Urban Policy

Americans Are Protesting, But What Stops Full-Scale Rioting?

Jake Blumgart | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Occupy Philly, Urban Living, Philadelphia, Michael-Katz, Flash Mobs, Urban Policy, Occupy Movement, Occupy Wall Street, Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Michael Katz, Books News

Michael Katz's Why Don't American Cities Burn? is both a crushing reminder of seemingly intractable problems that still face American cities and an exploration of why things aren't worse.

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Street Food and Urban Culture

Fabio Parasecoli | Posted 05.12.2012

Read More: Street Food, Aesthetics, Social Justice, Immigrants, Urban Policy, Culture, Advocacy, Street Vendors, New York Food Carts, Food Trucks, New York News

Both gourmet food trucks and allegedly messy carts are constitutive elements of the NYC foodscape. Any attempt at deciding what category of vendor is better somehow goes against the very spirit of the city.

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Could We 'Fix' Detroit With $800 Billion? Let's Try!

Ned Staebler | Posted 03.21.2012

Read More: Iraq War, Infrastructure Investment, Mass Transit, Urban Policy, Economic Development, Arts Funding, Light Rail, Cities, Detroit, Marshall Plan, Detroit Renewal, Detroit News

The direct financial costs of the Iraq war were estimated to be about $800 billion, with a 'B.' That struck me as a lot of money. I started thinking: "What else could we have done with $800 billion over eight years?"

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PHOTOS: America's Abandoned Places And How They Got That Way

Posted 01.12.2012

Read More: Inner City, Urban Decay, Abandoned Places, Urban Policy, Effects of Ruin Porn, Abandoned Buildings, Inner Cities, Urban Travel, Ruin Porn, Abandoned, Rust Belt, US Travel, Travel News

The following is a post from David Schalliol, the Visiting Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The pho...

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A Simple Portrait of an Urban Place

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 02.08.2012

Read More: Photography, Sustainability, Placemaking, Community, Urban Planning, Green News, Culture, Cities, Third Places, Urban Policy, Livable Cities, Urbanism, Green News

From time to time, a single image captures the look and feel of city life, and successfully depicts an urban place where people come together. La...

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What Mayor Bloomberg, Economists Can Learn From Occupy Wall Street

Eric Peterson | Posted 01.29.2012

Read More: Occupy Wall Street Movement, Bloomberg Occupy Wall Street, Urban Policy, Occupy Wall Street Protesters, Occupy Wall Street Protests, Occupy Wall Street, Neoliberalism, Urban Justice, New York News

While some may utilize appealing rhetoric and claim to work in our name, it is clear that no one else is going to create the city we imagine for us, this is our job.

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Fostering Collaboration between Schools and Urban Communities

Matthew Lynch, Ed.D. | Posted 12.28.2011

Read More: African Americans, School Reform, Community, Urban Schools, Urban Policy, Education Reform, Black Voices News

The renewal of urban schools and communities are linked, as it is difficult for communities to improve without a decent education system, but it is also difficult for schools to improve without support from an energized, active community.

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Experiencing the Sonata of Urban Density (VIDEO)

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 11.20.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Urban Design, Green Living, Livable Cities, Pedestrian Cities, Pedestrians, Urbanism, Urban Density, Video, Green News

Take a creative break from today's active discussions about the benefits of urban density with a sonata that examines compact development examples from across the world.

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City Shaping III: The Philadelphia Story

Charles A. Birnbaum | Posted 11.13.2011

Read More: Horticulture, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Urban Design, Philadelphia, Landscape Architecture, City Planning, Philadelphia Urban Planning, Philadelphia City Planning, Philadelphia Urban Design, Arts News

For more than three centuries, city planning, landscape architecture and a unique civic ambition that emphasizes horticulture as much as the pedestrian experience in its public spaces and streetscapes, have made Philadelphia a fascinating city.

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Restore Detroit, Revive the Economy: My Letter to President Obama

Rep. Hansen Clarke | Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: Detroit, Consumer Debt, Economic Recovery, Urban Policy, Barack Obama, Economy, Economic Crisis, Politics News

I write today to thank you for your advocacy on behalf of unemployed Americans and to urge you to consider innovative new ways to create jobs and spur economic growth.

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Confronting The Urban Mirror

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 10.28.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Architecture, Sustainability, Urban Design, Green Living, Livable Cities, Pedestrians, Pedestrian Cities, Cities, Urbanism, Green News

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Early Education Gives Poor Kids a Chance to Succeed

Gloria Bonilla Santiago | Posted 10.24.2011

Read More: Early Childhood Education, Academia, Education Reform, Urban Policy, Poverty in America, Education News

Quality educational programs that begin early in life have the potential to close gaps in school achievement that exist between poor minority children and their middle class counterparts.

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Discerning Successful Elements of People, Place and Urbanism

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 10.24.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Architecture, Urban Design, Green Living, Urbanism, Sustainability, Pedestrians, Cities, Livable Cities, Pedestrian Cities, Liveable Cities, Culture News

Nothing is better for advocates of urbanism than simple immersion in the look and feel of a successful, authentic place. After a week of observation ...

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Rediscovering the Road to the Sustainable City

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 10.16.2011

Read More: Photography, Green Urban Planning, Walking, Living News, Puglia, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Green, Sustainability, Urban Design, Real Estate, Green Living, Pedestrians, Urbanism, Cities, Culture, Architecture, Green News

Those of us who write about cities should be students of history and experience, and with some humility listen to scholars and the legacy of urban development from from around the world.

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Retaining Sustainable Storefronts in the Urban Realm

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 10.09.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Small Business, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Real Estate, Cities, Urbanism, Culture, Photography, Business, Neighborhoods, Storefronts, Small Towns, Culture News

Vital storefronts are an indicator of urban success, while empty businesses are akin to the ruins of Pompeii.

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Uncovering Embedded Patterns of Place in the City

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 09.30.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Real Estate, Urbanism, Cities, Culture, Photography, Living News, Green Living, Parks, Green, Pedestrians, Bicycling, Walking, Seattle, Green News

Amid the roads, sidewalks and places that you have visited before, there are often embedded patterns to uncover, read and reinterpret.

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Assuring Sustainable Third Places in the City

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 09.23.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Small Business, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Sustainability, Real Estate, Business, Cities, Urbanism, Culture, Green News

Will the prime square footage occupied by Borders have similar 'third place' potential once reclaimed? Will replacement uses provide the equivalent fusion business purposes of books, coffee, lecture and song?

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Fusion Businesses and the Cities of Tomorrow

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 09.16.2011

Read More: Green Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Real Estate, Urbanism, Culture, Sustainability, Cities, Small Business, Green News

When a small branch of a local ice cream business opened within the laundromat up the street, it was evidence that today's land use regulations are becoming more in sync with changing urban reality.

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Pondering Artifacts of Displacement in the Sustainable City

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 09.04.2011

Read More: U.S. Cities, Photography, Green Urban Planning, Living News, World, Urban Policy, Neighborhoods, Urban Planning, Rome, Architecture, Green, Travel, Urban Design, Real Estate, Sidewalks, Green Urban Design, Urbanism, World News, Transportation, Culture, Streets, Density, Travel News, Green News, Sustainability, Living, Pedestrians, Cities, Green News

If our cities must be dense to be competitive and sustainable, we must also look with care to the potential displacement of uses, institutions or traditions -- not to mention the artifacts we will leave behind.

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Political Schizophrenia in Detroit

Kirk Cheyfitz | Posted 09.04.2011

Read More: Mayor Dave Bing, Detroit Works Project, Urban Policy, Detroit-Michigan, Politics, Cities, Urban Renewal, Urban Planning, Politics News

The mayor of Detroit, a businessman turned novice politician, is failing to provide the political leadership necessary to turn one of America's most troubled towns in a new direction.

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Exploring the Immediacy of the In-Between Place

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 08.27.2011

The archaeology of today's urban regions need not be excavation-based. One trick allows the illusion of memory through photographic tools.

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Corners as the Baseline for Urbanism

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 08.12.2011

More so than public squares -- which require a conscious set-aside of assembled space -- corners naturally result from crossroads, the elemental feature of travel between places.

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25 Overlooked Political Books Of 2011

Anis Shivani | Posted 08.08.2011

Read More: Slidepollajax, Political Books, Auto Industry, Iraq War, Energy Crisis, Immigration, Green Energy, University Presses, Citizenship, Film Noir, Independent Publishing, Urban Policy, American Imperialism, Princeton University Press, Yale University Press, Multiculturalism, Books News

Can Detroit be saved? What are the myths of green energy? What can we learn from the boggled reconstruction of Iraq? Are we going to share a future of biometric surveillance? Just how did white middle-class Americans start identifying themselves as outsiders?

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Creating the Urban Diary

Charles R. Wolfe | Posted 08.07.2011

Cities are hubs of human interaction, and the urban experience can be enhanced by authentic participation in the dynamics of a place and transitions to nearby venues.

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Love NYC's Diversity? Then Strengthen Rent Regulations

Brad Lander | Posted 08.03.2011

Read More: Rent Regulation, New York City, Diversity, New York Rent, Diverse Communities, New York Real Estate, Neighborhoods, Urban Policy, Rent Stabilized Apartments, Low-Income Housing, Low Income Families, New York News

Rent regulations aren't just our best affordable housing program. They are something much deeper: policy for a diverse, stable city.

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