Community / Economic Development
Chicago Considers Living Wage For Big Box Stores
Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and other big box stores could pay Chicago employees a "living wage" as early as next month.
Texas Campaign Will Market Towns To Retirees
A major marketing effort hopes to attract retirees to Texas, through the "certified retirement community" program.
Next Generation Business Parks
Turning sprawling office parks into compact transit villages may be solve both congestion and energy issues at once.
Hip, Downtown Living Revitalizing Fading Small Towns
Even humble burgs like Mount Airy, N.C., inspiration for Mayberry on the "Andy Griffith Show," are experiencing the trend. A local tobacco warehouse there will be redeveloped into 43 market-rate apartments. Has technology made location irrelevant?
Is Keeping Wal-Mart Out of a Community 'Class Warfare'?
The controversial use of eminent domain to keep Wal-Mart out of Hercules, CA is criticized as a means of keeping lower-income shoppers away.
The Geographic Evolution of the U.S. Auto Industry
The U.S. automotive industry is one of the nation's oldest modern manufacturing sectors. Despite increasingly making its home in the south, 47% of the nation's motor vehicle employment still resides in three states: Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
Where The Gas Gouging Buck Stops
Local gas station owners are hurt as much or more than consumers by high gas prices, as they lose business when gas companies force them to raise their prices.
Detroit-Canada Bridge Could Link City To Profits
Although some community members oppose the laborious and expensive physical construction process, many realize that the economic development benefits will be important.
Courting Business With Websites And Zoning Overlays
Southern California cities are using technology and other innovative techniques to promote economic development and attract local companies.
How To Grow The Next Silicon Valley
Essayist and programmer Paul Graham writes about how cities can create great hi-tech communities that attract dynamic startups.
Hercules Vs. Wal-Mart: An Eminent Domain Battle
Hercules, CA, threatens to use eminent domain to keep out retail giant Wal-Mart.
How (Not) To Be Friendly To Small Businesses
Smaller cities across Southern California, like Santa Clarita, have discovered that being friendly to small businesses yields big rewards, especially when the mammoth City of Los Angeles is too big to care.
Walkable Urbanity Arrives In Atlanta
The success of Atlantic Station, a large scale mixed-use urban development, proves the need for a more pedestrian friendly environment in auto-dominated Atlanta.
Wal-Mart Victim Of Eminent Domain?
The city council of Hercules, CA, votes unanimously to use eminent domain to take Wal-Mart's land and stop it from building a store.
Redefining The New Urbanism In The Context Of Katrina
Author Matt Dellinger examines the work of the New Urbanists in Mississippi and Louisiana, and whether or not New Urbanism has reached the tipping point in terms of wider acceptance.
The New Urbanists' Losing Battle For Biloxi
The New York Times Magazine critiques the efforts of New Urbanists to redesign Biloxi, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina, referring to the group as "faintly cultish".
Comparing Growth In China And India
The Financial Times presents an interesting comparative analysis of growth policies and past trends in China and India and comments on their future impacts.
Ethanol Plant Restores Hope To Depressed Upstate New York Town
Can an ethanol plant restore economic vitality to a depressed, upstate New York farming and former railroad community? That is the hope for the state's first ethanol plant, which breaks ground next month.
A Tale Of Two University Campus Edges
How can two major universities improve themselves and their surroundings? The University of Cincinnati and UC-Berkeley have some productive plans.
'Edge of the Abyss': Review of Mike Davis' 'Planet of Slums'
This week's bloody shootout in Sao Paulo between gangs and the police is a sign of the coming global "urban hell" as described in Mike Davis' new book, "Planet of Slums".
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.
Tyler Technologies
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
