Kaid Benfield argues that continues revitalization of inner city neighborhoods is essential to achieving an equitable civil society, sustainable patterns of growth and maintaining a tax base to fund civic improvements.
Benfield questions the widely accepted models of urban renewal and attempts to rationalize their successes and failures. He cites examples from the Bronx and Boston, and examines redevelopment along Georgia Avenue, Washington DC in depth.
Benfield concludes that a concerted effort to keep existing residents in gentrifying neighborhoods, alongside the new, should be the primary goal for planners. They are jointly responsible for enabling original residents' active engagement in shaping the renewal process, and have the ability to avoid opposition and conflict.
Read the full story: Is Gentrification Always Bad For Revitalizing Neighborhoods?
D.C. Comprehensive Plan Update Needs Equity Improvements, Report Says
The new D.C. Office of Equity has produced an evaluation of proposed changes to the D.C. Comprehensive Plan.
Boston to Require Fair Housing Review for New Developments
The Boston Zoning Code is one of the first in the nation to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.
Can D.C. Build its Bridge Park Without Displacement?
The park's non-profit developer has engaged in a years-long community outreach process and invested over $60 million in community initiatives.
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.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority