Community / Economic Development

El Paso Exurbs

State Budget Delivered Blow to Impoverished Texas Exurbs

Along the Mexican border, Texas "colonias" have often gone without basic infrastructure. Saying it'll cut bureaucracy, Governor Greg Abbott removed funding for a program that helps residents access government services.

September 15, 2017 - Governing

Texas Flood

Harvey Flooding Unlikely to Depress Houston's Housing Market

Vigorous continued demand for Houston homes left some realtors surprised after the city endured catastrophic flooding. For a lot of new construction, elevated homes may become the norm.

September 15, 2017 - The New York Times

Highway Living

How Overly Restrictive Land Use Regulations Hurt the Nation's Economy

Two economics professors from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley argue that the housing crisis doesn't just affect booming coastal cities. It's a national problem.

September 15, 2017 - The New York Times - Opinion

Nordstrom

Experimental Nordstrom Store Will Have No Clothing for Sale

A California Nordstrom store will stock no clothing for customers to buy. Instead, it will let shoppers try on clothes in a curated environment and order anything they like to be sent to their homes.

September 14, 2017 - The Washington Post

Hong Kong Taxis

China to Ban Gas and Diesel Car Sales to Spur EVs

Electric vehicles (EVs) have a bright future in the world's most populous nation and largest auto market, unlike those powered by oil. That was a ministry chief's message at an auto forum on Saturday.

September 13, 2017 - Bloomberg News

Small Town Art

Rural Areas Embrace the Arts for Economic Development

A burgeoning revitalization model uses the arts as an opportunity to bring in outside money while hiring local.

September 12, 2017 - Star Tribune

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Amazon's Second HQ Poised for Smart Growth

With a second headquarters, Amazon is poised to expand its preference for walkable places into a new city. However, maybe the company should take the high road and not beg for subsidies.

September 12, 2017 - Smart Growth America

Innovation District Taking Shape in Downtown Erie

The city of Erie, Pennsylvania, lead by a $4 million grant to Mercyhurst University, is in the process of implementing the Downtown Innovation District.

September 11, 2017 - GoErie

Minneapolis Riverfront

Polling Residents on the Cleanliness of Their Cities

The happiness and quality of life or residents is often attached to their perception of the cleanliness of their city, according to this article.

September 11, 2017 - Smart Cities Dive

City Planners

How to Improve Charrettes

In participatory planning, there is no planning without several events known as charrettes, which you probably already knew. Less likely to be common knowledge, however, is how charrettes can live up to their promise in the planning process.

September 9, 2017 - Next City

United Nations Flags

Making the UN's Sustainable Development Goals Great Again

The United Nations' ambitious set of goals have proven unwieldy, with some commentators saying they represent "all things to all people." Reorganizing and prioritizing them could help.

September 8, 2017 - Pacific Standard

Michigan Map

Community Mapping Project Pays Off in More Ways Than One for Flint

The community's hard work has helped Flint planners take an inventory of its building stock, as well as secure needed funding from the federal government.

September 8, 2017 - Center for Community Progress

Homeless Encampment

Spokane Rolls Out New Homeless Camping Deterrent

The city of Spokane is piling large boulders where homeless people used to sleep. Critics are calling the city's actions inhumane.

September 8, 2017 - KUOW

Downtown Flint Michigan along Saginaw Street

Strategies for Revitalizing Smaller Post-Industrial Cities

For every Pittsburgh or Cleveland success story, there's a story waiting to be told in smaller cities like Gary and Lowell.

September 8, 2017 - At Lincoln House

Detroit Sports Arena

A Grand Opening for Detroit's New Downtown Sports and Entertainment Arena

The Pistons and the Red Wings have a new home in Downtown Detroit—bringing all four of Detroit's professional sports teams into the same neighborhood.

September 6, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Beverly Hills

Report: The 'Retail Apocalypse' Is Fake News

Reports of the death of brick and mortar retail have been greatly exaggerated, according to a new analysis.

September 4, 2017 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Sunday Fun: A Tour of America's Largest 'Garden Walk' Event

Garden Walk Buffalo began in 1995, and in 2017 it's the largest Garden Walk event in the country.

September 3, 2017 - Garden with Diana

California's Low Unemployment Hides High Levels of Poverty

Because of its high cost of living, California has the nation's highest poverty level, according to the U.S. Census.

September 1, 2017 - CALmatters

San Francisco Mural

Friday Eye Candy: Portraits Made Public—For Community Awareness and Placemaking

The "Inside Out Project: We Are Edison" installation posted large portraits of residents in the Kalamazoo neighborhood of Edison on the side of a building. The exhibition invites the community to take a look at itself.

September 1, 2017 - MLive

Durham, North Carolina

Not All Mid-Sized Local Economies Are Alike

The research director of the National League of Cities explains the defining characteristics of local economies—namely that of five distinct kinds of local economies, three serve to distinguish the nuances between mid-sized cities.

August 31, 2017 - CitiesSpeak

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.