Economic Development
Investing In Affordability For Economic Development
Is a $50,000 annual income wealth or poverty in North America? By historical or international standards such an income should be considered wealthy and luxurious, but most people I know consider it poverty because of the high cost of living.
Serendipity for Downtown L.A.?
At a recent event in Los Angeles, Cecilia Estolano, CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, presented her vision for the Downtown of the future in one of the country's most notoriously diffuse urban centers.
Smarter Transportation Economic Stimulation
We have just published a new report, "Smart Transportation Economic Stimulation: Infrastructure Investments That Support Strategic Planning Objectives Provide True Economic Development" which discusses factors to consider when evaluating transportation economic stimulation strategies.
Location, Location, Location: Brought To You By GIS
A new GIS-based service promises to improve on real estate agents by using GIS data to locate promising sites to locate for business.
Buffalo Adopting SmartCode
Commissioner of Economic Development Brian Reilly makes the case to overhaul the city's 1951 zoning ordinance to a form-based SmartCode.
Galveston's Gamble
City leaders in Galveston looking for ways to recover from Hurricane Ike turn to an old staple of the local economy: gambling.
(Almost) Creative City
London, Ontario has been focused on retaining and embracing its creative class. The city remains optimistic that it's on the right track toward becoming a creative city--which has been good news for its economy.
Which Cities Stretch Dollars The Farthest?
Texas cities top a ranking by Forbes of where your dollar goes the farthest. Affordable housing and promising job prospects made a big difference.
Scraper Bikes: Urban and Internet Phenomenon
Scraper bikes, tricked-out bicycles adopted from scraper cars (with wheels so big they scrape the inside of the wheel well), have become increasingly popular among carless teens in Oakland, CA.
post-Starbucks planning
Starbucks stores have seen a lot of protests. Due to its international brand recognition, the chain became an easy mark for activists looking to draw media attention to concerns from genetic engineering to union busting, from store placements in historically sensitive locations to the company’s opposition to Ethiopia’s application to trademark three types of coffee.
Should we use zoning to preserve manufacturing?
Deindustrialization has wreaked havoc across many American cities and towns. One only need visit the landscape of the rust belt, places like Buffalo, Detroit or Flint, Michigan to get a sense how damaging this transformation can be. Behind the ugly ruins of abandoned factories and shuttered stores are the lives of real people who have suffered. Manufacturing provided jobs, good paying ones at that, that helped create a blue collar middle class.
Freakonomics Investigates Suburbia
Urban experts weigh in on the future of the suburbs.
Inner-City Suburbs Rebranded as 'Classic Towns'
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for the Philadelphia metropolitan region, has introduced an innovate way of making people aware of the benefits of older, established suburbs: market them.
The Flight Back from the Burbs
Bay Area tech companies are increasingly opening offices in downtown San Francisco, a significant change from the development pattern of the last ten years.
Church Vs. Casino
It's ethics vs. economics in a debate over a proposed casino in Stranraer, Scotland.
Zoning for Amusement
Coney Island fights to preserve its history of sideshows and tilt-a-whirls as revitalization steps into the ring.
Fast Company Picks 'Fast Cities 2008'
Fast Company highlights Chicago and London, their picks for U.S. and Global Cities of the Year, respectively. Whatever you think of the way such lists come together, these are interesting profiles of two vibrant municipalities.
Planning the Long Tail
One of the more powerful concepts to come out of the information and services economy is the Long Tail.
Too bountiful a crop of farmers' markets?
The number of farmers’ markets has grown dramatically in the US over the past few years. The number increased by seven percent from 2005-2006 on top of the incredible 79 percent increase from 1994 to 2002. People love the festive atmosphere, the ability to meet the people who grow their food and the connection to the earth this experience provides, and the quality and freshness of the produce. Many patrons value local farmers’ markets as a means of lessening their impact on the earth by allowing them to eat more locally. Yet in some places, farmers are abandoning the markets. They cite a number of reasons, including:
Is Detroit Half-Empty, Or Half-Full?
Two years ago I saw John Norquist, former Mayor of Milwaukee and current President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, give a presentation on the state of America’s cities. During the slide show, Norquist used two sets of images to effectively convey a point about urban disinvestment in America. The first set of images was of Berlin and Detroit circa 1945. Unsurprisingly, the Berlin image displayed a war-torn and rubble-strewn city, while the Detroit image revealed why it was once called the Paris of the Midwest -- it was simply elegant. However, the second set of images displayed the same two cities 60 years later. It was as if Detroit had been through an epic war and not Berlin.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
