Cities Take Business Approach to Planning

Cities around the world are applying business-style techniques to planning and encouraging economic development.

1 minute read

December 29, 2010, 5:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


Neal Peirce looks at the emerging trend and explores how cities are taking lessons from business -- and finding success.

"Seattle, the Twin Cities and the Cleveland area are even in the midst of what Brookings is heralding as a new era of applying modern business-style planning to the economic development potential of entire citistates.

Why this attention? 'Our world is marked by a network of metropolitan areas that work together and compete against each other,' some even spilling over state and national borders, said Wolfgang Nowak of the Deutsche Bank's Alfred Herrhausen Society. The metros are, he noted, 'the new regions of the 21st century, centers of innovation and economic growth,' but sharing 'the same problems: energy crisis, pollution, slum areas, crime, immigration' - all reasons for 'new forms of governance.'"

Sunday, December 26, 2010 in Citiwire

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

November 11, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking and cycling on a street in Boston.

Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking

New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.

November 8, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Mamdani speaks behind a podium in a navy suit.

DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment

New York City's mayor plans to replace about 2,000 units of public housing with private, mixed-income housing.

November 12 - Gothamist

Streetview of Colorado boulevard, a multi-lane road with trees on either side.

All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move

The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.

November 12 - 9 News

Solar panels above a cranberry boy, with workers collecting berries.

Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries

Putting solar panels above farmland is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

November 12 - Grist

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.