From the metromode web site. BY: JON ZEMKE, 7/30/2009

"Do more with less," is a catch phrase managers love to say and workers hate to hear. It's also one we're hearing ad nauseam in today's economy. And just as regular Joes and Janes are tightening their belts and getting creative with the monthly budget, so too must local officials accommodate revenue streams and tax rolls that are in free fall. It also means that expensive projects like streetscape redesigns and downtown marketing efforts mus… Continue

Pittsburgh Innovates

June 24, 2009

Downtown is the ultimate playground for Urban Baby Tours

Rachel Booth thinks downtown Pittsburgh is the best place for little ones to play. And tour.

So do her friends and their children. Last summer Booth led her playgroup on a romp through several city fountains and parks when her friend suggested that she turn the outing into a business.

“I love living here,” says the full-time mom and part-time freelancer, who penned “Why We Moved to Downtown Pittsburg… Continue

(from USA Today)

By Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY

The housing crisis and economic downturn that have forced many Americans to stay put are boosting older cities where population had been shrinking or was stagnant, according to Census estimates out Wednesday.
Last year, Los Angeles recorded its biggest annual increase since 2002 and New York its second largest this decade. Chicago, where population had declined for five years this decade, grew by 0.73%.

CITY-BY-CITY: A closer loo… Continue

Economic Development, Energy Security, Transportation, Environment, Housing
Robert Puentes, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program

The Brookings Institution

JUNE 17, 2009 — By the annals of Congress, it’s seemingly unremarkable, but an extraordinary hearing took place this week at the Senate Banking Committee. The secretaries of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, appeared together and specifically spoke about coopera… Continue

Another great commentary from Carol Coletta of CEOs for Cities:

A new study from San Diego State University finds that people who live in city neighborhoods are twice as likely to get exercise than their suburban counterparts.

According to the study published in this month’s American Journal of Preventative Medicine, the biggest single factor influencing physical activity around the world is accessibility to sidewalks.

Researchers looked at data from 11,541 survey participants in 11 co… Continue