Community / Economic Development
Smart Street Modifications Lead to a Revitalized Downtown
Lancaster, California's investment in it's primary downtown thoroughfare has sparked a renaissance in its once ailing downtown.
A Twitter Feed that Sings About Placemaking
"My twitter stream is alive with the sound of placemaking," writes Chuck Wolfe. While preparing for this week's Placemaking Week in Vancouver, he explains the importance of PPS-led programming and hopes for various panels, proceedings and events.
Seattle's 'Pathway Home' Initiative Seeks Housing First Strategy for Homeless
'Housing first' has become a policy buzzword of sorts to describe an approach to homeless services. A pair of new reports on the homelessness situation in Seattle finds consensus on the need for a housing first policy.
New York Could Ensure Benefits for Taxi, Uber Drivers
The New York City Council will consider legislation that would address a lack of employment benefits for 'gig economy' workers.
An Emerging Cause for Advocacy: Night Life
"Night mayors" are working in cities around the world to improve relations between city government and the entertainment venues that can define urban living for many residents.
A Livestream of Jackson Hole's Town Square Goes Viral
The latest Internet sensation: daily life in the community of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
How Community Engagement Can Restore Trust in Government
Trust between the public and government agencies is low, and democracies are paralyzed without it. How can community engagement help restore trust? This post outlines the challenge and a process for solving it.
Four Ways L.A. Metro Is Increasing Affordable Housing
A median-income family in the L.A. metro area spends 73 percent of their income on housing and transportation alone. L.A. Metro explains why and how they're taking huge steps to get affordable housing on land they own—where it will do the most good.
Theme Park Urbanism
An op-ed rejects a notion of urbanism that would find a home in Disneyland, for a version of urbanism that deploys the best efficiencies and benefits of the built environment.
The Makings of Healthy Places
What makes for a healthy place? Kaid Benfield points to density of dwellings, intersections and public transport, plus access to parks.
A Story of Success: Manhattan, Kansas
The story of a revitalized economy in Manhattan, Kansas is a story of thorough partnership with Kansas State University.
London's Cascading Displacement Effects Start at the Top of the Income Ladder
New research from the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics finds evidence of the displacement of elites from affluent neighborhoods in London.
White Flight Continues From Ethnoburbs Around the Country
As affluent whites have returned to more urban areas, some might think that white flight is a relic of the 20th century, but overwhelming evidence shows that white flight continues, just in a different place and time.
Cap-and-Trade Bill Boosts California's Struggling Biomass Facilities
California's new rigorous renewable portfolio standard of 50 percent by 2030 will support a renewable energy source that serves the dual purpose of reducing forest fire hazards.
The Jersey Shore—Or Philadelphia East
People who own property on the Jersey Shore tend to have a lot in common when it comes to geography, income, and religion.
Redevelopment Plans and Gentrification Concerns for Toronto's Moss Park
Urban renewal of the 1960s built large amounts of public housing in the formerly industrial neighborhood of Moss Park in Toronto. Now, the neighborhood and its eponymous park have become home to some of the most impoverished people in the city.
Los Angeles Wants to Use Housing Money to Boost MLS Soccer Stadium
Critics say the HUD program is meant to fund more direct anti-poverty measures, like affordable housing—not office, retail, and attractions.
A New Financing Tool for California: Enhanced Infrastructure Finance Districts
Enhanced infrastructure finance districts allow regional cooperation on infrastructure investment and economic development.
Are Rent-to-Own Homes Predatory?
On the promise of ownership, rent-to-own landlords make tenants pay for repairs. And on the lower end, homes often come with code violations built in. This market's legal grey spaces distinctly echo 2008.
Mapping Gentrification and Displacement in California
The Urban Displacement project produces not only a detailed portrait of gentrification and displacement in California, but also a comparison between the state's two mega regions: the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.
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
