Community / Economic Development

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.
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.

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.

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.
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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