Local Business
Corporate Cafeterias Survive Proposed Legislation to Zone Them Out of Existence
San Francisco's Planning Commission rejected a bill that would have made it illegal to open new office cafeterias, recommending that legislation be crafted to allow these eateries to be open to the public instead.
San Francisco Could Zone Out Workplace Cafeterias
Large corporations providing on-site cafeterias are considered a threat to local restaurant business.
Corner Store as Gathering Place
Chicago-based Foxtrot looks to expand their new convenience store concept with a nationwide roll-out.
Which U.S. Cities Have the Highest Density of Microbreweries?
Mapping the complete transformation of the beer business in the United States.
Op-Ed: Don't Ditch Those Industrial Land Uses
An op-ed describes the choice by many cities to prioritize residential projects in old industrial spaces as short-sighted and potentially unjust.
California's Ambitious Transportation Projects Designed to Include Communities
Unprecedented transit build-out in California could transform the state. Now leaders are working to ensure the infrastructure connecting major cities also benefits the communities it touches along the way.
'Rust Belt Riders' Grow New Composting Service in Cleveland
Waste management and composting take an entrepreneurial twist through Cleveland millennials' burgeoning home-grown business.
New Studies Reveal 5 Reasons Policymakers Should Prioritize Local Business in 2016
A raft of recent research finds that small, local businesses are critical to overcoming many of our biggest challenges. This article rounds up the new studies and what they say about why local business should be a focus of planning in 2016.
Why Some BIDs Succeed Where Others Fail
An in-depth study of business improvement districts (BIDs) in two Los Angeles neighborhoods examines the factors behind their success or failure.
Proactive Approach to Displacement Included With 11th Street Bridge Park Plans
A proposal to design a park at the 11th Street Bridge between Capitol Hill and Historic Anacostia includes a through study of how the new park can connect two neighborhoods without leaving anyone behind.
Luxury Condos Versus Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row
Downtown gentrification threatens to displace skilled artisans in a district where workshops go back five generations. Some of the jewelers own their premises, but the rewards for building pricey condos are tempting.
WalMart/Big Box Subsidies Don't Work, Says New Study
When governments use public money to woo national chains, economic growth and job creation aren't worth the cost, says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Independent retailers also suffer.
Going Local in Buffalo
Part of Buffalo, New York's decline, writes Amy Kedron, involved a shift from local to non-local ownership of businesses. A movement is afoot to encourage businesses to "Think Local First."
Boosting the Local Economy Through Local Food
Cities across the country are making efforts to encourage people to buy locally and support the local economy. Food is the main target for local boosters.
Fusion Businesses as Indicators of Urban Change
Chuck Wolfe explains how the fusion of laundromats and dining are evidence of the evolving city and the ongoing need for regulatory reform.
Are Local Businesses Making a Comeback?
Styled after Harper's Index, this "Localism Index" suggests that local economies and independent businesses might just be making a comeback.
Manufacturing is Alive and Well
Manufacturing in the U.S. hasn't gone away, it's just gone local, writes Allison Arieff.
Building Business By Building Bike Lanes
Cycling activists in Vancouver are trying to tout the economic benefits of bike lanes to help build the case for a proposed separated bike lane.
Bringing Bookshops Back to the Latin Quarter
Seeing a marked decline in the amount of bookstores in the traditional cultural center of Paris, the city began a program to actively lure them back.
Worker Bees
Michael S. Thompson of the Chicago Honey Co-op discusses his urban beekeeping operation and how it provides jobs to otherwise hard-to-employ people.
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.
City of Albany
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
