Community / Economic Development

Outdoor Recreation

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.

November 2, 2020 - Wisconsin State Journal

Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing

'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.

November 1, 2020 - CBS News

Rome, Italy

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.

October 30, 2020 - Travel + Leisure

Tongass National Forest

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.

October 30, 2020 - The Washington Post

Blight Demolition

$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.

October 29, 2020 - Detroit Free Press

Westside Los Angeles

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.

October 29, 2020 - Josh Stephens

Sfotball Fields

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.

October 28, 2020 - The New York Times

Miami, Florida

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.

October 28, 2020 - Miami Herald

Coronavirus and Urbanism

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.

October 27, 2020 - The Mercury News

Rural Pandemic

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.

October 26, 2020 - National Public Radio

LaGuardia Airport

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.

October 26, 2020 - Archinect

Little League

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.

October 23, 2020 - L.A. Downtown News

Public Housing

How Scaled Affordable Housing Asset Management Helps in the Time of COVID

How the Joint Ownership Entity NYC is helping its community developer members stay strong during COVID.

October 23, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Seattle Coronavirus

Seattle Extends Outdoor Dining for a Year, Eases Rules on Heaters for the Winter

Outdoor dining is going to hang out for a bit.

October 22, 2020 - Eater Seattle

Gilpin County, Colorado

New Ruralism Initiative Releases Report

"Lessons in New Ruralism" shares 20 case studies of prosperous rural communities from across the United States.

October 22, 2020 - Maine Association of Planners

Wyoming

Real Estate Market Setting Records in One of the West's Most Desirable Escapes

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is seeing a pandemic bump in real estate prices that mirrors the experience of vacation and tourism towns all over the United States.

October 22, 2020 - Jackson Hole News & Guide

Black LIves Matter

Valuing Black Lives and Black Cities

Andre M. Perry’s "Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities" reveals the web of historical and contemporary socioeconomic barriers that maintain the racial wealth divide.

October 21, 2020 - Shelterforce Magazine

Coronavirus Pandemic

The Battle for Playgrounds

New York City parents are unhappy that fitness enthusiasts are turning to playgrounds for their workouts.

October 21, 2020 - New York Post

Restaurant Business

Announcing an Antidote for Planning Uncertainty: A Pandemic Tool Kit for Local Governments

A new toolkit shares 22 actions governments should take to get the economy restarted, including the regulatory or policy tools needed to implement the actions.

October 20, 2020 - PlaceShakers

Outdoor Dining

The Metrics of Outdoor Dining

Outdoor dining programs are proving popular in cities all over the United States, as a lifeline for both restaurants and residents seeking some social normalcy. Data from San Francisco reveal the numbers behind the phenomenon.

October 20, 2020 - Eater San Francisco

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.