Community / Economic Development

Homeless Encampment

Berkeley Wants to Fund a Tent City for the Homeless

The city of Berkeley has a radical idea for how to build more transitional housing for its sizable homeless population.

July 27, 2017 - East Bay Express

Art in the Face of Gentrification

Art and culture tend to be integral to helping disenfranchised communities self-identify, develop their identities, and organize around place-based issues. But its presence can also be used be used by real estate interests to market neighborhoods.

July 27, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Bhaji Bazaar

Education and Nutrition Flourish Together

"A hungry world is not a just world," says one of the local residents quoted in this story about a community garden in Denver.

July 26, 2017 - The Denver Post

Bushwick

Study: 'Eyes on the Street' Have Real Value for Neighborhood Safety

The first study to make an attempt at quantifying the value of "eyes on street"—an idea most eloquently described by Jane Jacobs—offers reason to support a mix of uses, with businesses operating later in the evening.

July 24, 2017 - Next City

Amazon's Mobile Stores Rolling Out Nationwide

Amazon's Treasure Trucks hawk everything from GoPros to poke bowls and Harry Potter books.

July 24, 2017 - Modern Cities

Los Angeles, California

Like City, Like Stadium

Beloved as it is, Dodger Stadium did not come easily to Los Angeles. Its development was fraught with protests, political rivalries, and debates over public investment and urbanism. Those debates continue today.

July 24, 2017 - California Planning & Development Report

New Poll Shows Broad, Bipartisan Support for Hiking Federal Gas Tax

A majority of Americans of both parties support raising the gas tax to pay for road improvements. Could it provide the source of the $200 billion in federal funds for Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan?

July 21, 2017 - Bloomberg Politics

Abbot Kinney, Venice

Coffee With Your Gentrification?

The Los Angeles Times published a pair of incendiary articles this week in which coffee plays an integral role in the conversation about gentrification.

July 20, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Amazon Fulfillment Center

How Planners Can Liberate the Next Amazon

The path to business success occasionally passes through the garage—famously demonstrated by industry titans like Amazon or Hewlett Packard. Zoning codes should encourage, not obstruct, these kinds of American success stories.

July 20, 2017 - Olivia Gonzalez

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland Clinic Lacks a Prescription for its Community

According to an article by Dan Diamond, the Cleveland Clinic is a worldwide success story, but the community surround the hospital "remains mired in poverty."

July 18, 2017 - Politico

Atlanta BeltLine

An Investigation of Affordable Housing Failure on the Atlanta Beltline

An investigative collaboration between the Georgia News Lab and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has produced a scathing critique of Atlanta Beltline Inc., the organization shepherding one of the nation's most ambitious public works projects.

July 18, 2017 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Seattle Center

The Poetic Grid Maps the Lyrics of Place

There's only one requirement to qualify for Seattle's Poetic Grid project: write a poem about a specific place.

July 16, 2017 - Next City

Denver Region

Suburban Poverty in the Denver Region Compares Favorably to National Averages

A more nuanced understanding of suburban poverty is available from an examination of the Denver region.

July 15, 2017 - The Denver Post

Street Closed

Friday Friendly: More Houses Should Have Patios in the Front

With so many houses oriented to the privacy of backyards, one street in St. Louis has redefined neighborly by orienting their sitting and relaxation areas to the front yard.

July 14, 2017 - StarTribune

Artificial Intelligence Unlocks the Secrets of Neighborhood Change

Researchers at MIT and Harvard believe that their computer vision system (i.e., artificial intelligence) helps reveal fundamental characteristics of neighborhood change.

July 14, 2017 - MIT News

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Op-Ed: Out-Of-Town Architects Miss a Huge Opportunity

A Cleveland architect offers a scathing critique of the design choices made by one of the city's cultural institutions.

July 14, 2017 - Crain's Cleveland Business

Atlanta, Georgia

Emory University Wants in to the City of Atlanta

Emory University wants the city of Atlanta to annex its campus. Transit benefits and more could await.

July 13, 2017 - The Wall Street Journal

A Female Approach to Commercial Revitalization

Auburn Boulevard in the city of Citrus Heights, California is a case study of what urban strategist Michele Reeves calls the "female approach to economic development."

July 13, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Queen Elizabeth

A Comprehensive Plan for Westeros? Same Issues, More Swordplay

Game of Thrones provides way more sex, blood, and dragons than your typical comprehensive planning project, but the dynamics can be instructive, particularly in places where demand for the high-quality amenities of urbanism out-paces the supply.

July 13, 2017 - PlaceShakers

Barbes Music

Safe for Now, Brooklyn Music Mecca Sees a Cloudy Future

More than 20 percent of New York's smaller music venues have closed in the past 15 years. Although Brooklyn institution Barbes was recently saved by a crowdfunding campaign, its founder is pessimistic about the future of New York's independent arts.

July 13, 2017 - Soft City

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.