Community / Economic Development

Mobile Recreation Program to Serve Park-Poor Areas
Los Angeles County launches "Park On the Move" initiative to offer recreational activities and opportunities in underserved communities.

L.A. Councilmember Proposes Criminalizing On-Street Bike Repairs
Councilmember Krekorian's proposal to criminalize bike repairs and sales on public right-of-way has been sharply criticized as a cynical move that will unfairly target the unhoused.

Urban Villages for the Proletariat
Compact, walkable urban villages benefit working families and organized labor by creating jobs, improving household affordability, reducing commute duration, improving economic opportunities, and creating cleaner, healthier communities.

Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway: Governor Rejects San Antonio's Redevelopment Plan
After Texas relinquished control of state highways to cities in an effort to save money on maintenance costs, San Antonio planned an ambitious makeover of Broadway to accommodate pedestrian and bike improvements. The state won't approve it.

HUD Credits COVID-19 Relief for Improved Homelessness Numbers
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report" comes with significant caveats about partial data and changing homeless shelter practices.

Building Up the 'Zoning Buffer' to Increase Housing Supply Without Raising Land Values
New research helps explain why urban housing prices are escalating and how communities can increase affordability. It emphasizes the need to upzone sufficient urban land to create a large competitive market for parcels ready for infill development.

How Policymakers Are Grappling With the Racist Legacy of Urban Freeways
In Michigan, the state's Department of Transportation is looking for ways to mitigate the damage caused by decades of urban renewal policies and reconnect neighborhoods cut off from amenities and opportunities by highway projects.

Considering Geographic Equity
What do we owe poor cities?

The Pandemic Era
"We are living in the Covid-19 era, not the Covid-19 crisis," Allan Brandt, a historian of science and medicine at Harvard University, told Gina Kolata of the New York Times last October in a review of past pandemics and what we can learn from them.

The Great Plains Real Estate Boom
Cities on the Great Plains were giving away land in recent decades in the hopes of attracting new residents. Now they have a different challenge: responding to a sudden, but still modest, spike in demand.

Lawsuit Challenges Zoning to Limit Church Soup Kitchens
Local residents of Brookings, Oregon say a local church's meal services during the pandemic were attracting crime and vagrancy, so the city passed a zoning ordinance that limited the number of days the church could serve meals to two a week.

Chicago Seeks Public Input on Clark Street Improvements
The city is creating a strategy for improvements in the Clark Street corridor to improve the area's walkability and stimulate the local economy.

Santa Barbara May Scale Down Outdoor Dining Areas
The city will consider adjustments to its outdoor dining policy after the fire department expressed concerns about access for emergency vehicles.

6 Surprising Ways Communities Can Grow Their Businesses Amidst the Labor Shortage
While the labor shortage has affected businesses across the country, many communities have started taking steps to support area businesses and help them thrive.

On-Demand Transit To Connect Suburban Milwaukee Job Centers
A new last-mile service set to launch in February will connect the city's residents with job-rich suburbs.

COVID Zero: The High Price of Containment
Vision Zero: a strategy to eliminate road crashes, particularly those with fatal outcomes. COVID Zero: a strategy to end coronavirus transmission. Only one has worked—but at a steep price.

Third Round of Indian Community Block Grant Funding Announced
The American Rescue Plan included $280 million in funding for the Indian Community Development Block Grant program. A third round of funding announced in January adds $84 million to that total.

How to Transform the Humble Strip Mall
One Northern Virginia shopping center illustrates how the auto-centric strip mall can be repurposed to better serve its community.

Pew: Nearly Half of Americans Call Affordable Housing a 'Major Problem'
As the housing crisis deepens, more Americans are saying housing affordability is a top concern in their community.

Office Landlords Luring Tenants Back With Incentives
Landlords are offering generous incentives in an effort to prop up the struggling U.S. office market.
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