Recession

Pleasantville, NY may be affluent and amenity-rich, but it isn't immune to the economic downturn. Now some suggest the town should sacrifice character for economic opportunity.

February 16, 2010 - New York Times

Writing for The New York Times, Timothy Egan takes a look at some of the empty cities that were abandoned after the housing crash, and why they will be the slums of tomorrow.

February 14, 2010 - NYTimes: Opinionator Blog

Voters in Colorado Springs, Colorado voted against an increase in property taxes in November. Now they're getting a lesson in what taxes pay for, as city services cut back on water, electricity and maintenance.

February 5, 2010 - Denver Post

In the 1950s, nearly 1/5 of Americans moved each year. That trend is quickly reversing. Americans are now staying put in greater numbers than at any time since World War II, and experts have plenty of opinions on why that is.

January 28, 2010 - New York Times

December 31, 2009 - Nate Berg

Architects and carpenters are among this list of the nine jobs hit hardest by the recession in 2009.

December 29, 2009 - NBC

Transit ridership has dipped in 2009, according to a new report from the American Public Transportation Association. The recession and high unemployment rates are being blamed.

December 21, 2009 - USA Today

Architect Daniel Libeskind, designer of part of the new Las Vegas megaproject CityCenter, says now is the right time to be building big and bold projects.

December 17, 2009 - Der Spiegel

Those of us whose professional lives are inextricably linked to the real estate development economy in one way or another have had plenty of time in the last year to twiddle our thumbs and attempt to figure out what the heck happened. This much we know — there was a housing bubble some places, it burst, and the economy collapsed. Have you ever slipped and fell – one those unexpected spectacular aerial feats where your feet fly out from underneath you, you look down your legs and see your toes at eye level pointing to the sky, and you say to yourself “this is really going to hurt when I land”? That’s what this year has been like for many, some of whom are still waiting to hit hard because they had projects in the pipeline and they are grinding their way through “inventory” of unfinished work. Plus, we started from a high plateau. Wall Street types call the unexpected but apparent life in the market during the first part of a recession “dead cat bounce” which Forbes defines as “a temporary recovery from a prolonged decline or bear market, after which the market continues to fall.” Even a dead cat dropped from a very high place will bounce a little when it hits the ground…

November 30, 2009 - Dwight Merriam

The $8.5 billion CityCenter mega project is set to open next week in Las Vegas. Many say it's likely to be the last major project in the struggling city for years.

November 27, 2009 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Unemployment is spreading across the country like a rash. This video tracks the changing unemployment in American counties since January 2007.

November 25, 2009 - American Observer

A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.

October 3, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

With foreclosures racking up, the state of Florida is entering a dark period. Despite the dire prognosis, the stat'es historic ups and downs hint that Florida may be able to come back.

August 19, 2009 - The New York Times

Organizers claim city money won't be needed as Chicago edges closer to securing the 2016 Summer Olympics, but locals are wary about the costs that could fall on them. The recession is exacerbating concerns.

July 28, 2009 - The New York Times

This piece from Forbes looks at which cities will recover fastest from the recession -- and which ones won't.

July 26, 2009 - Forbes

Cities on the rise are growing faster and cities on the decline are shrinking slower, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

July 2, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a list of the fastest-growing cities, in terms of population growth. Those on the list are hoping their growth will pull them through the recession.

July 1, 2009 - The Christian Science Monitor

Cities like Portland and Austin have been magnets for young professionals. Amid the recession, these cities have few jobs to offer. But the hipsters keep coming.

May 18, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

A major retail and tourist project in Las Vegas -- what some are calling the largest project in the world -- is stumbling amid the recession. Its developers and the city are unsure of its future.

April 10, 2009 - Reuters

The recession is causing construction contractors to branch out -- from subdivisions to road projects. And the market is now flooded, giving state more and lower bids to choose from.

April 10, 2009 - The Washington Post