Community / Economic Development
Stagnant Sales Hamper Chicago's Revitalization Efforts
Failing to attract buyers even with deep discounts, developers are starting to bail out on Plan for Transformation, an ambitious program that seeks to replace moribund public housing projects with mixed-income housing.
Chinese Ghost Cities on the Rise
A year after taking a look at the new but empty cities being created in China, Business Insider takes a trip back to see what's changed in those brand new and unoccupied cities.
Opportunities for Big-Box Developments Abound Across the Northern Border
After being hidden in plain sight for decades, Canada now emerges as the hot spot for U.S. "international" investment.
St. Louis Streetcar On Path to Revival
Plans to revive a decades-dead streetcar loop in St. Louis are gathering steam.
A Pool in the River
This Kickstarter campaign is hoping to raise money to build a floating pool in the waters around New York City that use and filter river water to provide a public swimming facility.
Marketing Cities as Products in China
City development has become a close cousin to product sales in China, where developers are finding new ways to market their services as suites of urban products.
South Korea to Build New Capital for Southern Sudan
The new country of Southern Sudan, officially declaring its independence in July, will have help from the national development arm of South Korea in building a proposed new capital city.
Cities Try New Approaches to Fund Streetcars
As federal transportation funding grows increasingly uncertain, cities across the country are trying new approaches to generate funds for their planned streetcar projects.
The Ponzi Scheme that Created the Suburbs
Charles Marohn explains how cities and towns failed to consider the future expense of expanded infrastructure to new suburban developments.
Clashing Strategies for Preserving Historic Community
Hannibal Square in Winter Park, Florida has a long history as an African-American community, dating back to the 19th century. Today, a community land trust, a redevelopment agency and other groups are approaching the community with different goals.
Rust Belt Mayors Are Greening Brownfields
With the unlikely help of a group called the Mayors Automotive Coalition, down-at-the-heels towns are reinventing themselves - in various shades of green.
Density, Closer to the Ground
Vancouver, Canada, famous for its dense downtown development, is changing tack slightly with a transit corridor from downtown to the airport, bringing building heights down mostly to 4 to 12 stories.
Realizing Fast-Forward Urbanism
Top-down and bottom-up planning are brushed aside in favor of the concept of a middle ground approach in the new book "Fast-Forward Urbanism: Rethinking Architecture's Engagement with the City". It could work, according to this review.
The Disproportionate Influence of Cities in Countries Around World
At a recent conference on world cities, attendees from all over the world shared the impression that their cities do not receive enough respect from their national governments.
Misinterpreting Metrics in List of 'Dying' Cities
In this post on The Infrastructurist, Peter Kageyama looks at a recent listing of 10 "dying" cities, and how the metrics used to rate these places can be and have been misinterpreted.
The Temporary Stadium
As London prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, plans for a temporary basketball stadium that can be removed after the event are offering a new way to look at the event and its potential for creating venues with no long-term usability.
The Olympic Aftermath in Athens
This piece from Domus goes on a tour of Athens with local architect Andreas Angelidakis, who reflects on the city's lasting and negative impacts from hosting the Olympics.
The Importance of Corners
Chuck Wolfe focuses on the role of the urban corner, terming it "the central place of urban life".
California Town Recommended for Dissolution
The Kern County grand jury concludes that Maricopa no longer has the resources to maintain its status and duties as an incorporated city. One example includes accepting an $8,000 loan from a tow truck operator to make City payroll.
Three Model Cities Seattle Can Learn From
Los Angeles, Cincinnati and San Francisco are tackling major urban problems quickly and effectively. This post argues that Seattle can learn much from these efforts.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
