Community / Economic Development

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.

October 9, 2009 - Urban Omnibus

Reclaiming Alleyways

Office workers in Seattle's Pioneer Square area are claiming their network of alleyways as social spaces.

October 8, 2009 - Northwest Hub

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.

October 8, 2009 - UCLA Newsroom

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.

October 8, 2009 - Nandita Godbole

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.

October 8, 2009 - Places Journal

"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."

October 7, 2009 - Washington Post

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.

October 7, 2009 - The Jakarta Post

'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".

October 7, 2009 - CNN

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.

October 7, 2009 - The New York Times

O'Toole Blames Planners for Housing Crisis

In a new report with the Cato Institute, Randal O'Toole takes off the gloves and lays the blame for the housing crisis squarely on urban planners.

October 6, 2009 - The Cato Institute

Norquist's Legacy

John Norquist is today the president of CNU, but from 1988-94 he was Mayor of Milwaukee. His legacy is apparent today in the city, says blogger Urban Engagement.

October 6, 2009 - Urban Engagement blog

Why Rio Won the 2016 Olympics

Rio de Janeiro has been selected as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. This analysis from NPR looks at why the Brazilian city was the obvious choice.

October 5, 2009 - NPR

Fixing A Neighborhood, From Soup to Nuts

Campbell Soup Company is taking a leading role in redeveloping the rough Gateway neighborhood of Camden, NJ.

October 5, 2009 - Next American City

Fighting The Blight Of Vacant Retail

Time Magazine takes a look at the growing problem of vacant storefronts across the U.S., and what some intrepid souls are doing about it.

October 5, 2009 - Time Magazine

Worker Bees

Michael S. Thompson of the Chicago Honey Co-op discusses his urban beekeeping operation and how it provides jobs to otherwise hard-to-employ people.

October 3, 2009 - Orion Magazine

The Rural Recession

A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.

October 3, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

Top 10 Cities for Today's Youth

The Wall St. Journal assembled a panel to determine which cities will be the next 'youth-magnets,' using factors like economic diversity and lifestyle to make their selections. Number one? A tie between Washington, D.C. and Seattle.

October 2, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

1 in 3 Mortgage Applications Denied in 2008

The Federal Reserve announced that 32% of loan applications were denied last year, and applications on the whole were down by a third from 2007.

October 1, 2009 - Builder Magazine

TOD Becoming Popular -- And Expensive

HUD-subsidized housing in transit-oriented developments could become more expensive as it ages out and TOD becomes more popular, says a new study by AARP, Reconnecting America and the National Housing Trust.

October 1, 2009 - Reconnecting America

Creating Neighborhood Capital from Strip Malls

Strip malls are in virtually every American city, but they're rarely an important part of those cities. Ava Bromberg says they can be. Her idea is to turn strip malls into community-owned hubs that generate capital within their neighborhood and keep it there.

October 1, 2009 - Nate Berg

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.