Neighborhoods
Explore the unique character and charm of our city's diverse neighborhoods.
Urban renewal's cost: Affordable housing and culture lost
New York City's artist population has decreased by more than 4% since 2019, marking the first sustained decline in decades.
What Are Historic Preservation Districts and Why Do They Matter for Property Owners?
In Spokane, a few designated historic districts saw property values soar, while most experienced a more modest 5-35% appreciation, according to Historic Spokane .
What Factors Influence Neighborhood Walkability Scores in 2026?
In ultrahigh-density areas of Japan, a neighborhood's Walk Score is significantly linked to everything from public transport access to recreational facilities.
How to Start and Manage a Community Garden
A thriving community garden, capable of boosting local food security and biodiversity, requires a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily, good drainage, and immediate water access.
What Is the Role of CDCs in Neighborhood Revitalization and Growth?
Community Development Corporations (CDCs) produced approximately 736,000 housing units between 1960 and 1990, a significant effort to improve urban living conditions.
What Are Types of Local Zoning Ordinances and Their Impact on Development?
Local zoning laws, often seen as benign tools for community planning, are directly responsible for increasing housing prices and intensifying residential segregation across the United States.
Why Supporting Local Farmers Markets Matters
For every $1 million in revenue, direct-market farms create almost 32 local jobs, a significant increase compared to the 10.
What Are The Benefits of Urban Green Spaces For Community & Environment?
Across 862 cities in 31 European countries, a study evaluated the '3-30-300 rule' for urban green spaces, setting a new benchmark for urban planning.
What Are the Causes and Effects of Gentrification in Urban Neighborhoods?
By 2010, more than half of all large US cities contained at least one gentrifying neighborhood.
What is the role of neighborhood associations in 2026 community development?
Neighborhood residents, organized through local associations, wield significant power.
What Are Zoning Laws and How Do They Impact Community Development?
In Los Angeles, a 20% inclusionary zoning requirement could slash the number of new housing units built by over 150,000 in a decade, from an estimated 400,000 to below 250,000.
How Walkability Scores Impact Property Values and Quality of Life
Homes in highly walkable neighborhoods commanded a significant premium, selling for 23.
What Are Historic Preservation Districts and Why Do They Matter for Tourism?
In Florida, historic preservation generates an estimated $4.
What Is Zoning and Why Does It Impact Urban Development?
In Sydney, Australia, an average house valued at $1.
What Are the Top Challenges for Urban Green Spaces?
In a study of 28 North American and European cities, urban greening was a leading or contributing factor in citywide gentrification in 17 places between 1990 and 2016, according to the Lincoln Institu
What Factors Shape Neighborhood Identity and Character?
The number of U.S. census tracts showing signs of gentrification skyrocketed from just 246 in the 1970s to 1,807 by the 2010s, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) . This
How Does Neighborhood Designation Work?
In neighborhoods designated as "Promise Zones," poverty rates dropped by 2.
What factors preserve neighborhood character and identity in 2026?
In New York City, residents directly allocate funds for local improvements—from public art to cultural events—actively shaping their neighborhood's identity block by block.
What Factors Define a Neighborhood's Unique Character?
In San Francisco's Mission District, median rent surged by 60% between 2010 and 2020, fundamentally reshaping its demographics and challenging its long-held identity, reports the SF Planning Departmen
What Are Zoning Laws and Why Do They Affect Property Values?
Zoning regulations, which dictate what can be built where, have deeply rooted racist and classist origins that continue to shape housing costs and segregation patterns today.
How to Participate in Local Development Planning for 2026
A small municipality, by adopting a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process, found its previously siloed departments—from urban planning to social services—suddenly collaborating on shared sustainability
What is zoning and how does it impact community development?
In many communities, the very laws designed to protect property values and ensure orderly development are simultaneously making homes unaffordable and reinforcing historical patterns of segregation.
Historic District Renovation Guidelines for Homeowners
Homeowners in historic districts face severe consequences for overlooking permits or failing to follow local regulations.
How to Start and Sustain a Community Garden for Long-Term Growth
A single community garden can unlock up to $1 million in federal funding, a critical resource for local development.
Verifying Historic Home Claims: The Brooklyn Heights Case
In Brooklyn Heights, two homes, long celebrated as the neighborhood's oldest, are for sale.
What Are Local Zoning Laws and How Can Citizens Influence Them?
Despite countless public meetings and petitions, local residents cannot directly write, change, or expand the zoning laws dictating their neighborhoods’ development.
How to Use Infill Development: A Guide for Local Governments
In Toronto, the 69-acre Regent Park site transformed into a high-density, mixed-income community.
How Property Tax Assessments Work and How to Appeal
A successful property tax appeal for a missing exemption can put a refund check in a homeowner's hand within 3-4 weeks.
What is neighborhood rezoning and how does it affect property values?
In Minneapolis, houses within city limits saw a 3-5% increase in sales price compared to those just outside, immediately following a major neighborhood rezoning initiative where 87% of high redevelopm
What Are Local Zoning Ordinances and How Do They Shape Neighborhoods?
In 2023, the City of Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) began permitting duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes, along with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), in all residential zones without