Redevelopment
What's Holding Up Redevelopment 2.0 in California?
When California shuttered its hundreds of local redevelopment agencies, many believed a new (if smaller) system for funding affordable housing and development in blighted areas would soon follow. Two years later, the state is still waiting.
Is Downtown Denver Too Popular?
Some of Denver's leaders are sounding the alarm over rising household income levels and the threat to affordable housing. But in an editorial in The Denver Post, Vincent Carroll argues that an exclusive downtown Denver is better than the alternative.
State Ruling Puts Sacramento's K Street Revitalization Project on Hold
State officials ruled that the City of Sacramento did not meet deadlines for financing the K Street revitalization project, including improperly allocating redevelopment funds. The city disagreed and will sue to overturn the decision.
7 Ways Portland Is Better Than Your City
On a recent trip to Portland, land use attorney Bill Adams couldn't help but make comparisons to redevelopment efforts elsewhere. He found 7 tangible areas in which Portland shines through its copious clouds.
Three Strategies for Refueling Abandoned Gas Stations
Lucas Lindsey explores the rise and fall of gas stations in the U.S. With stations closing across the country, and cities wrestling with how to reclaim them, he looks at some that have found a new life through reuse, redevelopment, or repositioning.
LA's Four Epic Planning Mistakes and What They Teach Us
In its history, Los Angeles has made four fateful planning decisions, in the opinion of real estate consultant and developer Michael P. Russell, but much can be learned from these mistakes.
CEQA Reform Advances in CA Legislature, Likely to Become Law
A bill aimed to 'modernize' California's landmark environmental law passed the state's Senate by a vote of 39-0, and its chances of being signed into law appear strong. A bill to revive redevelopment advanced, but seems destined to be vetoed.
'Civic San Diego' Provides City with Redevelopment Afterlife
Since the state's 400+ redevelopment agencies were killed in 2012, cities across California have struggled to manage unfinished projects and support development in distressed neighborhoods. Civic San Diego may provides a model for life after death.
The Dynamic Potential of Urbanism Without Effort
Chuck Wolfe summarizes a major tenet of his new book and suggests we risk ignoring the back story of urban forms and functions by failing to truly understand the traditional relationships between people and place.
The Rise of Municipal Urban Design Departments
San Antonio City Design Center's Executive Manager Mark Brodeur describes his observations of the nationwide trend in cities establishing independent urban design departments.
On-Site Parking Requirements Stifle D.C. Redevelopment
Business owners, city leaders, and community members would love to see the struggling Anacostia neighborhood transformed into a bustling retail zone. But onerous parking requirements in DC's outdated zoning code are stifling the city's own ambitions.
Haiti Update: Reshaping Ravines
Haiti has seen improvements since the 2010 earthquake. However, persistent challenges remain. Dave Hampton, architect and international development consultant for natural and built environment integration, writes about one in particular: ravines.
For L.A. to Thrive, it's Time to Think Small
L.A. stands at a critical juncture in the city's development, with an opportunity to embrace new patterns of land use that break with its postwar history. To seize this opportunity, the city will have to build incrementally, argues Peter Zellner.
Creating a Defined Urban Core Just Outside the Nation's Capitol
Montgomery County planner John Marcolin details the ongoing creation of an urban core in Silver Spring, Maryland, the thriving unincorporated area just northeast of Washington, D.C.
San Diego's Redevelopment Undermined by Parking Lot Blight
Now that redevelopment projects in CA are officially dead, a retrospective on one of the state's 'most successful' redevelopment projects reveals an inconvenient truth: demolition for surface parking has undermined much of its accomplishments.
Friday Eye Candy: Los Angeles Then and Now
Interactive before and after images taken nearly six decades apart show L.A.'s changing urban landscape.
Creative Corridor Plan Puts Little Rock on the Urban Design Map
Lindsey Millar reports on a proposed Creative Corridor plan for Little Rock, calling it “vivid and grandiose, full of all the sorts of things New Urbanists salivate over - a pedestrian promenade, rain gardens, street furniture, [and] LED lighting.."
Using Brownfields to Heal Contaminated Communities
Ronda Kaysen reports on the growing trend in transforming brownfield sites in disadvantaged communities into health centers, "in essence taking a potential source of health problems for a community and turning it into a place for health care."
Williamsburg: Brooklyn’s New 'Hipster Epicenter'
For many locals, Williamsburg in Brooklyn was a weird neighborhood one passed by when getting into lower Manhattan. Now it is the center of gravity of creativity in New York City. Metropolis magazine takes a walkabout in the neighborhood.
The Great Brooklyn Bait-and-Switch
No one should be surprised that at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards site, nothing is, or ever will be, as promised, writes columnist Roberta Brades Gratz.
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
