Economic development is vital for most communities. But what kind of development and where it best fits are often challenging questions.These articles & postings consider various aspects of planning for local economic development.
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How did Blue Back Square get developed? West Hartford Community Services Director Rob Rowlson takes us on a tour of the development, and explains why the Town’s developer-friendly approach led to positive results.
Rob Rowlson, the Town of West Hartford’s Director of Community Services, makes no bones about it: too often planning can be an obstacle to private investment and development. In Part I of this post, Rowlson talks about efforts to strengthen the core of the town’s downtown: West Hartford Center.
Close to Hartford’s “seats of power” — state government; insurance companies; and Trinity College; you’ll find Frog Hollow, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. It has a mix of walk-up apartments, neighborhood restaurants, stores, churches, and social clubs. But anchoring it is an innovative mixed-use development called Billings Forge.
A look at several projects in the Boston area highlighting the link between planning and food.
Long-time Planning Commissioners Journal columnist Ed McMahon on why the era of strip commercial development may be nearing an end.
It’s vital that planning commissioners bring an economic perspective to planning — and vice-versa.
If your local economy were a ship and you were preparing for a voyage, what would you need?
Gaining a solid understanding of your community’s natural and built environment will lay the groundwork for more effective planning.
Discovering sometimes hidden community assets can lead to big economic benefits.
Taking a close look at your local economic assets is the first step in putting together an economic development plan.
Too often local fiscal and economic development policies fail to mesh with comprehensive plan goals. What can planners do?
What role can a planning commission play in jump-starting the local economy?
What would Horace Greeley, America’s most famous newspaper publisher and editor, think about the changes to the Manhattan square bearing his name — looking down from his bronze chair? Probably, “there’s a good story here!”
