Community / Economic Development
Pro-WalMart Study Refuted
A new and widely publicized study claims that there is no evidence that Wal-Mart has had a negative impact on the small business sector. A close inspection of the study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance argues that the report is flawed.
From Edge-City to Real City
Its way of life no longer en vogue, the auto-centric suburb of Tysons Corner, VA plans to undergo a large-scale transformation into a walkable, "real" city over the course of the next 30 years.
BofA Ends Financing for Mountaintop Removal Mining
Rainforest Action Network and Natural Resources Defense Council enjoyed a huge victory when Bank of America decided last week to end its financing of controversial, destructive mountain top removal coal mining in Appalachia.
$1/Gallon Gas Consumption Tax Proposal
In this Mercury News Op-Ed, San Jose State University Professor Larry Gerston proposes this bold tax for mass transit and alternative energy programs. It yields $175 billion annually and creates green jobs, enabling us to determine our destiny.
Obama's Stimulus Package Disappoints
Columnist David Brooks warns that the Obama stimulus package fails to build on the current social movement to enliven existing suburbs and instead appears to follow a traditional roads, bridges, and refurbishing existing infrastructure approach.
On Molokai, A Development is Stopped
The plan: 200 luxury homes on Molokai's waterfront, in exchange for jobs and preserving thousands of acres of land. Locals fought the compromise, and the economic shift brought an abrupt halt to the project- dragging other businesses down with it.
Foreclosures Swarm Through Las Vegas
Foreclosures are spreading across the country like a plague, and there's almost no place worse hit than Las Vegas.
Incentivizing Developers In A Slump
How should cities incentivize developers in a down market? And should they? William Fulton reflects on the price cities will pay to get new buildings, and if it is worth it.
Miami Transformed By Art Festivals
This article from the Miami Herald looks at the annual art fair Art Basel and how it transforms the city -- temporarily and permanently.
Cities Struggling to Work With Stabilization Funds
Congress has approved a $4 billion federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, but as the funding trickles down to cities, many find the money too tight to solve many of their problems.
Vancouver Growth Primarily Second Homes
Construction is booming in Vancouver, with tall condo buildings rising around the city. The city has become more sophisticated over the last several years, and has attracted a significant market of second-home buyers.
Rural Town Brings in Students for Preliminary Planning
Middlebury College students have been commissioned to simply get to know Starksboro, Vermont for a semester. The hope is that their findings will help develop a plan that embraces growth while upholding the things unique to the small town.
Cemetery Moved For Landfill?
Elected officials in the Atlanta area decide to relocate a historic cemetery to make room for a landfill. NAACP officials believe the relocation fits a pattern of racial discrimination.
The Budget and Billy the Elephant
Los Angeles' budget shortfall could mean sending its zoo's only elephant to a Northern California sanctuary. Over time, funding for city services are also predicted to get slashed.
City Tackles Coyotes
Austin officials are wrestling with how to confront coyotes encroaching on suburban and urban neighborhoods.
Chicago Privatizes Parking
For $1.16 billion, Chicago Parking Meters LLC, has won the rights to manage Chicago's parking meters. This is one step the city has taken to ease budget shortfalls.
Relaxing Sign Rules
The city of San Angelo, Texas bucks a regional trend towards stricter regulations for signs used as advertising.
Financial Turmoil Leads to Reverse Migration in China
As more and more of China's "floating population" return from their city jobs to their farms, officials brace for backlash from the recently unemployed.
Clearing the Way for Mixed-Use, But Economy Puts Projects On Hold
The people of Salt Lake City have gotten behind the switch to mixed-use, and developers have been clearing away old sprawl. But the flailing economy has put projects on hold, leaving the city with a landscape full of holes.
Could Vagrants Doom A Rebounding Downtown?
The issues posed by homeless people in downtown Riverside, California, are not out of the ordinary. But they definitely do not help the city's efforts to revitalize downtown.
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
