Greg O'Connell has been called that, for his community-developing strategies that helped transform Red Hook. His new target: the small town of Mount Morris in upstate New York.
O'Connell started investing in Red Hook in 1982, and is now the largest landowner in the borough.
In the New York Times, Dwight Garner calls him "a gentrifier of a sort, albeit one who loathes most of what we've come to think of as gentrification."
"He's a longtime admirer of Jane Jacobs - he used to carry her classic book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," around like a talisman - and he learned from her and other urban planners."
FULL STORY: The Last Townie
The Philadelphia Loan Program Transforming the Demographics of Development
The Jumpstart loan program is helping Black and female residents become developers.
Breaking NYC’s Housing Speculation Cycle
When wealthy investors treat homes like poker chips, it is the tenants who end up losing. How do we interrupt the vicious cycle of speculation and displacement?
Boston Will Urge Developers to Provide Diversity Disclosures
Stopping short of a mandate, the city plans to request that developers provide information about diversity and inclusion on their teams.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service