail shops, offices, parking garages and more, plus $300m in new infrastructure. A new financial model is making it possible.

October 17, 2011 - Governing Magazine

A "Healthy Capacity" for Transit Manufacturing Exists in NYC

Citing the shift in economic activity at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Ginia Bellafonte makes a case for bringing transit manufacturing to this and similar areas of the city. Talent's not an issue, but financing always is.

October 16, 2011 - The New York Times

Atlanta Transportation Plans Ready for Votes

Which aspects of the regional transportation projects may underwhelm following months of compromise? Ariel Hart examines the plans, which serve both "mobility" and "political ends."

October 16, 2011 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday Funny: Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan is Straight Out of SimCity

Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain has been touting a plan where individuals, businesses and a national sales tax would all be 9%. Reporter Amanda Terkel says this sounds suspiciously similar to the default settings in SimCity.

October 14, 2011 - The Huffington Post

New Technologies Increase Citizen Investment In Cities

A recent Pew Research study revealed that 58% of 25-34 year old Americans own smartphones, and communicate with each other, and their city governments in new ways.

October 14, 2011 - American City and Country

N.Y. Exhibition Celebrates Collaborative Design

A new exhibition curated by the Cooper-Hewitt in New York illustrates how the design community is trying to reshape itself as more collaborative than 'pedagogic or paternalistic.'

October 14, 2011 - The Atlantic

São Paulo's "Big Worm" Needs to Flatten

At least, according to the city's urban planners. The two-mile elevated highway is a hindrance, reports Juan Forero, to the city's modernization.

October 14, 2011 - The Washington Post

Richard Florida Examines Walkscore's Top Ten Cities

Richard Florida digests Walkscore's Walkability rankings, and discusses some surprising results. Among the top ten are Union City, New Jersey, and Miami, Florida.

October 13, 2011 - The Atlantic

Exploring Serenbe

Terrain.org's newest "UnSprawl" case study explores the new Serenbe development, a mixed-use community of three hamlets anchored by an organic farm and striving to be an Atlanta-region destination for its restaurants, inn, and more.

October 13, 2011 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

APA's Picks Great Neighborhoods for 2011

Each year, the American Planning Association singles out neighborhoods that "...represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow."

October 13, 2011 - American Planning Association

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.