Above: The party’s not over in Vegas.

Some urban thinkers thought one silver lining of the economic crisis could be a slowdown in unsustainable sprawl, particularly in overbuilt areas of the southwest, like Las Vegas.
But that appears not to be the case at all, according to this New York Times story.
Despite home prices having declined 60 percent in four years, and despite the fact that there are nearly 10,000 empty homes with 5,600 more expected on the market soon, the Times reports, “builders here are putting up 1,100 homes, and they …

The Atlantic magazine has a special section on ‘The Future of the City.’
There’s  lot of really interesting stuff here, from local currencies to Robert Moses.
-KG
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Check out these before and after pictures of St. Louis’ Crown Square, provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The once dilapidated commercial plaza has been restored as part of a larger neighborhood revitalization strategy led by the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, and it’s attracting national attention.

For more than two years, this revitalization effort has centered around an eight-block area in city’s Old North neighborhood.

“The new Crown Square will be mixed-use and walkable, containing apartments as well as commercial spaces, some sensitive new

Check out Shrinking Cities from Virginia Tech’s Dept. of Urban Affairs and Planning.
The blog comes from the Shrinking Cities – Sustainability studio in Virginia Tech’s School of Urban Affairs and Planning, Alexandria Campus.
It  “aim(s) to explore the opportunities and challenges of shrinking cities in the context of contemporary urban planning. We will evaluate strategies and commentary on shrinking cities, including urban agriculture, storm water infrastructure, pocket parks, vacant property reclamation, land banks and community energy generation.”
Lots of good stuff here on Baltimore, Cleveland, Youngstown and more.
-KG
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The city of Cleveland has instituted a policy to promote local foods, offering certified “local sustainable businesses” a 5 percent discount on city contracts.

Green City Blue Lake reports that the incentive will offer a “huge advantage” because most city contracts are decided by less than 5 percent.

The legislation, however, won’t apply to the largest consumer, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Still, city officials hope the policy will help stimulate a “self-help economy” and promote sustainability.

From the Flint Journal via Flint Expatriates:
Former Genesee County Treasurer Daniel Kildee is pushing for reforms to allow local governments to sue property owners who don’t take care of their homes- the proposed system would allow the Genesee County Landbank to recover costs of cleaning and fixing up homes, according to Flint Expatriates.
I’m curious to see if this idea goes further. A few years ago, when I was writing stories about vacant properties in Lorain, Ohio, Kildee’s Genesee County Landbank was often cited as a model other cities should copy.
Kildee …

Exciting news: There will be Jane’s Walks (neighborhood tour/walks in the spirit of urbanist Jane Jacobs) in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh -along with dozens of other cities- on Saturday.
Click here for more information about the walk Saturday, May 1, in Pittsburgh in the Polish Hill neighborhood (pictured above).
Click here for more information about the walk Saturday, May 1, in Cleveland in the Ohio City neighborhood.
It looks like John Morris at Digging Pitt (a frequent RustWire  reader and commenter) helped organize and push for this in these communities, so thanks for …

Here it is, from Aaron Renn at Urbanophile.
Thanks to Rust Wire reader and Detroiter Claudia Raleigh for bringing this to our attention.
What do you think about the points he makes?
-KG
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Interesting post on the Next American City web site about high-tech firms in Lansing, Michigan converting old school buildings– “Thanks to their expansive plumbing systems, large spaces and impervious surfaces that allow for easy cleanup, the old schools are perfect lab settings,” one user told the magazine.

Furthermore, “Not only are these companies revitalizing the region’s economy by providing jobs, they’re also revitalizing neighborhoods. Unlike many newer schools that sit off of highway exits or in the middle of fields, Lansing’s old school buildings are smack in the middle of neighborhoods,” according to the story.

Have you ever noticed, Obama likes to give his legislation long, convoluted names?
At the same time, this is an important one.
It might be more appropriately called Aid to Industrial Cities. (But obviously that might be politically sensitive. How does the old double-standard go again: farm aid = good, city aid = bad?) This piece of long-overdue legislation would establish competitive grants for revitalizing older industrial cities through the department of Housing and Urban Development. The Community Regeneration, Sustainability and Innovation Act would mostly help eliminate vacant housing, the profusion of …