Community / Economic Development

Effective Strategies for Tackling Vacant Properties
Urban homesteading as a response to hypervacancy is in the news after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg proposed the Douglass Plan while on the presidential campaign trail.

What Are America's Fastest-Growing Cities?
Views about urban growth and decline often rely on statistics for metropolitan regions rather than cities proper. Here, Richard Florida looks at the fastest- and slowest-growing cities in America, separate from their metro areas.

Digging Into the Data on Detroit's 'Recovery'
In key areas like jobs and housing, the numbers show a definite Motor City rebound since the recession. But a closer look reveals uneven gains and weakness next to state averages.

How To Build Place Loyalty
A good friendship is a two-way street. So how come our relationships with places only involve taking and no giving?

Gentrification Mania!
Gentrification is apparently quite rare—so why do urban affairs commentators devote so much time arguing about it?

Co-Working Spaces Fill Opportunity Zone Developments
Developers are working to attract tenants to co-working spaces, in a relationship that they say benefits companies as well as surrounding communities.

Uber Facility for 3,000 Employees Headed to Dallas
The new Uber office in Dallas will be the company's largest employment hub outside of its San Francisco headquarters.

Good and Bad News in California's Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory
Overall greenhouse gas emissions in California dropped 1% in 2017, according to the inventory by the California Air Resources Board, which includes a 9% drop in emissions from electricity generation and a 1% increase in transportation emissions.

Large Doses of Skepticism for Chicago Casinos
The idea of a casino in Chicago didn't sound like a good idea to a state-hire consultant, nor does it seem like the city's Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic likes the idea either.

Planning Department Study Documents Storefront Vacancy in NYC Neighborhoods
A new report from the New York Department of City Planning has found that storefront vacancy may not be a one-answer citywide problem. Vacancies were found to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods, and the reasons appear to be varied.

Six Months After Amazon: A Call to Develop in Long Island City
It's been six months since Amazon rescinded its plans to build a second headquarters in New York City. The neighborhood planned for the facility could still see a huge benefit from an ambitious development, according to this opinion.

Gentrification and Race in the San Francisco Bay Area
A feature article revisits the gentrification and displacement discussion, especially as it pertains to racial and economic demographics, in one of the nation's most troubled and challenging housing markets.

Land Use the Subject of Latest IPCC Report
Not urban land use, but in the literal sense: land used to produce food, graze livestock, supply drinking water, grow trees, and sequester carbon. As the climate warms and the population grows, crop yields will decrease and land will be degraded.

Cities Benefit From Programs to Welcome Outsiders
St. Louis’ Mosaic Project offers an example of how U.S. cities can welcome foreign talent and benefit from their skills.

How to Reduce the Influence of Private Equity in Affordable Housing
The risk of onerous lot rent increases and the fear of eviction are more threatening than ever as private equity enters the manufactured housing market.

Austin Housing Authority Acquires Units on the Private Market
In an unusual move, Austin's housing authority is buying apartments on the private market to rent to Housing Choice Voucher holders.

Denied: No Sitting on Rome's Spanish Steps
Rome's Spanish Steps are no longer a place for sitting.

Study: Good Access to Transit Attracts Startups
Startups are increasingly abandoning the suburban office park to try their luck in denser urban cores. According to this study, good transit is one factor behind that trend. But it's not the only one.

It Doesn't Matter if Your Neighborhood Is Going to Eventually Gentrify
“We could use some gentrification here.” Let's never say this—we must refrain from debating the long-term likelihood of gentrification in distressed places.

'Yes In God's Backyard' Offers a New Way Forward for Housing Advocates
San Diego housing advocates have coined a new term: "YIGBY," or "Yes in God's Backyard," to advance prospects for affordable housing development on property underutilized by houses of worship. The city's planning department is receptive.
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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
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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