Economic Development

Appreciating Rural Cultural Resources
A focus on ‘placemaking’ too often obscures or exploits local culture and history.

Limited Transit Access Stifling Memphis Economy
The city ranks low for transit access to jobs, limiting opportunities for local workers and businesses.

How Cities Can Leverage Financial Data for Smarter Urban Planning
Explore how cities can use financial data to enhance urban planning, improve budget allocation, and boost community services.

States Look to Eliminate Happy Hour Bans to Lure People Downtown
More than 20 states have laws banning or limiting happy hours at bars and restaurants. Now, some are revisiting these regulations in an effort to boost commerce in struggling downtown districts.

The Permanent Affordability That Wasn't: Lessons from the Pythian Building
A high-stakes, high-profile community land trust project once hailed as a triumph in New Orleans ended in disaster for its residents, but it’s important to draw the right lessons about why.

Plans for Nashville’s First Chinatown Underway
Developers are working on a new cultural commercial development that will offer unique Asian architecture, culture, shopping, restaurant, and retail services to Nashvillians and visitors from surrounding cities and states.

‘Shawshank Redemption’: 5 Adaptive Reuse Strategies for Shuttered Jails
Redeveloping closed correctional facilities in ways that foster just and thriving communities is a growing trend across the United States.

Revitalizing Texas: Sustainable Rail Solutions
An argument for why investing in trains is the key to sustainable growth and economic success in the Lone Star State.

Jersey City and Newark: A Tale of Renaissance and Stagnation
The rise and fall (and rise again) of two great American cities teach us lessons about racism, economic opportunity, and more.

How to Kickstart an Urban Resurgence
In the age of remote work, relying on major employers to boost a city’s economic fortunes may no longer be enough.

New Book Analyzes America’s Poorest Communities
The similarities between the nation’s most disadvantaged areas, often rural, reveal the economic patterns that lead to chronic poverty.

Salt Lake City Bucks Downtown Decline Trend
The city’s central business district is bustling with more activity than before the pandemic.

New York City's Dancing Prohibition Remains a Barrier to Entry, Equality
New York’s 1960s-era zoning code still prohibits dancing in small bars and restaurants in more than 80 percent of the city, but Mayor Eric Adams and advocates want to change that.

How Is Supply Chain Expansion Impacting Urban Development?
Supply chain expansion can have specific impacts on urban development as people move to metropolitan areas and require more involved participation at all levels of the supply chain.

Why Cities Will Outlast the Pandemic Slump
A new report suggests that despite recent challenges, the ‘value proposition’ of urban activity centers remains as strong as ever.

Sports Stadiums Bring Few Economic Benefits
While their developers often tout jobs and local economic development as benefits of major stadium projects, research shows these venues often make little impact on local economies.

Marrying Urban Identity and Economic Prosperity
A new book posits that truly successful communities have a strong economic base and a firmly rooted sense of place.

State of the Cities: Mayors Focused on Infrastructure, Economic Development
Mayors around the country are pledging to bolster infrastructure projects with new federal funding, generate economic growth, and support the most vulnerable residents.

Who’s Afraid of Gentrification?
Examining the complex sources of concerns about displacement and opposition to investment in low-income neighborhoods.

The Return of Cities
Major cities like London continue their rebound from the pandemic, with some tweaks.
Pagination
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research