Community / Economic Development

A Database of Urbanism-Related Research
A new project is intended to forge connections between research and practice in the world of urbanism.

Universities See a Real Estate Upside in Merging with Smaller Schools
Larger universities, like Boston University, have begun swallowing up smaller schools that offer new students and a goldmine of real estate in dense urban areas.

Bodegas Are Vital to Urban Neighborhoods
Bodegas play an essential role in the communities they serve. Under threat by online retail and encroaching chain stores, they face a new danger from technology. New York YIMBY gives them a well-deserved shout-out.

Sunday Fun: Street Art Tours of the World
Street art tours offer colorful glimpses of global cities.

Hurricane Dreams
A series of thoughts about walking, biking, and community after Hurricane Irma.
Bike Center to Salvage Abandoned Building on Closed Military Base—Not So Fast
The bicycle community in San Diego came up with a win-win-win: an innovative bike center in an abandoned building on a closed military base next to downtown and a major biking route. Then came the real world of unreal bureaucratic concerns.

No Dogs Allowed at One Colorado State Park
A state park in the Colorado Springs area tried allowing dogs on trails over the summer, but too many people complained about the impact of the canines on the wilderness experience.

The New Tijuana: Not Your Parents' Tacky Tourist Day Trip Anymore
On a recent tour of Tijuana for young land use professionals, San Diego architect Marin Gertler found a city that used the drought of U.S. tourism in the last decade to redefine and refine its urban core.

Organization Sets Up Tents to Shelter Homeless in Detroit
A civil rights organization has taken direct action to provide support for homeless people living in Detroit.

Facebook to Expand in San Francisco
While everyone's attention in recent weeks has been on Amazon, another huge tech company has made a big bet on San Francisco.

Buskers Welcome at Select Sound Transit Stations
A popular program to allow street performers (aka, buskers) into station areas on the Seattle region's Sound Transit system has been expanded.

When Coffee Came to London (Not a Starbuck's Story)
Walkability makes markets! Scott Bernstein tells the Lloyds of London story from the urbanist's perspective.

Mapping Displacement Stories
The Regional Plan Association calls on the power of the contemporary Internet to broadcast stories of displacement from around Greater New York.

A Hurricane's Impact on Houston Commercial Real Estate
Houston's commercial real estate market, including some 72,000 apartment units, has been severely impacted b Hurricane Harvey.
Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth
Amazon's second headquarters is huge, and their bias for walkable places says they are going to do it all over again in a new city. However, maybe they should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.
Silicon Valley Looks To Kill The Corner Store
A new startup is either a disruptive technology that will forever change the corner store, or yet another example of Silicon Valley looking to gentrify neighborhoods.

New Poverty and Income Data Reveals a Tale of Two Types of Cities
While the country overall made progress, larger cities are making stronger gains against poverty.

Disregarding Trump, Corporations Adopt Internal Carbon Pricing
A new report from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions reveals that over 1,200 global and domestic companies, recognizing the threat of climate change, are either pricing emissions or considering it.

Report: How Pittsburgh Can Boost Its 'Innovation Economy'
A team of researchers at Brookings suggests ways for Pittsburgh to lock in its status as a hub of the next economy, leaving all talk of the "Rust Belt" behind.

From Buses to Trains, Renewable Diesel Catches On in California
For almost two years, MUNI's diesel-powered buses in San Francisco have run entirely on renewable diesel fuel. Diesel-powered Amtrak trains running from San Jose to Sacramento could be next.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service