Community / Economic Development

Compass Columbia comprehensive plan

Getting Started on Inclusive Planning

A toolbox for local governments to address inequality.

November 29, 2018 - Nate Baker

Planning Professor

Planning Academic Appointed to Federal Reserve Board Community Advisory Council

The Federal Reserve Board’s Community Advisory Council serves in an advisory role on matters affecting communities and consumers.

November 28, 2018 - University of Michigan Taubman College

Downtown Kansas City Missouri

Kansas City Star Editorial Board Laments 'Denverization'

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board has concerns about gentrification and affordable housing.

November 28, 2018 - The Kansas City Star

Street Food

Los Angeles Approves Sidewalk Vending Ordinance

The new ordinance brings long-awaited legal legitimacy to sidewalk vending in Los Angeles.

November 28, 2018 - Streetsblog LA

Queens, New York City

Regional Plan Association Gives Amazon HQ2 a Thumbs Up

A Regional Plan Association white paper makes that case that New York City and Amazon have mutually beneficial goals with the decision to located the tech company's second headquarters in Long Island City.

November 28, 2018 - Crain's New York Business

Coal Mining and Power Station

Climate Report Written by Federal Government Warns of Dire Impact on Economy

The second volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released on Black Friday to presumably draw less attention from the American public, was well-covered by the media. Unlike Volume 1, there was greater focus on economic impacts.

November 27, 2018 - The New York Times

Menards

Big-Box Retailers Say Property Assessments Are Too High; Communities Suffer the Consequences

"Dark store theory" argues that nearby depreciated properties should figure into property valuations. The resulting property tax cuts mean local municipalities end up taking a huge hit.

November 26, 2018 - CityLab

The Gulch

Details of Nashville's Deal With Amazon Revealed

Nashville was a surprise benefactor of the Amazon HQ2 announcement earlier this month. Amazon will definitely benefit from the deal as well.

November 25, 2018 - The Tennessean

Bank Owned

Detroit Program Keeps Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Housed

The buyback plan diverts properties from Wayne County's tax foreclosure auction, keeping them in government hands until residents can repay the purchase price.

November 24, 2018 - Detroit Free Press

Dogs and Lawns

A New 'SeeClickFix' App, but for Poop

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

November 23, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Newport, Kentucky

$1 Billion Ovation Project to Break Ground in Metro Cincinnati in 2019

A mixed-use project planned for 35 acres in the city of Newport, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, is ready to break ground after ten years of planning.

November 23, 2018 - Cincinnati Business Courier

4 abandoned homes in St. Louis's Greater Ville neighborhood

St. Louis Lawsuits Focus on Delinquent Properties

Special suits give property owners an opportunity to fix up rundown properties before the city sells them.

November 21, 2018 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Long Island City

Amazon's New Home in New York a 'Distressed' Opportunity Zone

Concerns about the Opportunity Zone program created by the GOP tax bill passed in the waning hours of 2017—that it would enable gentrification and displacement for the profit of wealthy investors—won't be assuaged by this news.

November 21, 2018 - The New York Times

A Black woman stands in front of a home holding an umbrella and smiling.

White People Don't Recognize Black Middle Class Neighborhoods

According to a series of studies, white people have a blindness for seeing the black middle class in neighborhoods—even if they don't display other forms of racial animus.

November 20, 2018 - Slate

Pacific Northwest Shipping

Pacific Northwest Gears Up for Another Fossil Fuel Export Fight

Just two years after killing what would be the world's largest methanol plant at the Port of Tacoma, the project has reemerged at the Port of Kalama. According to the EIS for the plant, global CO2 emissions will be reduced, though increased locally.

November 19, 2018 - The Daily News

Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump

Watch Saturday Night Live's Hilarious Take on Amazon's HQ2 Decision

Saturday Night Love comes up with a novel hot take on the thinking behind Amazon's decision to split its new second headquarters between New York City and Northern Virginia.

November 19, 2018 - The Washington Post

Cleveland Vacant Home

Map Divvying Up Cleveland Resembles Redlining Maps of the Past

Cleveland neighborhoods were coded to help real estate investors, but the result is a map that harks back to old discriminatory housing practices, say critics.

November 16, 2018 - CityLab

48 Global Cities Work on Regulatory Framework for Digital Platforms

During the Sharing Cities Summit 2018, cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Paris, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Stockholm, and Vienna agreed on a Declaration of Principles and Commitments of the Sharing Cities.

November 16, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Mesa Arts Center

Arizona Event Venues Don't Seem to Make Fiscal Sense, But City Leaders Say They’re Worth the Losses

Convention and arts centers are costly and lose lots of money, but cities still build and advocate for them.

November 16, 2018 - Arizona Republic

New York Subway

Friday Funny: The Onion Says the Subway Is Reserved for Amazon Employees Now

A totally fake news story, intended to satirize, not provide any factual information, makes fun of how much New York City's political leadership gave to Amazon to make sure HQ2 would call the Big Apple home.

November 16, 2018 - The Onion

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.