Community / Economic Development

Is Calgary Losing its 'Municipal Mind'?

Growing rapidly and becoming an ever more expensive place to live, Calgary -- Alberta's oilpatch city -- is in danger of "losing its heart" writes Peter Menzies.

August 17, 2008 - The Globe and Mail

Boise Looks to Streetcars for Urban Renewal

Boise considers resurrecting their streetcar system after an 80 year absence.

August 15, 2008 - The Boise Weekly

Forget Coffeehouses- Businesses Want Freeways, Labor, Energy

Manufacturing still matters, and what manufacturers want hasn't changed much. The question is whether a "new economy" state like California can compete in the old economy.

August 14, 2008 - California Planning and Development Report

The Man Behind Secret Corporate Tax Deals

The practice of secret bidding that goes on between cities vying for business to locate in their town has been going on since the 1920s- and there's one man responsible for it all.

August 13, 2008 - Governing Magazine

Many Cities Still Struggling

Forbes looks at the fastest dying American cities.

August 11, 2008 - Forbes

The Death and Life of American Malls

This piece from WorldChanging looks at the trend of dying indoor malls, and some creative ideas for reviving or reusing them.

August 8, 2008 - WorldChanging

Broad Urban Renewal Project Takes Over Baltimore Neighborhood

The expansion of a Baltimore hospital has sparked a neighborhood-wide urban renewal project.

August 8, 2008 - The New York Times

The Mega Capital of the World

China is rapidly becoming home to more and more mega-cities, and there's little sign of it slowing down.

August 7, 2008 - The Washington Post

Chains Clobber Mom-and-Pops in New York

Mom-and-pop shops in New York are being rapidly replaced with chain stores, according to a new count that shows more than 5,700 chain outlets in the city.

August 6, 2008 - The Daily News

New, Unfinished Housing Turns to Ghost Town

Early buyers in new housing developments are finding themselves stranded in virtual ghost towns as developers go belly up.

August 5, 2008 - Wall St. Journal

Affordable Housing Gets Sexier

In Boston, architecture firm Utile and non-profit developer Urban Edge bring a new, stylish look to affordable housing.

August 5, 2008 - The Boston Globe

Inner-City Suburbs Rebranded as 'Classic Towns'

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for the Philadelphia metropolitan region, has introduced an innovate way of making people aware of the benefits of older, established suburbs: market them.

August 5, 2008 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

NIMBYism Strikes as Residents Fight Senior Housing

Citizens in Weston, Massachusetts, one of America's toniest suburbs, continue to block a local college's effort to build senior housing, raise its endowment and provide scholarships for low-income students.

August 4, 2008 - The Boston Globe

Curbside Dining

In the summer, a handful of New Yorkers like Calvin Tsao remake public space into their own personal dining rooms.

August 3, 2008 - The New York Times

Suburbs and City Cores Need Cohesion

Rising energy prices and falling home values are bringing many exurban dwellers closer to the city core. In this commentary, Keith Schneider argues that central cities and inner-ring suburbs need to work with each other to stay afloat.

July 31, 2008 - Citiwire

Watch WalMart Spread Across the American Landscape

Flowing Data used zip codes and other data to create an animated map showing the growth of WalMart from the first store in Arkansas in 1962 until today, when the map is covered with stores.

July 31, 2008 - Flowing Data

Starbucks Closures Hit Home

Paul Shigley reflects on the impact of a Starbucks closing in downtown Redding, a small town in northern California.

July 30, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

Can Small Town America Survive the End of Cheap Gas?

With few local job opportunities, residents in small towns have grown accustomed to long commutes to cities. But with high gas prices making those commutes unaffordable, some economists wonder how much longer small towns can retain their populations.

July 29, 2008 - The Kansas City Star

Community Energy Planning Paying Off in Germany

A small town in Germany is demonstrating that a strategy of distributed, renewable and locally-controlled energy production can not only be Earth-friendly but profitable.

July 29, 2008 - Victoria Times-Colonist

Urban Neighborhood Seeks Grocery Store

San Francisco's Tenderloin district- notoriously seedy and poor- is also one the densest neighborhoods in the city, and greatly in need of fresh produce and groceries. City officials are trying to attract a store, but it's a tough sell.

July 29, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

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.