Resources
Click the links below to view resources by topic.
General | Governance | Infrastructure | Economic Growth | Equitable Development | Housing | Brownfields | Energy and Environment
National Groups | State & Regional Groups
Publications, Presentations, and Websites
• One New York: An Agenda for Shared Prosperity
Fiscal Policy Institute, March 2004
• Mayors’ 10-Point Plan: Strong Cities, Strong Families, For a Strong America
US Conference of Mayors, 2008 (352 KB PDF)
• Lincoln Institute for Land Policy’s Comeback Cities
A PowerPoint presentation on New England’s ‘Comeback Cities’ and how their revitalization strategies have put these cities back on the map, 2006 (3.4 MB)
Mark Muro, Robert Puentes, Brookings Institution Urban and Metropolitan Policy Center, March 2004 (292 KB PDF)
• To Be Strong Again: Renewing the Promise in Smaller Industrial Cities
PolicyLink, 2008 (5.07 MB PDF)
• The Healdsburg Seminar on Megaregions (Case Studies Compilation)
Report on conferences by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Regional Planning Association, September 2007
A nonprofit, nonpartisan online news site that reports on emerging trends and issues in state policy and politics
• Streamlining Local Government
Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, December 2007 (780 KB PDF)
• National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, August 2004 (424 KB PDF)
• Overview of State Fix-It-First Approaches
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, August 2004 (16 KB PDF)
• Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective
Urban Land Institute, Ernst & Young, 2007 (6.48 MB PDF)
• Cluster-Based Strategies for Growing State Economies
National Governors Association, Council on Competitiveness, February 2007 (3.8 MB PDF)
• The Geography of Incentives: Economic Development and Land Use in Michigan
Good Jobs First, December 2006 (9.96 MB PDF)
• The Thin Cities: How Subsidized Job Piracy Deepens Inequality in the Twin Cities Metro Area
Good Jobs First, December 2006 (5.73 MB PDF)
• Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America’s Older Industrial Areas
Richard M. McGahey and Jennifer S. Vey, eds., Brookings Institution, 2008
• Advancing Prosperity Through Regional Development
Prepared by ActionMedia, July 2008 (360 KB PDF)
• Talking In Public About Growth And Development
Developed by ActionMedia, October 2005 (72 KB PDF)
• Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities
PolicyLink and Community Development Partnerships Network, 2005
Center for Urban and Regional Policy, Northeastern University, November 2007 (4.5 MB PDF)
• Managing Neighborhood Change: A Framework for Sustainable and Equitable Revitalization
Alan Mallach, National Housing Institute, 2008 (492 KB PDF)
• Safety, Growth, and Equity: Infrastructure Policies that Promote Opportunity and Inclusion
Victor Rubin, PolicyLink, 2006
• Building A Better Urban Future: New Directions for Housing Policies in Weak Market Cities
Alan Mallach, National Housing Institute, June 2005 (280 KB PDF)
• State Policy Options for Promoting Affordable Housing
Progressive States Network, November 2007 (256 KB PDF)
• Blueprint for American Prosperity: Land Banking as Metropolitan Policy
Frank S. Alexander, Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, October 2008
Restoring Prosperity Campaign, Smart Growth America, September 2008 (396 KB PDF)
• Historic Preservation Policy Package
Restoring Prosperity Campaign, Smart Growth America, September 2008 (604 KB PDF)
• Best Practices for Preservation Organizations Involved in Easement and Land Stewardship
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2008
• A Plan for Tomorrow: Re-Thinking Density to Create Stronger, Healthier Communities (PowerPoint Presentation)
Urban Land Institute, the National Multi-Housing Council, and the Sierra Club, June 2005
• Best Practices in the Production of Affordable Housing (Policy Forum Report)
Urban Land Institute and Fannie Mae Foundation, March 2005 (824 KB PDF)
Philip Mattera, Good Jobs First, January 2006 (136 KB PDF)
• Land Bank Authorities: A Guide for the Creation and Operation of Local Land Banks
Frank Alexander, Emory University School of Law, April 2005
• Tackling the Mortgage Crisis: 10 Action Steps for State Government
Allan Mallach, published by the Brookings Institution, May 2008
• Petroleum/UST Brownfield Cleanups
Northeast-Midwest Institute & The National Brownfields Coalition, September 2007 (172 KB PDF)
• Nonprofit Eligibility for EPA Brownfields Funding
National Brownfield Nonprofit Network Initiative, Northeast-Midwest Institute, & The National Brownfields Coalition, September 2007 (176 KB PDF)
• Energy Benefits Of Urban In-Fill And Brownfields Redevelopment
Evans Paull, Northeast-Midwest Institute, October 2007 (220 KB PDF)
• Using Tax Increment Financing for Brownfields Redevelopment
Evans Paull, Northeast-Midwest Institute, September 2008 (448 KB PDF)
Michigan Land Use Institute, September 2005 (2.27 MB PDF)
• State Brownfields Incentives
• State Brownfields Income Tax Credit Programs
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection: Brownfields Program website
• The Brownfields Center (website)
Environmental Law Institute
University of Louisville Center for Environmental Policy and Management
• State Brownfield Financing Tools and Strategies
Charles Bartsch and Barbara Wells, Northeast-Midwest Institute, April 2005 (136 KB PDF)
• State Brownfield Tax Incentives
Charles Bartsch and Barbara Wells, Northeast-Midwest Institute, October 2006 (44 KB PDF)
• The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Brownfields Redevelopment
Evans Paull, Northeast-Midwest Institute, July 2008 (working draft, 432 KB PDF)
• Brownfields and Land Revitalization (website)
Environmental Protection Agency
• Key Elements for a Renewable Energy Community
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, September 2007 (1 MB PDF)
• Increases in Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from Highway-Widening Projects
Sightline Institute, October 2007 (280 KB PDF)
Supporting National Organizations
The American Assembly, an affiliate of Columbia University, was founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1950 and is a non-partisan, public affairs forum that illuminates issues of national policy through informed deliberation and publications for government, community, and private-sector leaders, and the public. The “Restoring Prosperity” Assembly initiative, directed by a distinguished steering committee, will serve as an action agenda for strengthening the economic development strategies of weak market cities and will complement the work of partner organizations.
• National Vacant Properties Campaign
The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone – individuals, advocates, agencies, developers, non-profits, and others – with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts.
Civic Strategies is a consulting company that helps communities make important decisions. Community groups and local governments hire Civic Strategies when the stakes are high, the stakeholders are numerous, the obstacles seem great or the answers aren’t clear.
Promoting socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth in America’s cities and suburbs
• Smart City™
Smart City™ is a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities. Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues.
Supporting State and Regional Organizations
• POP City
An informative resource promoting all aspects of life in Pittsburgh, PA.
• MIT’s Planning Practice Project
Profiles and case studies of America’s small- and medium-sized cities, and how they have tackled problems such as low homeownership rates, high unemployment, and failing public schools.
• Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey
A statewide association of more than 250 affordable housing and community development corporations, individuals and other organizations that support the creation of housing and economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Jerseyans.
• University of Buffalo East Side Neighborhood Transformation Partnership
The UB-ESNTP’s three year mission is to encourage community development initiatives in the Martin Luther King Jr. and Fruit Belt neighborhoods located on the East Side of Buffalo, NY. The UB-ESNTP represents a significant partnership between the University and two of the most disadvantaged communities in Buffalo’s inner-city. This partnership has a specific emphasis on promoting community development initiatives in the areas of: housing, economic development, and education. In addition, the UB-ESNTP advocates for sustained, campus-wide engagement in Buffalo’s African American community.
• Removing Freeways – Restoring Cities
This initiative of the Preservation Institute cites examples, such as in Milwaukee’s downtown, when the construction of a highway is detrimental to the coherence of a downtown community, and proposes smart alternatives to invasive highway construction.
Some cities, such as Youngstown, OH, realize that their population is half what it was three decades ago. Instead of holding unrealistic growth expectations, they are developing a new strategy to shrink their city by letting abandoned neighborhoods go from ‘grey to green,’ by strategic relocation and enlargement of residential yards through side lot programs. This strategy makes a desirable home out of existing infrastructure with core amenities that the population will enjoy.
This blog discusses Pittsburgh’s development along the path to ‘make southwestern Pennsylvania one of the world’s greatest regions.’ Economic, policy, and planning resources are updated frequently.