As 'Americans leave older urban centers for smaller, more manageable, less expensive areas with a high quality of life,' mid-sized cities, such as Omaha, NE, are taking on ambitious redevelopment efforts.
Near future plans for downtown Omaha include: a $300 million convention center and arena; a $100 million performing arts center; and the "doubling of housing units downtown." The sheer scale of Omaha's recent development "has drawn attention from Midwest neighbors such as Kansas City, Mo., and Des Moines, which are eyeing Omaha's resurgence with a mixture of envy and admiration....Like other conservative Midwest cities, Omaha had a 'we're a nice place to live, why fix what's not broken?' attitude toward change until about a decade ago. Then, city leaders looked around and realized downtown was losing businesses and had seen better times....While other cities between the coasts such as Denver had thrown themselves into reviving their downtowns and were competing aggressively for business, Omaha was playing it safe, afraid to take risks."
Thanks to Connie Chung
Read the full story: Omaha sheds stodgy image in making over downtown
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority