As Chinese companies increase their direct investments in the United States, one midwestern city is reaping the rewards of close relationships with its foreign counterparts. What can Toledo teach the many cities seeking Chinese investment?
"Chinese investors have been buying commercial and residential real estate in Detroit, inexpensively because of the city’s financial troubles, and have agreed to finance a $1.5 billion waterfront development in Oakland, Calif. This year, on a trade trip to China, Gov. Jerry Brown of California discussed Chinese investment in the state’s troubled $91 billion bullet train project," writes Timothy Williams.
"But Toledo, a largely blue-collar city of about 280,000, appears to be punching well above its weight at a time when mayors from Philadelphia to San Francisco are returning from China empty-handed."
The city's advantageous location, freight infrastructure, industrial assets and informal “handshake culture” have been key in luring Chinese investment.
Read the full story: In Blue-Collar Toledo, Ohio, a Windfall of Chinese Investments
The Glass City’s Riverfront Sparkles with Promise
How Toledo is transforming its waterfront into a beloved community space.
Wielding Data to Fight Freeway Expansions in Toledo
A group of resident advocates is challenging the Ohio Department of Transportation’s arguments in favor of a proposed interstate widening.
U.S. Home Sales to Foreign Buyers Drop by Almost 10 Percent
International purchases of homes on the U.S. housing market slowed in the last year.
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.
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.
Post election, Texas is no longer Musk’s 'AI oasis'
Elon Musk dolled out $446 million on the 2026 midterms, the most ever spent by a non-canidate.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
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