Shrinking Cities
The Part of Cleveland You Didn't See During the Republican Convention
WBUR's Here & Now ventures outside the Quicken Loans Arena to see a distressed part of the city and region, similar to parts of Detroit and Flint. Residents want abandoned homes demolished. Take the audio driving tour of East Cleveland.
Watch the Documentary 'Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City'
In May, the documentary film "Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City" was made available in full on YouTube.
Two Rustbelt Cities Take Similar Tacks to Future Planning
Erie, Pennsylvania and Canton, Ohio have faced the challenges of shrinking populations and fewer job prospects, but new comprehensive plans in each city may provide a pathway to resurgence
Leaving Chicago
Why are folks fleeing from the city and the state in record numbers? Is domestic migration to blame for the Chicago region's population loss last year of over 6,000 and the state's loss of over 22,000 people?
Debating the Future of Baltimore: New Urbanism vs. Global Starchitecture
Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne and leading New Urbanist planner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk squared off in a debate about the future of Baltimore.
Population Growth Trends Return to Pre-Recession Norms
It's almost like the Great Recession and the Great Urban Renaissance never happened, as Americans are moving to the suburbs and the Sunbelt than to the nation's urban areas.
Using Twitter to Better Understand Public Sentiment
By using the data provided by millions of Twitter users, two researchers discovered surprising insights into public sentiment in shrinking cities.
Iowa DOT Chief Takes Novel Approach to Transportation Infrastructure
The strategy of Iowa's Department of Transportation chief, Paul Trombino III, for maintaining the state's "25,000 bridges, 114,000 miles of roadway, and more than 4,000 miles of rail" is not to do so. In a word, "shrinkage" is part of the solution.
Once in the Great City of Detroit
A new book by Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss examines the glory years of Detroit.
German Cities Rewrite Building Codes to Provide Homes for Refugees
Germany has reformed building codes in a marshaling of political will known as the "Culture of Welcome" for an expected one million refugees. German cities, many of them shrinking for decades, see the refugees as an opportunity and a responsibility.
Is 'Brain Drain' a Legitimate Problem?
According to analysts like Aaron Renn, the exodus of educated Millennials from what some perceive to be less-glamorous cities shouldn't signal impending doom. For one thing, brain drain might not be happening at all.
Youngstown: Another Downtown Revitalizes
Earning negative press as a put-America-back-to-work campaign stop, the Ohio city also suffered from reported connections to crime. Now private developers are working alongside Youngstown State to bring people back.
How Cities Are Stopping the Blight Contagion
Every city with neighborhoods in decline and a lack of demand for new investment is faced with the challenge of how to address blight. Each city's challenges are unique, but many are finding new and effective strategies to end the spread of blight.
Detroit Considers Community Benefit Agreements for Megaprojects
As developers plan city-saving projects like a billion-dollar bridge to Canada, Detroit residents demand that tangible benefits go to their communities. City council may pass an ordinance to that effect.
Report Details Best Practices for Land Banks
A recent report collects data from the experience of cities using land banks as a method for addressing vacant and blighted properties.
Massive Detroit Foreclosures Push Out Black Homeowners
A Detroit reborn sounds great, but what if the residents of “blighted” areas don’t want to leave? Many feel they have no choice in a process that has been compared to racial relocation. Meanwhile, activists scramble to give residents options.
A Closer Look at Detroit's Blighted Properties
The New York Times has produced a pair of visualization tools to present the findings of the recent report by Detroit's Blight Removal Task Force.
Report Recommends $850 Million to Eradicate Detroit's Blight
The Detroit Blight Removal Task Force released its highly anticipated "Every neighborhood has a future...And it doesn't include blight" report today.
Lacking a Coherent Urban Planning Vision? 'Build More Roads' Will Have to Do
A recent article addresses the illogical planning agenda set by states (Missouri, in this case) because local governments (St. Louis, in this case) lack a coherent planning vision. The situation is surely not unique in the annals of planning.
Preservation Concerns Raised Over Milwaukee’s Blight Reduction Plans
Although Milwaukee had been insulated from population loss compared to many other legacy cities, the Great Recession has required the city to launch an $11.6 million blight reduction program.
Barrett Planning Group LLC
City of Cleburne
KTUA Planning and Landscape Architecture
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
City of Laramie, Wyoming
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
