Community / Economic Development
Could Your Next Tomato Come From A Former Best Buy?
Gene Fredericks wants to turn empty big box stores into hydroponic and aquaponic growing centers using the latest technologies.
Why Are There So Many Empty Lots?
Kids from Walt Whitman Middle School in Brooklyn wanted to know why there were so many empty lots around their school. The Center for Urban Pedagogy worked with the kids to understand why, and created a video document from what they found.
New York Passes Smart Growth Bill
Governor David Paterson signed The Smart Growth Public Policy Infrastructure Policy Act on Monday, which directs the state to invest in infrastructure in dense communities rather than sprawling ones.
Community-Supported Businesses on the Rise
Stacy Mitchell reports on the growing trend of micro-financing, where small business people turn to the local community to get the funding they need to open restaurants or small shops.
Google Creates Affordable Housing Fund
Google has invested $86 million in a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit fund to create 480 affordable rental housing units for low income families.
Recreating European-Style Cafe Life in America
In Portland, patterns of urban use are emerging that are similar to the European-style neighborhood bar as a community gathering place.
The Legacy of L.A.'s Former Planning Director
Gail Goldberg recently left the helm of the City of Los Angeles' City Planning Department. AIA Los Angeles takes a look back at her four-year tenure and the positive impacts she made.
Mapping Toronto's Class Divide
Richard Florida plots the geography of class on a map of Toronto to show the deep economic divisions at work in an almost "completely post industrial," city.
The Question of Interstate 69
Next American City reviews a new book by Matt Dellinger about Interstate 69, the as-yet-unbuilt highway that could create a direct link between the Mexican and Canadian borders.
Seeking That Neighborly Feeling
The new HafenCity district under construction in Hamburg, Germany, is one of the largest urban developments underway today. Some worry that its newness and bigness aren't prime conditions for harboring neighborliness.
The Best "Adventure Towns" in the U.S.
Outside Magazine compiles their top 25 U.S. towns for outdoor adventure. Considered alongside the availability of great kayaking and biking were stats like percentage of college graduates and cost of living.
In Oregon, Students Seek Key to a Sustainable City
Roughly 600 University of Oregon students will take part in the university's Sustainable Cities Initiative, which pulls together students of architecture, planning, law, journalism and business to make a plan to fix downtown Salem.
HUD Announces Pilot Grants
Applicants have until November 22 to submit applications for a new round of HOPE VI funds.
America's "Forgotten Cities"
The website 24/7 Wall St. analyzes a number of sources of data to identify "dead cities" -- those which have lost their economic foundations.
Defending the "Great Good Place"
Public libraries are being relied on more than ever to assist Americans struggling with the economic crisis, even as they themselves are under threat, writes Neal Peirce.
Cities Must Realign Priorities Toward Job Creation
Aaron Renn argues that when it comes to thinking on large cities, "too many people remain stuck in the 90s." Now that the recession has civic finances in a vice grip, we ought to focus not on condos or bike shares, but straightforward job creation.
Creating Smart Cities and Replicating Silicon Valley
Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses what makes a city smart and successful in this interview with Foreign Policy.
Can We Get Utopia Right?
Salon interviews author J.C. Hallman about his new book "In Utopia," which explores modern-day utopian projects and how they differ from those of the past.
Friday Funny: Animal-Shaped Cities Planned in Sudan
Officials in Southern Sudan are floating a fleet of proposals to build new cities in the shape of animals and fruits.
Soda Giant Leading Effort to Clean World's Polluted Rivers
As rural and urban runoff taints the waters of the Yangtze River in China, environmentalists have joined forces with Coca-Cola to try to improve water quality -- a move that's good for water users in China, and for the water-dependent business.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
