Community / Economic Development

City Hall

Impacts of AVs and E-Commerce on Municipal Budgets

A new report from Urbanism Next/SCI takes you through a city’s budget—both revenues and expenditures—and describes the areas that will be affected as AVs become commonplace and e-commerce takes on an even larger role in retail

August 4, 2017 - Urbanism Next

Los Angeles in 1939, as determined by the  Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC).

New Mapping Tool Illuminates the Consequences of Redlining

According to Next City, a new mapping tool from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition reveals the roots of gentrification in addition to making stark a history of discrimination.

August 4, 2017 - Next City

Arizona Suburb

On Poverty's New Suburban Look

Author Scott Allard debunks lingering myths about how people experience poverty in cities. Poverty's suburbanization, he argues, has more to do with the loss of jobs than migration from "inner cities."

August 3, 2017 - CityLab

1984 Olympics

Worldwide Response to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics: Skepticism

More than one media outlet praised Los Angeles' optimism for cutting a deal with the International Olympics Committee to host the 2028 Olympics.

August 3, 2017 - The Guardian

Trump Administration

Is There Space for Planning in Trump's News Cycle?

An analysis of Planetizen traffic in the first six months of the Trump Administration reveals an audience still focused, despite so many distractions, on the future of communities.

August 1, 2017 - James Brasuell

Commons Park, Denver

'Stoner Hill' Up in Smoke

Changing enforcement and greater activation have changed Commons Park in Denver, which is no longer the site of the drug use that gave the hill its moniker.

July 31, 2017 - Denver Post

Brisbane, CA

Using Satellite Imagery, This AI Traces Urban Wealth

Penny is an artificial intelligence program that detects affluence from space. It also lets users experiment with how different visual forms affect its perception of an area's wealth.

July 29, 2017 - CityLab

Schuykill Yards Project Nets $5.6 Million to Neighborhood Programs

The Neighborhood Engagement Initiative funding from developers of Schuylkill Yards in Philadelphia is being called the largest program of its kind in the city.

July 29, 2017 - Curbed Philadelphia

The old and the new

The Full Story of Detroit's Decline: The Shunning

The decline of Detroit can't be completely explained by the decline of the U.S. auto industry, according to an editorial commemorating the 50th anniversary of a five-day period of rioting and protest that resonates to this day.

July 28, 2017 - Forbes

Donald Trump

Trump Tells Residents to Leave Upstate New York

President Trump told Wall Street Journal reporters earlier this week that Upstate New York "isn't working," and residents should follow manufacturing jobs to other parts of the country.

July 27, 2017 - The Buffalo News

Homeless Encampment

Berkeley Wants to Fund a Tent City for the Homeless

The city of Berkeley has a radical idea for how to build more transitional housing for its sizable homeless population.

July 27, 2017 - East Bay Express

Art in the Face of Gentrification

Art and culture tend to be integral to helping disenfranchised communities self-identify, develop their identities, and organize around place-based issues. But its presence can also be used be used by real estate interests to market neighborhoods.

July 27, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Bhaji Bazaar

Education and Nutrition Flourish Together

"A hungry world is not a just world," says one of the local residents quoted in this story about a community garden in Denver.

July 26, 2017 - The Denver Post

Bushwick

Study: 'Eyes on the Street' Have Real Value for Neighborhood Safety

The first study to make an attempt at quantifying the value of "eyes on street"—an idea most eloquently described by Jane Jacobs—offers reason to support a mix of uses, with businesses operating later in the evening.

July 24, 2017 - Next City

Amazon's Mobile Stores Rolling Out Nationwide

Amazon's Treasure Trucks hawk everything from GoPros to poke bowls and Harry Potter books.

July 24, 2017 - Modern Cities

Los Angeles, California

Like City, Like Stadium

Beloved as it is, Dodger Stadium did not come easily to Los Angeles. Its development was fraught with protests, political rivalries, and debates over public investment and urbanism. Those debates continue today.

July 24, 2017 - California Planning & Development Report

New Poll Shows Broad, Bipartisan Support for Hiking Federal Gas Tax

A majority of Americans of both parties support raising the gas tax to pay for road improvements. Could it provide the source of the $200 billion in federal funds for Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan?

July 21, 2017 - Bloomberg Politics

Abbot Kinney, Venice

Coffee With Your Gentrification?

The Los Angeles Times published a pair of incendiary articles this week in which coffee plays an integral role in the conversation about gentrification.

July 20, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Amazon Fulfillment Center

How Planners Can Liberate the Next Amazon

The path to business success occasionally passes through the garage—famously demonstrated by industry titans like Amazon or Hewlett Packard. Zoning codes should encourage, not obstruct, these kinds of American success stories.

July 20, 2017 - Olivia Gonzalez

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Clinic Lacks a Prescription for its Community

According to an article by Dan Diamond, the Cleveland Clinic is a worldwide success story, but the community surround the hospital "remains mired in poverty."

July 18, 2017 - Politico

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.