A new mapping project allows new access to information about Chicago's controversial tax increment financing mechanism. Now at least the debate will include visuals.
Benjamin van Loon shares news of the TIF Projects map from Chicago Cityscape, which offers new and helpful access to information and visualization of the impact of tax increment financing.
According to van Loon, "Chicago Cityscape's data-rich map provides an interactive overview of all 375 TIF projects in Chicago currently or soon-to-be underway. Data can be sorted by project name, approval date, TIF assistance amount, total project cost, ward, and community area, so you can always see how that magic money is being spent."
The article also includes a series of screengrabs from neighborhoods around Chicago. TIF districts have come under fire in Chicago recently, with a debate over how TIFs get spent (i.e., "mayor's slush fund for wealthy Downtown interests" or "neighborhood infrastructure investment necessity") leading up the recent Chicago mayoral election.
FULL STORY: Now You Can Easily See Where TIF Dollars Are Being Spent
Interactive, 3D Chicago Zoning Map Lets You Visualize Potential Development
A new tool creates a visual model of potential development on Chicago lots based on the property’s specific zoning regulations.
Update: Chicago Red Line Extension TIF Approved
The long-anticipated project that will bring the Chicago Transit Authority rail system into transit deserts on the Southside of Chicago is making substantial progress.
Chicago’s Red Line Extension Environmental Review Complete
The Red Line Extension on Chicago’s South Side could be a game changer, if the city can figure out the local funding.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association