Community / Economic Development

The rural Midwest produces much of our nation's food supply, and yet small towns in the heartland and around America are increasingly and ironically becoming food deserts - places where citizens have little access to fresh, healthy foods.

January 25, 2011 - Grist

Redevelopment agencies are vital to job creation and necessary for central cities to stem suburban job sprawl, claims Gerald Metcalf, executive director of a SF urban think tank (SPUR), countering CA Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed elimination of them.

January 24, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday Insight

With many scratching to make a living in a badly damaged economy, coworking is springing up to meet the needs of independent workers.

January 24, 2011 - New Urban Network

There are 12 community benefit districts in San Francisco, which raise their own taxes to create funds for various local projects. But some argue they favor big businesses.

January 24, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

The city of Detroit is increasingly characterized through imagery of its abandoned and decaying buildings. This piece from The New Republic says it's time to stop.

January 24, 2011 - The New Republic

A new project is seeking to create the first citywide, comprehensive urban agriculture plan for New York City.

January 24, 2011 - Urban Omnibus

A group of city leaders and activists gathered in Sacramento to protest Governor Jerry Brown's plan to close the state's redevelopment agencies.

January 24, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

This TIME video is titled, "What Makes Cities Smart?" But the mayors interviewed - Villariagosa, Daley, Nutter - are mostly obsessed with building public transit and high-speed rail.

January 24, 2011 - Time

Joel Kotkin said today that cities no longer need outside help. The day before, Bill Fulton talked about growth without population growth. This story focuses on strategies for cities to use land plans as business plans.

January 23, 2011 - PlaceShakers

Reconnecting America issues a guide to state, regional, and local programs that provide money for development connected to transit.

January 21, 2011 - New Urban Network

According to this article in Area Development Online, developing a brownfield is a no-brainer: infrastructure is in place, governments have redevelopment funds to support it, and "the PR flip is huge."

January 21, 2011 - Area Development Online

The City of Vancouver is moving forward with plans to re-zone downtown's Eastside neighborhood for extended height limits, but there are a growing number of voices speaking out against it, including planners.

January 20, 2011 - Vancouver Sun

In an excerpt from his new book, Bill Fulton suggests that it's time for America's cities to focus on prosperity, not population.

January 20, 2011 - Bill Fulton

Redevelopment agency officials throughout California are moving rapidly to prevent a threatened takeover by the state (to reduce deficit) by signing deals on projects potentially prematurely. LA just turned $1 billion in 275 projects to the city.

January 20, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

While the company town model hasn't been taken seriously in the West in decades, they're cropping up today in countries like China and India.

January 20, 2011 - The Economist

In Providence, Rhode Island, a team of young developers are breathing new life into an old factory complex. But it's not your typical condo conversion.

January 19, 2011 - Metropolis

The industrialization of Hong Kong created hundreds of abandoned villages on the outskirts of the city. Today, these rural villages struggle to rejuvenate their economies and preserve their traditions.

January 19, 2011 - The New York Times

Officials in Ogden, Utah are considering a plan to launch an unmanned blimp to monitor the city from crime at night.

January 19, 2011 - Reuters

The city of Detroit is considering a plan to close nearly half of its public schools and greatly increase its class sizes.

January 18, 2011 - The Detroit News

Rome has instituted a new tax on tourists aimed at building a fund to restore its crumbling infrastructure. But some worry it will drive tourists away.

January 18, 2011 - Der Spiegel