Community / Economic Development

Parametric Modeling for Planning in Uncertain Times
A new technology- and data-drive approach to planning could provide direction as society faces challenges of unprecedented scale.

Winter Is Coming—Capitalize on It
Outdoor dining programs have provided relief for local restaurants and retailers, while offering an oasis of social life for residents. The winter months will challenge that momentum, but creative, flexible approaches can save the day again.

England Begins Second Lockdown to Protect the National Health Service
The day after Election Day in America, the U.K. Parliament voted overwhelmingly to impose a 4-week lockdown in England to ensure that nation's prized healthcare system doesn't collapse due to treating mounting coronavirus infections.

Phoenix Takes a New Approach on Homelessness
Phoenix is centering housing—affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and eviction protections—in a new planning framework designed to reduce the number of homeless people living on the streets of the city.

New Collaborations for Land Banks and Community Land Trusts
Land banks and community land trusts are finding new ways to work together in light of the ongoing housing affordability crisis and the new economic pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corona Crisis in America: The Metropolitan Area to Watch
The battle to control the coronavirus in the U.S is being led by 50 governors and the D.C. mayor, but ultimately it is at the local level where decisions are often the most consequential. Among large counties, the crisis is most severe in El Paso.

How to Build Thriving Digital Public Spaces
Much of communal life now takes place virtually in digital spaces that feel public but are not. The internet needs to be more like our public parks, libraries, and public squares.

Coronavirus and the Future of Cities: A Final Pre-Election Tour of the Issues
This is Planetizen's seventh collection of articles on the subject of the future of cities in the wake of the pandemic, and how cities and communities are changing plans to respond to the many changes that world has experienced in 2020.

Outdoor Recreation Boosted by the Pandemic
The pandemic brought droves of people to Wisconsin’s outdoors, resulting in crowds on trails and at camp sites as well as a growth in the outdoor recreation and manufacturing economy.

'We are Entering the Steep Slope of the Epidemic Curve'
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump's former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, warned CBS viewers recently that the U.S. was at a "dangerous tipping point" in the pandemic. "We are on the cusp of exponential growth," he added later.

Friday Fun: Top 25 Destinations for Foodies
Readers of Travel + Leisure voted for their the top food destinations. Keep this list in mind for when we can travel more freely.

Protections Stripped From Alaska's Tongass National Forest
The Trump administration has, in the past week before the election, achieved one of the largest rollbacks of public land protections of its entire tenure.

$160 Million in Bond Funding for Demolitions on the Ballot in Detroit
Proposal N, on the ballot for Detroit voters next week, will provide $160 million in bond funding for demolitions and $90 million to mothball homes for future rehab, but, according to this opinion, it won't solve the city's blight challenges.

Searching for the 'Urban Mystique'
An excerpt from a new book by Josh Stephens, "The Urban Mystique: Notes on California, Los Angeles, and Beyond," published by Solimar Books.

No Place to Play During the Pandemic
Youth sports in America have been devastated by the coronavirus which prompted the shutdown of programs and facilities for play and practice.

Revitalization Without Displacement: A New Model From Miami
Upzonings in working class neighborhoods usually provoke political opposition based on concerns about gentrification and displacement. But the new Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District in Miami might have worked for a solution.

An American Urban Coronavirus Success Story
The City by the Bay has joined eight largely rural counties in California by advancing last Tuesday to the least restrictive tier of the state's new reopening criteria by reducing coronavirus transmission to nearly New York levels.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Rural Areas
As the coronavirus outbreak surges across the country, many rural communities are now seeing an unprecedented spike in infections and hospitalizations.

Architecture Billings Show a Modest Rebound
Many architecture firms are still struggling, but the industry, a bellwether for planning and the larger economy, has recovered a little from the lows of the spring and summer months.

Field of Dreams Coming to L.A.'s Chinatown
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Dodgers Foundation will renovate an unplayable ballfield into a new Dodgers Dreamfield, which will serve almost 3,500 youth in the surrounding community.
Pagination
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions