Normally the announcement of D.C.’s five-year economic strategy would scarcely cause a stir as the stuff of bureaucratic necessity, in this case, fulfilling requirements for acquiring federal grants. But the “Comeback Plan” announced last week is different, as a test whether the District’s post-pandemic era will effectively address the profound effects both of Covid and … Continue reading D.C.’s New Strategic Economic Plan will Need to Balance Downtown Revitalization with Residential Equity…
Paradox
Proposed 76ers Arena Puts Philadelphia at a Crossroads
As has happened so many times in other cities, Philadelphia has been offered a great development opportunity, one that some critics see as a complete gamechanger in the upward trajectory of the city’s 21st century revitalization. And like other cities, the golden goose is a sports arena located in an underserved portion of the downtown … Continue reading Proposed 76ers Arena Puts Philadelphia at a Crossroads…
In Newark, A Test of New Affordable Housing Goals
A central question posed in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death is how far will cities go to assure equitable distribution of the benefits of new development. Newark, where Mayor Ras Barka has made inclusionary growth the cornerstone of his administration, offers a case in point. In 2019 a limited liability company based in New … Continue reading In Newark, A Test of New Affordable Housing Goals…
In Pittsburgh’s Oakland District, A Victory for Inclusion
Long viewed as a gritty industrial powerhouse that maintained its reputation as a Rust Belt disaster after the collapse of the steel industry in the early 1980s, Pittsburgh has become a beacon for post-industrial recovery in the twenty-first century. Praised by a Brookings Institution report of 2017 for its position “as a center of world-class … Continue reading In Pittsburgh’s Oakland District, A Victory for Inclusion…
In Atlanta, Striving for Equity
The election of a new mayor in Atlanta is unlikely to alter the city’s commitment to pursuing a strategy of equitable and inclusive growth as defined and advanced by retiring mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Advanced by the Department of City Planning with a commitment to achieve a beloved community worthy of Martin Luther King’s vision, … Continue reading In Atlanta, Striving for Equity…
The Promise and the Peril of Placemaking
This week the Center for Community Progress based in Flint unveils its new data bank of creative placemaking experiments. Known as a pioneer in creating community land banks, the Center considers placemaking, when done equitably, “as one way for communities to leverage creative expression to reshape a community, reverse the systemic silencing of residents, and … Continue reading The Promise and the Peril of Placemaking…