Community / Economic Development

Pittsburgh's Livability: It's The Small Things

The credit for Pittsburgh's recent honor of 'most livable city' goes not to big marketing or development initiatives, but the sum of a lot of small things that make the city and region a good place to live.

July 16, 2007 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Arts and Austin's Second Street District

Austin's artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses contribute to the vibrancy, help define the identity, and sustain and grow the city's diverse cultures, especially in the burgeoning Second Street District.

July 13, 2007 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments

What To Do With 700 Miles Of Waterfront

In this Q&A, the new president of New York's Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance talks about what metropolitan New York can and should do to revitalize its 700 miles of waterfront.

July 13, 2007 - The New York Observer

Real Estate Slowdown Causes Impact Fee Backlash

With the real estate market in the doldrums, developers are pressuring local government officials in California to cut impact fees. Will fee cuts spur new development? Maybe, writes Bill Fulton.

July 13, 2007 - California Planning & Development Report

Post-Dotcom San Francisco Resurges

San Francisco is experiencing a resurgence of high-tech businesses and wealth similar to what was seen during the dotcom boom. But this time around, the city's recovery from the bust of the dotcom era has a much different character.

July 13, 2007 - The Economist

Manhattan Parking Spot Going For $225,000

Parking spaces in New York cost as much as $225,000 and could soon be going higher still, putting the cost for the prime spots above the price tag of the typical U.S. home price.

July 12, 2007 - Yahoo Finance

Putting Cities To The (Olympic) Torch

Cities continue to compete with each other over the opportunity to host the next Olympics, despite repeated examples showing that the games lead to bloated housing markets, lost jobs, debt and repressive social policies.

July 12, 2007 - AlterNet

Awakening U.S. Metro Regions

Boston's effort to address global economic competition and environmental issues may be a model for metro regions around the country. Neal Peirce provides an update on the Boston Indicators Project.

July 11, 2007 - The Washington Post Writers Group

University of Toronto Snags Richard Florida

Florida is moving to Toronto, a city that ranks high on his own Creativity Index, to teach at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

July 11, 2007 - The Globe and Mail

Preservationists Breathe Life Into Route 66

Once a major tourist destination, Route 66 has lost much of its vigor since being decommissioned as a highway in 1985. But preservationists and entrepreneurs are attempting to revive Route 66 by renovating its many historic motels.

July 10, 2007 - The Chicago Tribune

Paris Looks To Revitalize Former Central Marketplace

After numerous roadblocks and failed attempts at renovation, the city of Paris seems to have a promising jump on bringing new life to Les Halles, once one of the city's main marketplaces and now an area many Parisians completely avoid.

July 10, 2007 - International Herald Tribune

Are America's Chinatowns A Thing Of The Past?

A development battle in Boston highlights the ongoing and controversial transformation of American's Chinatowns.

July 10, 2007 - The Christian Science Monitor

A Recipe For Grassroots Community Building

A new book bills itself as a do-it-yourself guide for residents looking to strengthen the sense of community it their neighborhood.

July 10, 2007 - Pioneer Press

Betting On The Downtown Miami Renaissance

Businesses are hoping the redevelopment activities in Downtown Miami will create a thriving commercial center. Until then, they are just trying to stay afloat.

July 10, 2007 - The Miami Herald

The Vacant Building Syndrome

In this new column, award-winning journalist and author Roberta Brandes Gratz reports on urban development crises around the country and the opportunities they present for positive action.

July 8, 2007 - The Next American City

Sprawl Was One Step Behind

They just wanted to get away from growth and suburban sprawl by moving out to the country, but for residents of the Texas Hill Country, growth and sprawl were not far behind.

July 8, 2007 - The New York Times

Revived Theater Helps Community Bounce Back

Restoring a historic theater in a downtrodden neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia, has served to revitalize the neighborhood as well.

July 7, 2007 - The New York Times

Rebuilding A Neighborhood, One Step At A Time

In New Orleans, some devastated neighborhoods are beginning to come back to life. But for those performing the revitalization, it is a long and often lonely path.

July 6, 2007 - The New York Times

Running Out Of Land, Some Suburbs Learning To Build Up

With little land left to develop and a declining population in recent years, suburban cities in Ohio are beginning to accept that the only way they can continue to grow is by building up.

July 5, 2007 - The Columbus Dispatch

The Rise of the Bike Kitchen

National ridership figures may be down, but grassroots collectives are thriving.

July 5, 2007 - The Next American City

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.

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.