University Place, Washington is a small town struggling through the recession. With its credit rating recently downgraded and labeled a "negative outlook," the town is facing new challenges as it tries to emerge from the hole.
"It was in the midst of building a new downtown virtually from scratch when the financial crisis set in three years ago, leaving the city with a big debt and little of the new tax revenue it expected by now.
So, University Place cut its work force by 30% to save money. With growing unemployment, some residents lost their homes. Then, earlier this month, the coup de grace: Moody's Investors Service cut the credit rating on the city's debt and assigned it a 'negative outlook.'"
This town of 31,000 was building its new downtown mixed use project when the downturn struck, causing many prospective tenants to bail. Now the city's left with $48 million in debt on the project. But city leaders are still hopeful that the project will help bring the city's economy back.
Thanks to Nate Berg
Read the full story: A City Slips as Downgrade Hits Home
How the Post-Covid Reality Is Reshaping Central Business Districts and Urban Centers
U.S. cities are working to redefine their downtowns in response to the “donut effect:” people and businesses abandoning city centers and flocking to suburban areas and beyond.
Houston Area's Center of Gravity Shifts Outside the Loop
The population center of Harris County is now outside central Houston, a shift that occurred over the last two decades as the region's suburbs blossomed.
Reimagining San Francisco for the Post-COVID Era
A San Francisco nonprofit is developing a set of recommendations for making downtown neighborhoods more flexible and welcoming to a more diverse set of users.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump administration unlawfully slashed $7 billion in clean energy grants, judge rules
The Environmental Protection Agency ended the Solar For All program, which provided the grants, after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
California lawmakers approve just 5% of much-needed LA28 transportation funding
State legislators appear just as unwilling as Trump to pay for Olympics-related transportation projects.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello