Community / Economic Development
Expecting Investment, Reno Targets Blighted Properties
As a nascent tech economy tests the waters, Reno's Vice Mayor spearheads an effort to equitably clear out blight and revisit the purpose of the city's downtown.
6 Trends in Online Community Engagement: the Good and the Bad
With the constellation of civic technologies, like online community engagement platforms, growing quickly, it's important to recognize the positive and negative consequences of new practices in community engagement.
Report Details Strategies for Energy States to Weather Booms and Busts
Some states relied more on the most recent energy boom than others, and some prepared more for the inevitable bust. A report by the Brookings Institution recommends actions for energy states to build resilience in the face of boom and bust cycles.
Happy 100th Birthday, Jane Jacobs
Today would have been Jane Jacobs's 100th birthday. Here are a few recommended reads to help commemorate the occasion.
Helping Beloved Non-Landmarks Weather Gentrification in San Francisco
San Francisco is starting a program to recognize and protect long-standing local businesses based on their community value, not architectural significance.
Does Los Angeles Have What It Takes To Be a Leader for 21st Century Metropolises?
Brookings’ Bruce Katz explains how municipalities like Los Angeles can create thousands of jobs in advanced manufacturing through connecting planning, industry, innovation, and infrastructure efforts.
Parking Benefit Districts Around the U.S.
As Pittsburgh moves forward on a parking management program to fund neighborhood improvements, take a look at how other cities have adapted this Shoup-inspired redevelopment strategy.
'Economic Development 2.0': California’s Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts
Since the dissolution of California's redevelopment agencies, the state has been fine-tuning a new and improved economic development tool: Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts.
DataUSA: An Intuitive Tool for Public Data
A collaboration between Deloitte, Datawheel, and MIT has produced an intuitive aesthetically-pleasing gathering point for public data in the United States. Specific locations and industries boast easy-to-read profiles.
Four Steps to Enhanced Crowdsourcing
The second "Empowered Design, By 'the Crowd'" article offers insight into making the most out of new crowdsourcing resources.
Op-Ed: Habitat III Should Consider Food Systems
The UN's Habitat III conference will be held in October of this year. Thomas Forster argues that urban areas are being considered in isolation, without enough attention to rural areas and food systems.
Op-Ed: Investing in Cities Could Cure 'Short-Termism'
Bruce Katz argues that federal investment in urban areas fosters a public/private ecosystem that can prioritize long-term thinking, minimizing the "short-termism" endemic to corporations and governments acting alone.
New Storefront Index Reveals Evidence of Jacobs's 'Sidewalk Ballet'
City Observatory illustrates a key contributor to a vibrant urban environment by mapping all of the businesses in the urban cores of the nation's 51 largest cities.
Visions of Revitalization Compete in Baltimore
A grassroots housing plan in Baltimore would keep control over neighborhood revitalization, and its benefits, in communities.
Bringing Pedestrian Life Back to Little Havana
Planners have set their sights on the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami with the goal of turning the area's car-centric Calle Ocho into a ped-friendly Main Street.
How Planning Fails to Make Women-Friendly Urban Places
Planning decisions overwhelmingly don't address women's needs, according to an article in The Huffington Post.
Researchers Build Model for Predicting Gentrification
A team of researchers in London believes it can predict future gentrification. The model is built on evidence of social diversity, which is often thought of as a positive outcome.
Letting Kids Design the Cities of the Future
The Box City event held in Denver recently educated children on the process of planning by letting them create their own version of a city.
Where Have All the Writers Gone?
Aaron Renn identifies the negative effects of ongoing concentration of media professionals of the "writer" variety in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
Expected Budget Cuts Hurt Port Modernization Prospects in Anchorage
The Alaska Legislature snubbed the Port of Anchorage due to a huge state budget shortfall. The port handles 90 percent of the state's freight and is a vital national security facility.
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
