Community / Economic Development
Paradise Lost, Paradise Found: Planning for People Rather Than Cars in Hawai'i
With better planning Honolulu can become an active travel paradise. Replace car sewers with pedestrian promenades, and build urban villages where it is easy to get around without driving.
LA County Adopts First Heat Action Plan
LA County has adopted its first Heat Action Plan, a long-term, people-centered framework to reduce heat risks, protect public health, and adapt communities, homes, and public spaces to a hotter and more dangerous climate.
Rural Illinois Transit Brings $4 in Economic Benefits for Every Dollar Spent
Chronically underfunded rural public transit systems are key lifelines are economic engines for rural communities.
Jim Crow Robbed America of Public Pools. It’s Time to get Them Back.
Disparity amongst who can and can’t swim in America isn’t an accident — and it's deadly. Let’s reclaim the community pool as an essential public space.
Santa Rosa Approves Plan for Weekend Open-Container Districts
City planning staff are proposing two “entertainment zones” where bar and restaurant patrons could finish their drinks while strolling outdoors.
In Some Small Towns, Childcare Centers are Becoming Engines of Economic Development
City-supported ‘multiplex’ childcare centers in commercial spaces and satellite micro-centers in rural areas are creating opportunities for small businesses and offering more flexible, accessible childcare.
Washington House Legalizes Corner Cafes, Bodegas Statewide
The near-unanimous vote allows commercial uses in residential areas in nearly every Washington neighborhood.
The Superstar Metro Argument... And Why It Fails
One argument against solving the housing shortage in large, expensive cities is that growth in those cities will drain people and wealth from declining areas. Data does not agree.
Tampa Awards 60% of Tampa Infill Housing Program Lots to Black Builders
The program encourages private-public partnerships that develop new, attainably priced housing on vacant and blighted lots.
Judge Says FEMA Can’t Withhold Grant Funds Under ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’ Conditions
The decision favors a coalition of 12 states that sued the Trump administration over new conditions for disaster recovery and emergency relief funds.
Planetizen’s Top Posts of 2025
The most-read articles on Planetizen in 2025.
Saving the Houston Astrodome Could Cost $750 Million
Local residents have shown strong support for using public funds to preserve and restore the historic stadium as an entertainment venue.
Santa Cruz’s Surf Breaks Under Threat From Climate Change and Coastal Erosion
The Northern California surf haven could lose its iconic waves as projects designed to protect coastal infrastructure alter its coastline.
Austin Businesses Call for Sixth Street Bike Lanes
Local business owners say bike lanes would improve safety and boost local business.
Great Cities Don’t Just Acknowledge That We Age In Them — They Build For It. We Can Too.
We age in sidewalks, public spaces, transit stops, and community centers — not in hospitals. As populations age, the built environment will determine whether our cities thrive or struggle in the decades ahead.
String Lights are Secular! The Holiday Case for Year-round Placemaking
The holidays make streets and spaces warm, cozy, and welcoming. Why don’t we do that year round?
New Tool Uncovers Exact Costs of Downtown Highways
A new research tool can help cities calculate the economic potential that could be unlocked by replacing highways with other uses.
How South Gate, California Expanded its Park System Against the Odds
With limited space and funding, South Gate opened three new parks this year through community-driven design, creative partnerships, and persistent public leadership.
Disney Imagineers Join Effort to Rebuild Altadena’s Charles White Park After Wildfire
Disney is contributing $5 million and the talents of its Imagineers to help Los Angeles County rebuild Charles White Park and other fire-damaged Altadena parks.
Santa Fe Becomes First US City to Tie Minimum Wage to Rent
The city’s minimum wage increases will be tied to the Consumer Price Index and local market housing costs.
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
