Community / Economic Development
Zoning Changes for Economic Resilience During and After the Pandemic
Cities can and should look to make changes to the zoning code to support local businesses through this particularly challenging time.
More than a Pause: Reversing the Reopening
As coronavirus infections grow throughout the South and West, governors and local officials will need to consider rolling back their reopenings. Bars and nightclubs closed in Boise on Wednesday in what may be a sign of what's to come.
Anti-Racism at the Neighborhood Level
Communities across the country need to dismantle exclusionary barriers and rebalance spending to invest more equitably across neighborhoods, according to this article by the Urban Institute.
Anti-Racist Reforms for the Urban Planning Status Quo
An urban planner in Vancouver defines the roots of racism in city building, and calls on urban planners to be more effective anti-racist allies.
The 30-Year Mortgage Faces an Unprecedented Threat: Climate Change
The climate crisis will present more of an existential crisis to the traditional U.S. mortgage market than any previous financial crisis, according to some of the experts cited in the article.
Economic Stimulus in England: Speed Up Planning Approvals
To help jumpstart the economy in England, the country is taking the bureaucracy out of the planning process.
Model Predicts Next U.S. Coronavirus Epicenter
For the third consecutive day, COVID-19 cases in the Sunshine State have set records, exceeding 4,000 for the first time. PolicyLab in Philadelphia now predicts Florida will be the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. by mid-July.
Report Assesses Equity Outcomes for the Opportunity Zone Program
Critics have raised doubts and concerns about the potential misuse of the federal Opportunity Zone program since it was approved in 2017, but a new report finds some evidence that the program is working toward its promoted intention.
City vs. State: Mayors Want Power to Require Mask Wearing to Slow Coronavirus Spread
Coronavirus cases are surging in the Lone Star State's urban areas, so mayors of nine of its largest cities asked Greg Abbott for the power to mandate the wearing of masks or facial coverings, prohibited by executive order, to slow viral spread.
New Rockefeller Foundation Program Supports 'Credit Invisible' Communities in Crisis
The Rockefeller Foundation is launching a grant program intended to prevent displacement as Black and Latino communities experience the worst public health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Planning Beyond Mass Incarceration
Sheryl-Ann Simpson from Carleton University, Justin Steil from MIT, and Aditi Mehta from the University of Toronto write about a recent article they co-authored in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Regulatory Considerations for Online Public Engagement: Ensuring the Viability of Projects
As online engagement becomes increasingly important during COVID-19, so does understanding compliance with legal requirements.
Community Park Addresses Open Space, Air Quality Disparities in L.A.
Lou Calanche and Esther Feldman discuss the Natural Park at Ramona Gardens, a green solution project to improve air quality and community health in one of the most polluted neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Zoning Code Reform for the Realities of COVID-19
Local governments have more tools than money to relieve some of the economic experience experienced by residents and businesses as the economic effects of the novel coronavirus linger just as long as the public health crisis it causes.
What's So Special About Oregon and Utah?
These two Western states did something that none of the 20 other states in the nation going the wrong way in the pandemic have yet to do: they paused their reopening plans due to rising coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
Academic Studies: Staying at Home Saved Millions of Lives Globally
Separate coronavirus studies from the University of California at Berkeley and Imperial College London published June 8 in the journal Nature show the life and health-saving value of domestic stay-at-home orders, global lockdowns, and other measures.
Can it Happen Here? Is it Happening Here?
An urban planning scholar of foreign conflict shares insights into how recent political unrest in the United States resembles and distinguishes from the ethnic and nationalistic conflict experienced in other countries in recent decades.
Another Way to Achieve Racial Justice: Zoning Reform
An opinion piece calls out suburban communities for perpetuating structural inequality and housing discrimination. Recently converted social justice advocates should focus their zeal on zoning reform, according to the argument that follows.
Racial Disparity in Home Lending Is Today's Redlining
According to a new report detailing discriminatory lending in Chicago, people in majority-white neighborhoods continue to receive more loans, and in greater amounts, than people in majority-Black and majority-Latino areas.
Debating the Future of Cities After the Coronavirus, Volume 3
The third installment of an ongoing, curated list of a particularly contemporary genre of urbanism punditry.
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
