We need to go back to the point where we were still building architecture that inspired, lifted the human spirit, and lasted millennia—and build upon those practices.
Read More
Jenifer Acosta is a small-scale developer doing transformative adaptive reuse projects in central Michigan.
Read More
Exploring the property market in Appleton, WI, reveals the ephemeral nature of the North American development pattern.
Read More
This Houston-based real estate professional and urban planner is helping build community wealth through financially strong housing and development practices.
Read More
This is Part 1 in a three-part series about why our cities deserve better than cookie-cutter, state-level land use reforms.
Read More
A small-scale developer in Atlanta is showing that it’s possible to improve a neighborhood without displacing the people who already live there.
Read More
Too often, “form follows parking” for small developers. A project feasibility starts with on-site parking minimums; only then can it be determined how much is left over for productive use.
Read More
Want to get started in incremental development—or support the developers already at work in your city? These inspiring developers from around North America are showing you how.
Read More
Most local housing markets in the U.S. are oligopolies: new construction is dominated overwhelmingly by only a few developers. How did we get here, and why is it this bad news for housing affordability, as well as for our cities’ financial strength and resilience?
Read More
How modifications to one city’s development codes are making it possible to add wealth and vibrancy to its struggling neighborhoods… without taking on huge future liabilities.
Read More
Mid-size regions like Kansas City don’t have the affordability struggles of, say, a fast-growing Denver or Seattle: they have their own unique challenges instead. Here’s how the “natural” affordability of homes in these places can be turned into an opportunity for an urban renaissance.
Read More
It’s time for mandatory parking minimums to go. That doesn’t mean, though, that the need for parking is going to magically disappear. We would also be wise to plan for smart, adaptable parking solutions, so our cities can incrementally urbanize.
Read More
Bringing a neighborhood back from the brink of ruin, one building at a time, is hard, thankless work—like raising bees when you could just go buy a jar of honey. But when it works, each successful project helps “pollinate” the surrounding area with the seeds of revival, in a virtuous cycle.
Read More
In cities all over America, we deter people from revitalizing neighborhoods by punishing them with higher taxes for improving their property. A change in how we tax property could fix these incentives.
Read More
Why all these new storefronts are sitting vacant.
Read More
What does it take to be a small-scale developer in a struggling part of town? To put your money where your mouth is and participate in incremental neighborhood revitalization? One of our staffers knows firsthand.
Read More
Two simple questions can help us understand why different groups don’t seem to speak the same language about growth and development in cities, and why seemingly-strange political alliances form around these issues.
Read More
Is a desire for local character your jam? If so, fight for missing-middle commercial space in your neighborhood. Fight for the corner bar and the corner store. We need an approach that is much more flexible, more true to what humans want from cities, and messier.
Read More
The lines between work and home zones are blurring: more employers want to be in walkable, amenitized areas, and conversely, people are choosing to live closer to where they work. This Cincinnati placemaking experiment exemplifies the kind of small bets this trend is making possible.
Read More
Let’s walk through what it actually takes to build a small rental apartment on your property in Austin, Texas. It’s a lesson in how the city’s existing code stymies gentle, incremental, small-scale development.
Read More