Community / Economic Development

Austin Becoming Least Affordable City Outside California
The Texas capital, once one of the most affordable metro areas, is experiencing a housing affordability crisis as median prices soar and longtime residents face displacement.

New Development Continues in Wrigleyville
New mixed-use projects bring residential units, retail, and entertainment venues to the neighborhood surrounding Chicago's Wrigley Field as stadium-adjacent development grows in popularity.

Urban Exodus: Data Don't Support the Popular Pandemic Narrative
Americans fled cities in waves during the pandemic, right? Not to so fast.

Omicron Variant: No Good Science Goes Unpunished
The discovery by South African scientists will enable the world to prepare for the newest coronavirus variant, but it will also cause enormous hardship due to the travel restrictions on flights to/from eight nations in southern Africa.

Urban Development in African Cities
Rising populations and political challenges complicate the future development of Africa's major metropolitan centers.

Reimagining San Francisco for the Post-COVID Era
A San Francisco nonprofit is developing a set of recommendations for making downtown neighborhoods more flexible and welcoming to a more diverse set of users.

Opinion: The Housing Crisis Isn't Going Away With the Pandemic
As the housing crisis rages on, the housing assistance infrastructure put in place during the pandemic can provide a model for long-term aid programs.

Dissecting the Eviction Crisis
Attention to the human and economic costs of evictions predate the pandemic, but the economic disruption of the past two years has increased the need for better tools to measure and respond to evictions.

Biden Orders Release from Strategic Petroleum Reserve: What's the Emergency?
The purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is to maintain oil flow to refineries during national emergencies when oil supplies are disrupted. What national emergency prompted President Biden to order the release of 50 million barrels?

What Is NIMBYism and How Do Affordable Housing Developers Respond to It?
NIMBYism is often expressed as concerns about crime, congestion, schools, property values, and “quality of life.” But when developments are built these fears rarely come to pass.

Update: Coronavirus Vaccination Litigation against Biden Administration
The U.S. Justice Department filed its appeal on Nov. 23 before the 6th Circuit Court to reinstate the large private employer vaccination status requirement that the 5th Circuit had stayed after Republican governors and state attorneys general sued.

Opinion: It's Time To Put People Ahead of Cars in SoHo
A proposal from SoHo Broadway Initiative aims to prioritize pedestrian and bike infrastructure and discourage car traffic to make the neighborhood safer and more comfortable for the people who live and work there.

New Minneapolis Park Connects City to the Mississippi River
The newly built Water Works Park and Pavilion incorporates elements of historic mills and provides amenities long absent from the city's waterfront.

Bill Gates' Nuclear Power Company Takes Giant Step in Cowboy State
A Wyoming coal power plant will be transformed by a company backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to run on nuclear power. With the signing of the bipartisan infrastructure act, $1.5 billion will help produce zero-emission power by 2028

Main Street Redevelopment Hopes To Lure NYC Commuters to Village of Brewster
Officials in the Village of Brewster, a community of just over 2,000 people in New York's Putnam County, hope a redesign of their downtown will attract new residents who want to escape the clamor of the city.

Paper Series Sheds Light On Adaptive Reuse
A series of reports from Berkeley's Terner Center assess the potential of commercial-to-residential conversions to help ease the housing crisis.

Vancouver's New Housing Plan Takes Shape
If its proposals are effectively implemented, Vancouver's new housing plan would promote 'missing middle housing' and increase density near jobs and transit.

Report: San Diego Transportation Plan Won't Meet Climate Goals
A regional plan announced by the San Diego Association of Governments will fall short of the city's goals to increase alternate mode trips to 50 percent, report finds.

L.A. Shifts Homeless Policy to Clear Street Encampments
Advocates say L.A.'s new focus on clearing 'unsightly' homeless encampments is a political band-aid that won't help people find permanent housing.

Austria to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination
Life for the unvaccinated in many European countries is becoming more difficult as infections surge. Austria will take the ultimate step in February and require residents to become inoculated unless medically exempt. A lockdown begins Monday.
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