Community / Economic Development
For Cities, Cutting Back May Simply Mean Streamlining
Tough economic times spell troubles for city budgets. One way to cut back on costs is to rethink operation of seemingly untouchable public safety services like police and firefighters, according to this column from Neal Peirce.
New Rail Brings Opportunities and Fears to East L.A.
As rail expands into East L.A., residents are both excited about economic opportunities and worried about gentrification and the possible loss of the area's distinct Latino character.
Mumbai After Terrorist Attacks
As Mumbai recovers from the recent terrorist attacks, social worker Katia Savchuk reflects on how cities can be resilient to terrorism.
Cities: Use What You've Got
According to Philip Myrick, communities that will fare the best economically are the ones that think locally and employ placemaking strategies.
NOLA Medical Campus to Replace Historic Buildings
A proposed New Orleans hospital will have to be built on top of an historic neighborhood that some residents feel that they have just regained. Those in favor of the project insist that the selection of that site was necessary.
How to Empower the World's Poor
The key to solving global poverty is possessing secure land and property tenure, according to this opinion piece. Having such security enables poor communities, even those here at home, to make demands from their governments.
From a Zombie Economy to a New Economy
The stream of Washington bailouts is a doomed attempt to revive a 'zombie economy', argues James Howard Kunstler. He believes we need to start organizing new, local economies built around growing food, making things and transporting them by rail.
Expatriates Find Competition in Mumbai
Floods of British expatriates moving to Mumbai are finding the city practically as competitive and sometimes even more expensive than home.
Need A Job? Try Appalachia!
Appalachia, long known as one of the poorest parts of the U.S. with chronically high unemployment, finds itself in the enviable position of enjoying remarkably low unemployment due to unwavering demand for its main natural resource – coal.
Holidays Bring No Savior As Retail Centers Empty
Not even the Christmas season is expected to turn things around for struggling retailers, which are dropping like leaves and littering vacancies in shopping centers across the country.
Urban Subcultures and Sartorial Landscapes
An annual online photo exhibit explores the fashion subcultures of different cities, which are often defined by musical tastes.
Experiments Validate Broken Windows Theory
The controversial theory that social and physical disorder is a cause of neighborhood crime has been successfully demonstrated with a series of six experiments.
New Orleans' Streetcars Make a Comeback
All of Canal Street's red streetcars were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but up to nine restored streetcars may be in service by the end of the year.
Technology Brings Remote Town a Little Closer
Ten Sleep, Wyoming is home to a booming new company that teaches English online to students in Korea. The town of 350 people is a testament to how the reaches of broadband connectivity allows high-tech business to flourish even in remote areas.
The Cautionary Tale of Vallejo
Vallejo, CA declared bankruptcy last spring, felled by fiscal mismanagement and falling property taxes. Cities around the country are looking to Vallejo's example as they teeter near the edge.
Community-Based Progress in Post-Katrina New Orleans
The grieving period has ended, and now resilient New Orleaneans are taking it upon themselves to rebuild their beloved city. Though it's sure to be a slow process, this could very well be community organization at its best.
A Shrinking City is Not a Failed City
Once New Orleans comes to terms with the fact that it is a shrinking city, the city's culture and geographic location can help bring it back.
2009 City Crime Rankings Released
CQ Press has released its annual list of cities with the best and worst crime rates. Groups from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to the FBI decry the list for being simplistic, but CQ defends its data.
Senior Housing Options Decline Amidst Housing & Financial Crises
Unable to sell their homes, thousands of aging seniors throughout the U.S. who would have moved to assisted or independent living or retirement communities are staying put - in homes they would love to leave but are financially tied to.
Des Moines Sees Home Prices Rise
Des Moines, IA is one of 28 metropolitan areas that have seen home prices go up in the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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
