Community / Economic Development
Governor Considers Cutting Redevelopment Agencies
California Governor Jerry Brown has announced plans to reduce the state's budget gaps by possibly eliminating a wide array of projects and agencies, including the state's redevelopment agencies.
What Will Chicago Be Like, Post-Daley?
Blair Kamin reflects on the soon-to-be-ex-mayor Richard Daley's legacy, his "passion to build," and how Chicago might be shaped without his influence.
El Paso Hopes to Revive Business Corridors
The city of El Paso is hoping a new plan will breathe life back into formerly booming streets sucked dry after a freeway replaced them as the main entrance to town.
What's the Value of Bicycling? $1.5 Billion, in Wisconsin
A new study by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that bicycling contributes $1.5 billion to Wisconsin's economy every year.
Rural States See Housing Rebound
While the recession has affected the housing market across the country, the few state that are showing signs of recovery are mostly rural.
Tensions in Condo Complexes Over Foreclosures, Neglect
Reporter Dan Fitzpatrick goes to Florida, where slow foreclosures are making cranky neighbors who are footing the bill for the upkeep.
Reacting, Not Planning, in L.A.
Recently released plans for a possible new football stadium in downtown L.A. show how the city tends to react to developers rather than guide them, according to this criticism.
Dallas YIMBYs Welcome Homeless
The Casa View Haven Neighborhood Association in Far East Dallas is taking the opposite approach from other local groups by welcoming homeless folks to their community and actively giving them support.
Smaller Cities Attracting High Tech
Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland have the right stuff to woo the high-tech industry despite their modest size, says Monique Wassenaar Silverio.
Housing and the Growth of the Sun Belt
Recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show big growth in the Sun Belt of the Southwest. This piece from The New York Times looks into why.
Air Hangar Reborn as Waterpark
An air hangar in Germany has been converted into a massive waterpark, which some see as the possible beginning of a trend in adaptive reuse of these types of facilities.
The Allure Of Light Rail Transit
Centering on Denver as the epi-center of light rail development in the U.S., NPR reports on a new wave of light rail and streetcar projects sweeping the nation as cities hope to attract the latest talent and urban development to become "world-class".
A Decade of Growth, But Then the Bust
Nevada was the fastest growing state in the nation over the last ten years, but amid that growth has been a severe economic downturn.
Olympic Village Blasted for Missing Affordable Housing Targets
Housing activists in Vancouver are criticizing the city for only offering a small portion of the Olympic Village built for the 2010 Winter Olympics as affordable housing.
Cities Take Business Approach to Planning
Cities around the world are applying business-style techniques to planning and encouraging economic development.
Turning "Redfields" Into Urban Parks
Jonathan Lerner gives an extensive analysis of the benefits of turning failed commercial properties, or "redfields", into strategically-picked park land for revitalization purposes. Some conversion would be permanent, some just land banking.
Rural Poverty Rising
Poverty is high and rising in rural areas across America. But there are also significant differences in the extent of that poverty, depending on the region.
Hardly a Celebration
With a recent murder, a shootout-turned-suicide, and a high rate of foreclosure, the reality of Celebration, Florida, is less ideal than appearances would suggest.
Considering Bankruptcy in Michigan
The tiny city of Hamtramck, Michigan, is edging closer to bankruptcy, as budget woes grow.
Small-Scale Development in Detroit
Reviving a city like Detroit requires small steps, writes Roberta Brandes Gratz, who looks at block-level projects in the city.
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
