Community / Economic Development
Ground-Up Recovery in New Orleans
Nicole Gelinas argues that five years after Hurricane Katrina, the city is on the path to becoming a bona fide urban success story thanks to its determined residents.
A Think Tank for an Urban Garden
With new fast food restaurants temporarily banned in South L.A. and few new sources of food coming into the area, one local architecture professor set his students loose to work on ideas for a small urban farm.
Effort to Streamline Development Process Underway in L.A.
Officials in Los Angeles are trying to streamline the process of getting projects permitted and approved -- an effort that could rapidly increase the amount of time it takes to develop in the city.
Streetcar Fever Spreads Across US
With a growing belief in the streetcars' ability to catalyze redevelopment, cities are jockeying for federal and local funds to build retro transit systems in their downtowns.
Top 10 Books - 2011
Planetizen is pleased to release its ninth annual list of the ten best books in urban planning, design and development published in 2010. This year's selection includes some big names, some big ideas -- and a book called "Toilet."
NYC ARC Alternative Proposed: Extend The Subway!
Details are now just emerging about a proposal from NYC Mayor Bloomberg to further extend the IRT #7 line from the West Side station by a planned, massive new development, Hudson Yards. Cheaper than a commuter rail tunnel, it would serve NJ Transit.
Failures in Thailand's Shopping Mall Urbanism
Shopping malls are scattered all over Bangkok. On one hand they create a distinct urban setting in the city, but they also fall far short of creating actual community, according to this post.
Transit Plans in Charlotte Face Budget Troubles
Expansion of transit has helped fuel a boost in ridership over the last decade in Charlotte. But with falling tax revenues, the city looks unlikely to be able to continue its planned transit growth.
Bringing a Favela to Life With Vibrant Colors
Two artists have teamed with a favela in Rio de Janeiro to use bright colors to re-frame the slum as a more vibrant area.
It Was the Best of TIFs, It Was the Worst of TIFs
Five years ago, two developers got approval for tax-increment financing (TIF) projects in St. Joseph, Missouri. One was a success, the other a failure. What happened?
A Symbol of Revitalization For a Post-Industrial City
A new center on the campus of Syracuse University is meant to highlight the Rust Belt city's potential -- and to inspire its revitalization.
Atlanta Daily Moves to Suburbs
Metropolitan Atlanta's main daily newspaper has pinned its hopes for survival on suburbia, decamping from downtown to the city's northern suburbs and in the process shedding its urban identity.
Demolished For A Project That Would Never Be
The decision to cancel the planned tunnel beneath the Hudson River to connect New York and New Jersey was not without repercussions.
Planner Malpractice?
Amanda Thompson, planning director of Decatur, GA, suggests that it is a good thing there isn't such a thing as "designer malpractice" or planners would be sued for the horrible impact their work has had on the public health.
Rethinking Detroit
Detroit reporter John Gallagher's new book "Reimagining Detroit" considers what it will take to remake The Motor City into a model that will work for the future.
Indian Slum Experiment Tests Efficacy of Guerrilla Urban Planning
An experiment in community participation conducted by a multinational group of architects, planners and artists in south Delhi tests the efficacy of guerrilla neighborhood planning methods in the developing world.
The Evolving Attitude of Environmentalists
Passage of a bill in Berkeley that allows taller buildings to be built in the city's downtown illustrates changing attitudes about development amongst environmentalists.
Public Art and the Do-It-Yourself City
Jonna McKone profiles various public art projects across the U.S. and Canada, showing that participation in such projects indicates that some residents are taking an increasingly vested interest in the cities they live in.
How to Grow New York's Economy
Ed Glaeser argues that given the right conditions, start-ups can drive the city's economic future.
No Magic Bullet for Prosperity
So says William Fulton, mayor of Ventura and longtime writer on economic development issues. He says that economic growth is a "mysterious process" that can't be won by wooing a big employer to your town.
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
