Economic Development
Economic Development or Poaching Business?
States across the US are stepping up their efforts to attract business from outside their borders. New Hampshire woos investors from its neighbors and the California-Nevada rivalry heats up.
Keeping Manufacturing in NYC
This interview with Adam Friedman of the New York Industrial Retention Network, illuminates reasons for retaining manufacturing in NYC, such as sustainability and job creation.
New Study Recommends Efficient On-Street Parking Pricing and Management
A new study identifies innovative approaches to efficiently manage San Francisco's curbside parking supply, particularly in neighborhoods.
Design our industrial future
I previously lamented the apparent death of industrial use in our cities by the widespread application of terms like “post-industrial” and “rust-belt.” While semantics is an issue, let’s not forget that design matters and, in terms of industrial use, it hasn’t seemed to matter enough in recent years. In times past, industrial use was often a form of pride. Many of the hulking, multi-story industrial buildings in older cities are (still) beautiful additions to our cityscapes. In some cities, those that went vacant have spawned a new form of urban scavenge hunting by those seeking to fuel their appreciation for our industrial past through photography and exploration. Think as well of the WPA posters, many of which used stylized industrial themes to promote our “American” identity.
Community Colleges Set Green Workforce Training Mission
Already a national leader in green building and looking to expand its leadership, the Los Angeles Community College District is launching several collaborative efforts to train a new, green workforce.
The Automobile Industry and National Economic Development
Automobile industry subsidies are an inefficient way to support economic development. Even worse, policies intended to support automobile manufacturers and recover loans can be economically harmful.
Post Industrial?
I never put much thought into the term “post-industrial.” In my college and grad years, the phrase seemed to be used like candy – a ubiquitous summary of the current state of cities in the US. The phrase implies a kind of death in our cities, an inability to retain the industries that spurred their very growth.
Starting Up Small
Though typically centered in bigger cities, this piece from Business Week looks at the best small cities to locate startup businesses in every state.
Investing In Affordability For Economic Development
Is a $50,000 annual income wealth or poverty in North America? By historical or international standards such an income should be considered wealthy and luxurious, but most people I know consider it poverty because of the high cost of living.
Serendipity for Downtown L.A.?
At a recent event in Los Angeles, Cecilia Estolano, CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, presented her vision for the Downtown of the future in one of the country's most notoriously diffuse urban centers.
Smarter Transportation Economic Stimulation
We have just published a new report, "Smart Transportation Economic Stimulation: Infrastructure Investments That Support Strategic Planning Objectives Provide True Economic Development" which discusses factors to consider when evaluating transportation economic stimulation strategies.
Location, Location, Location: Brought To You By GIS
A new GIS-based service promises to improve on real estate agents by using GIS data to locate promising sites to locate for business.
Buffalo Adopting SmartCode
Commissioner of Economic Development Brian Reilly makes the case to overhaul the city's 1951 zoning ordinance to a form-based SmartCode.
Galveston's Gamble
City leaders in Galveston looking for ways to recover from Hurricane Ike turn to an old staple of the local economy: gambling.
(Almost) Creative City
London, Ontario has been focused on retaining and embracing its creative class. The city remains optimistic that it's on the right track toward becoming a creative city--which has been good news for its economy.
Which Cities Stretch Dollars The Farthest?
Texas cities top a ranking by Forbes of where your dollar goes the farthest. Affordable housing and promising job prospects made a big difference.
Scraper Bikes: Urban and Internet Phenomenon
Scraper bikes, tricked-out bicycles adopted from scraper cars (with wheels so big they scrape the inside of the wheel well), have become increasingly popular among carless teens in Oakland, CA.
post-Starbucks planning
Starbucks stores have seen a lot of protests. Due to its international brand recognition, the chain became an easy mark for activists looking to draw media attention to concerns from genetic engineering to union busting, from store placements in historically sensitive locations to the company’s opposition to Ethiopia’s application to trademark three types of coffee.
Should we use zoning to preserve manufacturing?
Deindustrialization has wreaked havoc across many American cities and towns. One only need visit the landscape of the rust belt, places like Buffalo, Detroit or Flint, Michigan to get a sense how damaging this transformation can be. Behind the ugly ruins of abandoned factories and shuttered stores are the lives of real people who have suffered. Manufacturing provided jobs, good paying ones at that, that helped create a blue collar middle class.
Freakonomics Investigates Suburbia
Urban experts weigh in on the future of the suburbs.
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
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
