With growth controls making suburban properties less attractive and wealth becoming concentrated in older centres, Canada's big box retailers are looking downtown for new locations.
"[S]ome of the biggest names in the big-box sector have decided they are missing out on a huge customer base in Canada's city centres and are repackaging themselves accordingly, with as-yet-unknown consequences for the urban neighbourhoods targeted for expansion.
With provincial governments in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec getting tougher on suburban sprawl, land on the urban fringe is getting more expensive [...] At the same time, big-box developers and retailers have come to the conclusion that as downtowns become denser and more gentrified [...]ignoring a growing population of affluent urban customers begins to look rather silly.
All of this might signal a transformation in the basic economics of big-box retail. [...] But no one knows yet what will happen to independent businesses if and when big boxes become a dominant presence in urban areas, and not one-off curiosities."
FULL STORY: Big-box stores venture into foreign terrain
Mexico City Anti-Gentrification Plan Aims to Half Housing Deficit
The plan comes in response to protests that targeted ‘digital nomads’ who locals blame for driving up housing costs.
High Housing Costs Driving Down Transit Ridership in LA
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
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Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
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MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
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Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
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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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie