Community / Economic Development

Why it Matters When Protesters Shut Down Highways
Emily Badger, writing for The Washington Post's Wonkblog, doesn't let planners off the hook for the racist history of highway planning around the country.

Clearing the Path for Tiny Houses
Clocking in at less than 500 square feet, tiny houses are in greater and greater demand. They've been touted as a means to address affordability, inequality, homelessness, and environmental concerns. But regulatory issues are holding them back.

Bloomington Allows Artisanal Production in Retail Zones
Craft beer aficionados take note. Bloomington, Illinois now allows businesses selling artisanal products to manufacture their goods on-site. The ruling blurs a distinction between industrial and commercial zoning.

Water Draws the Line Between the Haves and Have-Nots in the South Bay Area
Development proposals in one of the least affluent communities in the Silicon Valley have repeatedly been scuttled due to a lack of water. Wealthier communities have more than enough.
Controversial Clean Coal Plant is Subject of Investigative Journalism
Things have gone terribly wrong at Mississippi's Kemper County energy facility, a federally supported, $6.7 billion carbon capture and storage coal power plant that is now two years behind schedule and $4 billion over budget.
A Summary of CNU24 Detroit
Miss the Congress for the New Urbanism in Detroit? Hazel Borys shares some highlights, with help from Twitter urbanists.

How Some Cities Stay Little
Some cities that want to grow are stuck in the small town zone, while others growing cities would prefer to stay small.

$10.6 Million Fine Proves Some Banks Are Still Redlining
A Mississippi-based bank will pay $10.6 million for discriminatory lending practices.

Reexamining the Origins of Zoning
According to Seymour Toll's 1969 book, New York City's 1916 zoning code was less a civic-minded project than an attempt to protect elite retail districts from the riff-raff. The ramifications for American zoning at large are significant.

Counting the Indicators of a Deflating California Real Estate Bubble
Canceled projects, price discounts, and increased incentives to buyers are already showing up in real estate developments in key U.S. regions, writes estate and affordable housing adviser Michael P. Russell. He reviews some key indicators.

Zoning as a Tool of Social and Economic Inequality
The New York Times devotes significant ink to an argument against the use of zoning laws as tools of anti-growth politics.

The Vision for a $120 Billion Public Transportation Revolution in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Metro's new Chief of Planning Therese McMillan joins the agency at a pivotal moment, as county voters will decide in November whether to approve a new, evergreen sales tax to fund future Metro public transportation expansion.

The Place of Water in Urban Design: An International Perspective
How cities around the world have approached thinking about how water management fits in to urban planning.

The 3 Most Common Community Engagement Mistakes
Planners, like any other professionals, live in a kind of bubble. Those charged with dealing with the public run the risk of expecting too much from residents as they design community engagement activities. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

Toward an Equitable Bikeshare System
The Better Bike Share Conference convened in Philadelphia on June 22-24, 2016. Attendees gathered to find solutions for challenges of equity, social justice, and mobility in the country's emerging bikeshare infrastructure.

Los Angeles Voters to Consider $1.2 Billion Property Tax Bond for Homeless Housing
Los Angeles voters will be asked to approve a new property tax on residential and commercial properties to pay for a $1.2 billion to improve the city's worsening homelessness problem.

20-Minute Neighborhoods In Detroit
If Detroit needs to be "rebuilt" or "reimagined," why not do so around a walkable, convenient ideal? A compact Motor City where essential goods and services are available within a 20-minute walk?
After Brexit, London's Fintech Future Foggy at Best
Over half of Europe’s financial technology "unicorns" are in the London area. The decision to quit the EU is already threatening the ecosystem that allows London to trade within the EU, as well as its status as hub for fintech jobs and technology
HUD Announces Latest Round of Choice Neighborhood Grants
Ten new neighborhoods join 63 previous grant winners under the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.

Military Veterans Deploy to Detroit to Take on Blight-Busting Volunteer Work
A volunteer organization called The Mission Continues connects veterans with volunteer work around the country. The healing power of their efforts goes both ways.
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