What's next for large cities in coastal regions? It's a complicated question and one that has consumed the energies and passions of great minds over the past few years. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has been intently interested in the subject and this report from May 2013 takes a close look at what might be next. The ULI began its work by convening a forum in January 2013, bringing together...

Beginning in the early 1990s, the urban cores of many American cities experienced a building renaissance, with the construction of new commercial buildings and tourist-themed facilities continuing apace for over a decade. Despite this development, inner city retail development has generally stagnated over the past few years, with the exception of a few cities. In this 32-page report released in...

New York City has a hundred stories in every block and thousands of tales within each borough. Some of these stories can be told simply by looking closely at the built environment and this digital collection from the New York Public Library strives to do just that. The offerings in this collection include views of Washington Irving's home in the 1860s, street views by noted photographer Alice...

What will the future of cities be like? It's a riveting question and one that excites the passions of the folks at The Atlantic Cities website. Their work here "explores the most innovative ideas and pressing issues facing today's global cities and neighborhoods." Visitors should browse through their newest articles, which might include "Why Our Kids Need Play" and "How Poverty Taxes the Brain."...

Sponsored by the World Bank and other organizations, the Cities Alliance is "a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to poverty reduction." The "News" area is front and center on their homepage and it provides a fine overview of their work, which ranges from concerted efforts to upgrade slums in the developing world, developing...

Since the 1960s, many scholars with an interest in urban affairs have chimed in with important research works that examine what one legendary professor referred to as the "unheavenly city" and its problems. In this paper (presented as part of The Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy research group), Professor Arthur C. Nelson of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University turns...

Ever since the rise in importance of the automobile, many public intellectuals, academics, urban planners, and sociologists have lamented the decline of traditional downtowns across America. In this report from The Brookings Institution, Christopher B. Leinberger explores the key facets that are necessary to effectively revitalize downtown areas. In the report, Leinberger comments on the...

Launched in 1999 by the UN-HABITAT group, the Global Campaign on Urban Governance was designed to support the implementation of the Habitat Agenda goal of "sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world." Specifically, the Campaign is dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments around the world to practice good urban governance, with specific attention paid to the...