Community / Economic Development
American High Speed Rail: Transportation and Jobs
The Infrastructurist's Melissa Lafsky is on Fox Business to discuss the prospect of high speed rail in America -- both in terms of transportation and jobs.
The Right Interventions to Restore Confidence in Weak Markets
Housing affordability is too often seen as the way to stabilize and revitalize weak markets. Neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling argue that interventions in weak markets must encourage investment by improving market confidence.
Habitat for Humanity Embraces Density
Instead of building its signature single family homes in dense New York neighborhoods, Habitat is expanding its model to include LEED-certified apartment buildings.
Stroke Recovery, City Recovery
Two years ago, Steve Patterson suffered a stroke. As he goes through the process of recovery, he sees some lessons for struggling cities.
The World's Largest Haitian Diaspora Looks On
Architect and urban designer Hector Fernando Burga looks at Haiti through the lens of a Haitian enclave in Miami and wonders what role designers can play in the devastated country's revival.
Birth Rates Falling and Cities Failing
Birth rates are dropping across Europe, and some cities are on the verge of collapse because of it. Exhibit A: Hoyerswerda, Germany.
Vancouver in Cinemascope
With the Winter Olympics fast approaching, the editor of Vancouver Magazine takes a shot at capturing the big picture of the city that has become a model for planners everywhere.
Parking For Dollars
Los Angeles explores the possibility of selling off parking garages to manage a budget crisis.
Outside Vancouver, Smaller Towns Skeptical About Olympic Benefits
Locals in some of the smaller towns of British Columbia are skeptical that they will see the economic benefits of the this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The Dynamism, and Dysfunction, of Los Angeles
That's where authors Nathan Cherry and Kurt Nagle found their inspiration for their new book about urban form. Grid/Street/Place.
Will The Economy Leave Port-au-Prince With Its People?
More than a million Haitians have fled the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and government officials are advising them to stay out of the city. But many question if these provincial cities will be able to provide jobs and economic opportunities.
The Citywide Impact of New Orleans' Trip to the Super Bowl
New Orleans has had a rough couple of years. But now that the city's professional football team is headed to the Super Bowl, the city is relishing the opportunity to celebrate.
Gov 2.0 On the Rise
Twitter, iPhones, and new sites like SeeClickFix make it increasingly easy for citizens and governments to communicate. Along with newly available data sets, these "Gov 2.0" apps may signal a new era of active citizens and responsive governments.
Can't Get Architecture Work? Build It Yourself
John Portman is a rare breed: an architect/developer. In his 60 years in the business, he developed retail centers, hotel atriums, and Atlanta's Peachtree Center. The Architect's Newspaper talked to him about his career.
Bailing Out the Mortgage Market
The housing market -- and especially the exurban housing market -- played a major role in bringing about the current economic recession, according to this piece from Christopher Leinberger. He says sprawl is unlikely to regain its lost value.
California HSR Gets $2.25 Billion Boost
A huge boost for the CA High Speed Rail project will result from an injection of $2.25 billion from President Obama's $8 billion HSR stimulus funds, twice as much as any other project.
Notes on Structural Change: Redefining the Problem of Weak Markets
The foreclosure crisis spreading across America has burdened cities and neighborhoods with value-draining vacancies and abandoned properties. To counteract the economic havoc they've caused, planners and policymakers must focus on restoring confidence in the market, according to neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling.
Americans Moving Less, Getting Rooted
In the 1950s, nearly 1/5 of Americans moved each year. That trend is quickly reversing. Americans are now staying put in greater numbers than at any time since World War II, and experts have plenty of opinions on why that is.
Making Use of Stalled and Vacant Developments
A new plan being pursued by the City of San Francisco would allow developers with projects stalled by the economic recession hold on to their development rights as long as they make some beneficial use of the vacant land until construction starts.
$70 Million in Transit Stimulus Funds at Risk
BART's people-mover connection to the Oakland Airport is jeopardized by an FTA ruling that the agency failed to reach out to minorities, potentially denying the agency of $70 million in stimulus funds. Might the funds go to other transit needs?
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
