Community / Economic Development

Competition Rising Among Food Trucks

Is the food truck craze "over"? The instant urbanism of the street food phenomenon is still highly popular, despite the media coverage saying the trend is facing a bubble.

May 31, 2011 - NPR

Revitalization Projects in South Central L.A.

Bank of America touts their lending programs that have funded redevelopment in South Central, particularly a mixed-use development at the corner of Adams and Central that includes a Fresh N' Easy market.

May 31, 2011 - Bank of America

The Town That Hugged New Urbanism

Sharon McMillan explains how her town - Unionville, Ontario - gave New Urbanism "a great big hug" back in the 1970s, and has benefited ever since.

May 28, 2011 - New Urban Network

A Broader Look at Creativity in the World's Top Cities

Top livable cities may be be good for families or corporations, but they don't often fuel or enable creativity the way their listers think they do, according to this piece.

May 28, 2011 - Future of Business

Preparing for the Next Housing Boom

Richard Reep explains how developers, contractors, and even home-buyers in Florida contributed to the growth for growth's sake attitude which has left the Florida landscape littered with poorly built condos and plenty of lessons to be learned.

May 27, 2011 - New Geography

Qatar Plans to Avoid White Elephants from 2022 World Cup

With plans to greatly reduce seating capacities and export an entire stadium, Qatar is hoping to reduce the negative long-term impact of its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

May 27, 2011 - Associated Press

New Zealand's Hillside Sign Idea Irks Hollywood

The city of Wellington, an emerging center for filmmaking in New Zealand, is considering a plans to build a hillside sign with the word "Wellywood" -- an homage to the famous "Hollywood" sign. Hollywood is not flattered.

May 27, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Beautiful, But Not So Vibrant

The city of Vancouver is beautiful, but according to this op-ed, it hasn't yet been able to create a truly vibrant city life.

May 27, 2011 - The Vancouver Sun

Lighting Up the Public Realm

This video from Public Architecture looks at three outdoor lighting displays and their impact on the public realm in San Francisco.

May 26, 2011 - Public Architecture

Not a High Speed Train to Nowhere

California's high speed rail project has been criticized for starting its first section in the state's central valley and connecting to small towns. But this piece argues that's exactly the right way to do it.

May 26, 2011 - Miller-McCune

Density, Resources and Greatness

Density reduces costs and helps make places more sustainable, according to this post in a series on "great places".

May 26, 2011 - Grist

Citizens Create Temporary Park in Philadelphia

Community members in Philadelphia have taken over a languishing site and put it back into use as a temporary park space.

May 26, 2011 - NewsWorks

Locals Rally to Stop Highway Extension

A vocal and dedicated contingent of residents have successfully rallied to halt plans to expand a highway in metropolitan Vancouver.

May 25, 2011 - Straight

Mogadishu Goes Tennessee

The Tennessee town of Shelbyville has become a new center for Somalian refugees. A new documentary looks at what the influx of this group has meant to the city and its people.

May 25, 2011 - Miller-McCune

Reflecting on the Contemporary City of Los Angeles

In this excerpt from a new book on Los Angeles, L.A.-based architect Michael Maltzan reflects on the city, and how its clashes and evolving identity are part of why it represents the future of cities.

May 25, 2011 - Places

Will Olympics Earn Green Medal for London?

The 2012 Olympics are hoped to create a big economic boost for host city London. The event's long-term impacts on the environment, though, are still hard for organizers to predict.

May 25, 2011 - The Guardian

Cities Aren't Disposable

So says Maria Choca Urban of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, which recently released a plan for retrieving Cleveland, Ohio from the dustbin.

May 24, 2011 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Expense of Tax-Increment Financing

A new report from the Cato Institute says that tax-increment financing (TIFs) costs taxpayers $10 billion a year and the practice is growing by the minute.

May 24, 2011 - The Antiplanner

Development Authority Seizes Control of Boardwalk

Is Park Place next? In Atlantic City, the newly-created Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) has taken control of the city's casino district.

May 24, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

When Jobs are Temporary, How Does Economic Development Create Them?

Bill Fulton writes about the shift from permanent, full-time jobs to "1099 jobs": hourly, contract work that is becoming more and more common. If 1099 jobs take over the economy, how can economic developers do their job?

May 23, 2011 - Governing Magazine

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.

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.