Community / Economic Development
Bypassing the Blockade: Risky Business
In order to cope with the Israeli blockade, millions of dollars have been invested in tunnels between Gaza and Egypt. Israel has bombed many of them. Now investors want their money back.
Economic Development or Poaching Business?
States across the US are stepping up their efforts to attract business from outside their borders. New Hampshire woos investors from its neighbors and the California-Nevada rivalry heats up.
Of Felonies, the First Amendment, and Franks
A successful small business in Chicago has ruffled some feathers in a neighborhood grappling with crime and poverty. Why? Because Felony Franks is too unsavory a name, even for a hot dog stand that employs ex-convicts.
El Paso to Walk the Walk
Citing a recent study that demonstrates higher home values in walkable neighborhoods, officials in El Paso say it's time to change the way their city grows.
There's No Place Like Home
Joel Kotkin sees a trend in a 'New Localism'- people aren't moving around like they used to, and it's causing them to reengage with their communities.
Philly Suburb Cities Feeling the Pinch
Townships surrounding Philadelphia have managed to survive the recession until now, but city coffers are now going into the red and cities are being forced to take action.
Mega-Regions Rule the World
Richard Florida notes that there are only 40 significant mega-regions that drive the global economy, and are poised for faster recovery from the economic slowdown.
Bank Lending Habits Hurting TOD
Transit oriented development is having a hard time taking hold in Salt Lake City. Some say the parking preferences of lenders are to blame.
Food Deserts in Los Angeles
A coalition of community groups in L.A. has banded together to address the lack of access to healthy food in sections of East and South Central Los Angeles.
Real Work to Begin on Rio's Olympic Plans
Rio de Janeiro has been named the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Now, the city has to start making its Olympic promises come true.
How to Make Housing Affordable
Avi Friedman has some ideas of how to make housing more affordable. He says that the focus is too much on the mortgage and subsidies side and not enough on lower building costs.
Keeping Manufacturing in NYC
This interview with Adam Friedman of the New York Industrial Retention Network, illuminates reasons for retaining manufacturing in NYC, such as sustainability and job creation.
Reclaiming Alleyways
Office workers in Seattle's Pioneer Square area are claiming their network of alleyways as social spaces.
Problem: New Orleans Floods. Solution: A Floating House?
Architect Thom Mayne and a team of UCLA architecture students have created the first floating house permitted in the U.S. as part of a mission to help flood-ravaged New Orleans.
A Backyard Battle: Trials of a Garden-Variety NIMBY
Nandita Godbole advocates for parks and greenspaces around Atlanta. But when faced with a struggle over keeping her own quarter-acre backyard open and free, she found she was powerless.
Enabling Coexistence Through the Open City
The theme of this year's International Architecture Biennale is "Open City: Designing Coexistence". Places Journal talks with the biennale's chief curator about what that means to planners, designers and architects.
"Not Your Father's White House": Obama's Urban Renewal Agenda
With Adolfo Carrion Jr. appointed as a "cities czar" and federal stimulus dollars flowing to urban sustainability projects, the Obama Administration aims to concentrate development to boost "environmentally and economically viable neighborhoods."
Jakartans Demand Public Space
Residents of the city of Penjaringan in North Jakarta brought a proposal to the government to convert the area underneath a toll road into a public space.
'Zombie Subdivisions' Eating America's Suburbs
Thousands of subdivisions across the country have been abandoned mid-development by owners and developers hit hard by the economic recession. This video takes a tour inside one of these "zombie subdivisions".
Fighting the Invasive Species of the Galapagos: Humans
Drawn to the Galapagos Islands by their booming tourism industry, thousands of poor Ecuadorians are being booted from the sensitive ecosystem to counteract the negative impact of the rising human population.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
