Community / Economic Development

Amazon Plans for More Massive Warehouses
The company is building its biggest-ever distribution centers in New York, Colorado, and California.

What Is Redevelopment?
Redevelopment includes all development projects that build new structures and land uses on a previously developed site. Understanding the nuances of redevelopment is critical for understanding the ways cities and communities change.

Clean Air Programs Increase Property Values, Study Says
What’s good for the planet is good for the economy, according to a recent study published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Is $7 a Gallon for Gas on the Horizon?
Global oil prices may skyrocket when the European Union, which receives about one third of its oil from Russia, enacts a partial ban on importing Russian oil at the end of the year to stop financing Russia's war in Ukraine.

A ‘Public Realm Action Plan’ Charts San Francisco’s Post-Covid Comeback
A nonprofit business group released a plan to trigger the post-pandemic revitalization of Downtown San Francisco by reclaiming public space for human scale activity. But is an improved public realm sufficient to meet the challenge?

The Racial Gap in Commercial Real Estate Ownership
Just three percent of Black households own commercial real estate, making it more difficult for Black entrepreneurs to establish businesses and build wealth.

New York Councilmembers Seek Action Against Cashless ‘Fast-Delivery’ Stores
After the city instituted a ban on cashless businesses, calling the model discriminatory against poor New Yorkers who rely on cash transactions, a study found that more than 80 percent of new fast-delivery stores don’t accept cash.

Watch: Mexico’s $10 Billion Rail Line Through the Jungle
YouTube channel B1M takes a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula to examine the risks and the opportunities of Tren Maya—a $10 billion railway under construction to connect the south and southeast corners of the country to tourist destinations.

Advancing Play Equity Through Mobile Recreation
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is offering the Park on the Move program to enable more youth in park-poor communities to play and stay active.

Who’s To Blame for Gentrification?
Most likely, no one in particular—but policy changes can alleviate the housing shortage and prevent displacement.

Bay Area Pop-Ups Aim To Activate Vacant Storefronts
As commercial storefronts experience high vacancy rates, cities like Oakland and San Francisco are making concerted efforts to support temporary tenants, public art installations, and small entrepreneurs that can revitalize abandoned spaces.

How Abandoned Properties Can Be Used for Redevelopment
Abandoned properties can be a burden on a community, bringing everything from negative curb appeal to an increase in crime. Using these properties for positive community development can kill two birds with one stone.

The Business Case for Multimodal Transportation Planning
Travel demands are changing and so should planning. There are good reasons for communities to spend less on automobile facilities and more on walking, bicycling, and public transit. Let’s examine why.

A New Life for the Suburban Office Park?
With more and more employers downsizing and moving to areas with more urban amenities, large suburban office parks offer an opportunity for increased density and mixed-use development.

Initiative Brings Capacity Building to Booming Rural Towns
A research and capacity building initiative based at Utah State University seeks to help fast-growing tourist meccas in the West plan for smart growth.

$1 Billion ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Program Accepting Applications to Repair Damage of Racist Transportation Planning
The Biden administration has talked about the need to repair the damages of a racist history of transportation planning in the United States. The time has finally come to put their money where their mouth is.

Obama on the Record Against Sprawl, Inequality by Design
Former President Barack Obama was at the AIA’s national conference in Chicago earlier this month. His presentation included some strong words about the effects of sprawl.

Biden Proposes Gas Tax Holiday to Reduce Gas Prices
President Biden asked Congress on June 22 to suspend federal fuel taxes, unchanged since 1993, for three months to provide motorists 'relief' at the pump. Additionally, he asked states to follow suit and for oil companies to increase refining.

Raleigh Experiencing Dramatic Growth
The North Carolina capital is reinventing itself as a research and tech hub, attracting major employers and investment along the way.

Land Banking to Prevent Transit-Oriented Displacement in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will implement a new land banking program to mitigate gentrification and displacement around future transit lines.
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions