New York state officials have alerted more than 3000 companies that their tax breaks are at risk because they failed to create jobs or invest in areas that qualify for the state's "Empire Zone" program. The program has cost taxpayers $3 billion since 2000 in foregone taxes.

Watch this one.… more

Much has been made of the fortieth anniversary of the week of riots that rocked Detroit in June 1967. The bottom line: those times are long gone, and America's cities no longer represent those sad, old realities. Many are thriving in surprising ways. Of course, however, problems persist and have… more

Imagine this: Your aging parents are increasingly frail. You are exhausted, and you don't have enough money for nursing home care. That's the dilemma Steve Herzfeld faced. His solution? Outsource their care to India. There his mother gets daily massages, physical therapy and 24-help getting to the bathroom for about… more

Mayors have gone from begging at the federal trough to being salesmen in charge of their city's destinies. That, according to The Economist .

"These days mayors seldom tackle an issue of national significance without pointing out how incompetent the federal response has been, " according to the story.… more

From today's New York Times..."The mayor of crime-ridden, smog-choked Mexico City is trying to do what some might consider impossible: transform his megalopolis into a place that's more healthy, livable and even fun.

And despite much skepticism, initiatives such as ''urban beaches'' and outdoor movies have become a wild success." Read… more

Although surveys suggest that fewer people are likely to leave New Orleans in March of this year compared to October, 2006, the jump in homes for sale tells a different story.

By the first quarter of this year, there were 11,029 homes for sale in New Orleans, a big jump… more

"If you wanted to illustrate the increasingly global nature of the money and influence driving the art world these days, you might invent a wealthy Belgian couple who live in, say, Switzerland, and plan to use the money they made selling a collection of English masterworks to establish a center… more

Chicago's young Chinese-Americans are embracing their roots by returning to Chinatown to live and party. Reported by the Chicago Tribune, the story, two important trends fuel the high-energy scene: the increasing affluence and freedom enjoyed by young Chinese-Americans and the surget in ethnic pride.

One young man told… more

Blair Kamin, architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, turns his sights on his hometown for this month's Conde Nast Traveler.

The sidebar on Mayor Daley sounds familiar. Kamen writes that biggest thing on the desk "of one of the most powerful mayors in America" is not stacks… more

Native Omahan Kurt Andersen explained the city's curious indie appeal in a recent story for the New York Times.

Mid-size cities seeking their own version of appeal should read this story. It's one of a few creative people, widely traveled but committed to their hometown, developing real estate… more

There's simply too much going on in cities today, too many provocative and fun things to do. The Economist writes that new publications are attempting to sift through all the opportunities. Flavorpill in the U.S. and le cool for Europe "publish free, weekly e-mails that narrow the… more

San Jose, often called the capital of Silicon Valley, mirrors the high-tech companies it hosts in trying new and promising strategies for investment. The City has begun investing in local companies to help them grow and provide benefits to citizens. The New York Times reports, :

"San Jose, the… more

New tools, under the umbrella of the GeoWeb, are reshaping mapmaking. The New York Times reports:

"With the help of simple tools introduced by Internet companies recently, millions of people are trying their hand at cartography, drawing on digital maps and annotating them with text, images, sound and videos.

"In… more

A model for cities throughout the world, London's congestion charging scheme is "changing routines and creating new ones, becoming one more factor in the complex series of calculations that urban dwellers make every day," according to the Wall Street Journal. "Parents ask where their children's friends live before agreeing… more

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial (because it's bold and far-sighted, perhaps?) congestion charging plan faces a number of challenges. The New York Times summarized these:

"ALBANY, July 20 — It took four men four days and nights of stick-waving, carrot-dangling, and politician-wrangling to reach a compromise on Thursday… more

In pursuing that elusive quality – vibrancy – that regularly seems at the heart of successful cities, Memphis, like many mid-sized cities, searches often for the magic of big projects and major public investments.

The irony is that vibrancy often stems from small-scale, organic activities like those organized in Memphis by… more

As news of Portland's Green Dividend makes its way around the country, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has been advocating the development and use of a comprehensive public transportation system in his city. He recently visited Portland and Denver to get an understanding of how those cities' transit systems are used… more

Demos does it again: another provocative paper on a leading-edge subject. So, What Do You Do? is a new question for policy in the creative age, assert authors Charlie Tims and Shelagh Wright.

"Unlike the twentieth century, where the 'rise of meritocracy,' and the notion of formal qualifications has formed… more

Re-reading Lou Glazer's summary recommendations for Michigan Future, I am again struck by how good it really is. So as a reminder, I am posting his recommendations for Michigan's strategic priorities:

Priority 1: Build a culture aligned with the flat world.

Culture trumps policy. [Maybe the most important point Lou… more

Memphis Tourism Foundation is launching its first website in a few days and along with it, a new approach to improving the opinion of Memphians about Memphis.

It’s a total departure, because rather than fall back on the bumper stickers and slogans of most self-image campaigns, the Foundation is asking… more

Judge for yourself. Money Magazine's annual listing of the "Best Places to Live" was just published and here's the verdict:

1. Middleton, WI
2. Hanover, NH
3. Louisville, CO
4. Lake Mary, FL
5. Claremont, CA
6. Papillion, NE
7. Milton, MA
8. Chaska, MN
9. Nether Providence, PA
10.… more

Dr. Aaron Shafer represents the talent that so many cities are concentrated on attracting, but for now, Memphis has him.

He’s a post-doctoral fellow working as a scientist in the labs of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he’s part of its internationally respected research in molecular… more

This month, CEOs for Cities is launching a new feature on our blog titled "A Week in..." that will feature blog posts from writers in member cities featuring the news, events and interesting tidbits from the featured city. This month's city is Memphis, and Tom Jones, author of the highly… more

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is, unsurprisingly, taking a novel approach to growing its presence and influence in the nation's capital. In addition to traditional lobbying efforts on issues of importance to the company, Google is teaching politicos how their free tools can help them win… more

This is fun. Get your neighborhood's walkability score here. Just log in with your address. Super simple.

My current Chicago neighborhood scores a 67 out of 100 (no doubt due to too little retail in the immediate vicinity, but plenty within my walking distance -- we're only 17 minutes on… more

Our highways still aren't the beautiful American roadways Lady Bird Johnson envisioned. In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, Lawrence Wright mourns the proliferation of huge billboards and the remaining 70,000 (that's right -- 70,000) nonconforming billboards that remain. Billboard operators are even allowed to cut down… more

While visiting in the Sydney offices of Hassell, I discovered a wonderful presentation by Chairman Ken Maher on Sustaining Sydney. Here are some excerpts...

"Great cities bring people, ideas, experience and creative expression together across social, economic, and political divides toward a common civic purpose. They are thereby… more

Paris is doing it. Why not New York? That's the question David Haskell, director of New York-based Forum for Urban Design, asked in an NYT op-ed this week.

Paris just introduced the world's most ambitious bike-share program: 10,600 bikes (to be doubled by year-end) available at 750 docking stations… more

The newspaper has been a popular topic in the news lately. Recent studies show that young adults ages 18 to 30 are far less likely than those over 30 to follow the news. For those who do engage with daily news, the newspaper is the least popular source. Many… more

If we think of cities as organisms, living, breathing and pulsating with life, then we must also consider the possibility of their passing. Death in the context of cities doesn’t have to be seen as an end but instead, as an invitation for change and innovation.

In its past life,… more

Rhode Island Economic Policy Council Executive Director Kip Bergstrom shared these wise remarks on place-based economic development with Harvard's Graduate School of Design/Executive Education Course on Master Planning: Creating Communities.

This month Fast Company features and article on "Fast Cities" that was developed in part from data in CEOs for Cities' CityVitals research as a source for its report.

"For all the challenges cities face--congestion, crime, crumbling infrastructure, environmental decay, plus occasional issues with basic civility--they are still where… more

Cities act just like creatures. They obey the same metabolic laws that govern every organism. Which means that cities, just like elephants, get more economical with size.

It turns out that every city is simply a scaled version of the same city. A city can double its population without doubling its… more

A country home used to be the preferred choice for weekend getaway homes. It was a counterpoint to city living. But now that so many people live in suburbs, an increasing number are choosing city high rises as their weekend alternative. "Serenity," "escape," the "cachet" and "excitement" are some of… more

Express Scripts, a pharmacy-benefits managers, is among the first U.S. companies to put its headquarters on a college campus. The opportunity to have the company located on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis was one Chancellor Tom George says he couldn't pass up.

The university's decision… more

Electronics giant Phillips is working to revive its financial fortunes by focusing on seniors. In particular, the company is focused on seniors who value self-reliance, want to stay connected to family and friends and also need to address functional declline like weakening vision and impaired walking. In addition to Lifeline… more

For the first time in decades, more people 75 years and older are moving from the South to the Midwest than the other way around, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data. Between 2000 and 2005, about 58,000 people in the age group left the South for the Midwest,… more

Thirty-four percent of adults 18-34 receive financial support from their parents. During this time parents can expect to pay on average $38,340 helping their children transition to adulthood, or roughly $2,200 per year. This according to a study by the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan.

(This is… more

Perhaps it was an awkward comparison, but Presidential candidate Barack Obama asked why the deaths on Virginia Tech's campus galvanized the nation, while the death of 34 Chicago school children during the 06-07 school year hardly bears national mention. But that's more than a kid every two weeks, as calculated… more

Lincoln Center's new multichannel video installation of 43 dancers sounds spectacular. It's called Slow Dancing and runs nightly through July 29 from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. on the facade of the New York State Theater. Can't wait to see this one.

The Akron Museum of Art has a new addition. Designed by Vienna-based Coop Himmelb(l)au, its exterior and lobby are praised by New York Times reviewer Nicholai Ouroussoff. But he criticizes the galleries as being a "failure of nerve at the moment that mattered most." Ribbon cutting is July 17. See… more

What if you could add $2.6 billion annually to your local economy?

That's what Portland has effectively done by getting its citizens to drive just 4 fewer miles a day, according to a briefing paper by our colleague Joe Cortright called Portland’s Green Dividend. What Joe found has big implications for… more

The decline of America's inner ring suburbs is well known. Interestingly, it is also a phenomenon very much in evidence in Australia, as well. Melbourne is a case in point. The city's CBD has exploded in the past fie years, with a 17% increase in the number of households. But… more

Sydney is set on what may be the world's most stunning harbor.

My visit there began with a marvelous orientation by Matthew Pullinger, Senior Associate and Registered Architect with HASSELL. Matthew explained that three big ideas explain Sydney:

>> Water Everywhere
>> The Convict Stainmore

Everyone knows that trees can make a city greener. But Providence has done an interesting analysis to show how its trees contribute to its economy. Here are key findings:

Providence has 24,999 street trees representing 95 different species. Overall, they provide $2,932,731 in benefits annually - that's $118.23 per tree.

Of… more

Charlie Leadbeater's Remix tour has made us consistently curious about how mass creativity can work for cities. Are there clues to be found in the world of t-shirts?

Threadless is part t-shirt maker and part online community. Anyone can submit a design for a t-shirt. Users vote on their favorites… more

Melbourne in the early 80s showed all the signs of a decaying city. Historic buildings were being knocked down, freeways were snaking their way through the city. Rob Adams, an urban planner by way of Zimbabwe, was recruited to convert Melbourne’s Central Business District into a Central Activities District. “We… more

A dinner conversation in Perth with major Australian property developer Mirvac’s director of architecture, Chris Maher, about what’s new in housing produced an interesting list of principles the company’s projects embody:

➢ Security
➢ Amenity
➢ Privacy
➢ Quality

The concept of amenity is clearly changing, according to Chris. Today amenity in… more

The topic of conversation at a Hassell-sponsored client luncheon last week in Melbourne with property developers, bankers and government officials turned quickly to the subject of sustainability. One astute banker made the point that it is past time for the need to justify investments in green buildings. “Why would we… more

Today’s employees are demanding massive changes in the workplace. Conversations with Ingrid Bakker, Managing Principal of Hassell in Melbourne, last week produced these requirements for the new office:

➢ They must be green. (And Hassell’s fabulous offices in Melbourne’s CBD are a showcase for green.)
➢ They must have flexible… more

At the June Americans for the Arts annual meeting in Las Vegas, I moderated a session on how arts and culture can leverage economic development in larger cities. I was fortunate to have three excellent panelists: Vincent Kitch, Cultural Arts Program Manager for the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts… more

In Opening Remarks to the Toronto Summit 2007: Making Big Things Happen, Eric Young, the President of E.Y.E. (a "social projects studio" that works "with civil society, government and corporate clients [to] develop initiatives whose purpose is to promote positive social change"), spoke movingly about the powerful role cities… more

With so many new $200K and higher condominiums going in where artists once thrived, the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit has launched an initiative to provide affordable housing for artists. The Whitdell Building offers a safe and permanent space for artists with no threat of gentrification. This is the first… more

Melbourne's pubs, clubs, bars and gaming rooms went smoke-free last weekend. Those caught smoking in these venues risk a $110 on-the-spot fine. The smoking ban is part of a worldwide trend.

John Sexton, New York University’s president, has led an effort to ensure that N.Y.U.'s plans for expansion in Greenwich Village are implemented with the support of the local community. According to a New York Times article, last week the university held an unusual open house: rather than aimed… more