Community / Economic Development
How (and Why) to Start a Local Data Intermediary
A new guide helps communities set up groups that can help analyze their neighborhood data and put it to good use.
'Vacant Home Tour' Reimagines Blight
It's not your typical walking tour: A resident-led project in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania explores the history of a community through its blighted properties.
100 Resilient Cities Program Reaches 100 Members
The Rockefeller Foundation’s global initiative for urban resilience rounded out its membership this month with the addition of 37 cities.
Tear It Down and They Will Come?
There's a rationale for the demolition of vacant properties in cities like Chicago, but does that mean the city should be celebrating these programs? The planning of shrinking cities, it turns out, is still very much a work in progress.
Boston Looks to Artists in Cultural Plan Development
A program in Boston to "enliven and strengthen" the arts and creativity in the city's diverse neighborhoods employed artists to seek out and define how people interact with art in their community.
Exploring Birmingham's Uneven Revitalization
WBHM is producing a series of articles on the revitalization of Birmingham, Alabama.
The Suburban Tale of Texas Growth
The state of Texas is expected to double its population between 2010 and 2050. Just how, though, is worthy of more scrutiny.
AIA San Diego Op-Ed on Chargers' Stadium Ballot Initiative: 'Not So Fast'
The San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture believes the NFL Chargers’ downtown stadium proposal is full of risk and lost opportunities. AIA - SD opines the existing stadium site is superior both for the fan and the taxpayer.
Who is NYCxDESIGN?
NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s annual celebration of design, recently wrapped up its fourth season. To learn more about who makes up the design community, photographer Charles Aydlett asked attendees how they would like to see design evolve in the city.
An Accurate Answer to an Interesting Question: Are Compact Neighborhoods Really Most Affordable?
Contrary to recent claims, the evidence really does indicate that compact, multi-modal neighborhoods tend to be most affordable overall, considering both housing and transportation costs.
Federal Agencies Investigating the Rising Costs of Detroit's Blight Program
Detroit's aggressive blight reduction strategy, to demolish vacant homes by the thousands, is coming under scrutiny for rising costs. The FBI and the U.S. Inspector General are investigating.
Talking Point in D.C. Homeless Housing Debate: 'Homeowner Lives Matter'
An already controversial proposal to disperse homeless shelters and service around Washington, D.C. is finding new ways to be controversial.
This Month's Bad News for Retail Could Be of the Fundamental Variety
The retail sector got a wake up call this month.
Orlando's Stadium Finds a New Route to Public Funding
The owner of the MLS's Orlando City soccer team has found an innovative way to finance his team's new $156 million stadium, funded by foreign buyers of American green cards.
A Missing Conversation: Medical Centers and the Built Environment
Hospitals, medical research centers, and the like are supposed to represent health, but are often an unappealing and monolithic presence in the urban landscape. How can the form of health centers fall in line with their function?
Lessons from the Paleolithic Era for Contemporary Urbanites
Gustav Milne makes a simple argument via The Guardian: urbanization "is bad for us."
Equity, Engagement, Community: Empathy Ain't Enough
if a community planning effort is to be judged by the degree to which all voices are heard, then anything short of a big turnout is going to feel like failure. Ben Brown talks equitable engagement, and aligning promises with implementation.
A Few Big Cities Lead the Economic Recovery
As the debate about whether people prefer to live in the suburbs or the big city rages on, data from the U.S. Census reveals a clear preference on the part of economic trends in the wake of the Great Recession.
Black Flight From Gun Violence: Chicago's Loss Is Suburbia's Gain
Middle class African-Americans are fleeing Chicago due to crime, not due to being priced out, as is common elsewhere. "On average more than 10,000 African-Americans leave the city every," reports Brandis Friedman of WTTW for the PBS NewsHour.
Why Chicago Park Advocates Want to Preserve a Parking Lot
A Chicago nonprofit drew criticism for opposing the planned Lucas Museum in favor of a large parking lot. But the organization says it fits into their mission of promoting open space.
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
