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Our Wishlist for New Municipal Leaders

To our newly elected municipal leaders: we hope you’ll support the development of much-needed affordable housing and engage your community in planning efforts more broadly.

Boston’s Mayoral Race: An Indicator for Housing and Zoning Policy in the U.S.?

It’s Election Day, and that means Boston’s closely-watched Mayoral Race will (or should!) come to its conclusion tonight. In the most diverse pool of mayoral candidates that Boston has ever seen, they all had one issue in common: housing and zoning innovation as a key pillar of their platforms.

Long Live the Virtual Community Meeting

In many communities throughout the country, virtual meeting attendance has outnumbered pre-pandemic attendance for in-person meetings. The convenience of logging in (or dialing in), going on mute, and multi-tasking has made it far easier for people to participate.

Community Outreach Beyond the Check Box

Our call to action for project teams is this - step back and really think about how you can be intentional with how you reach out to the community, when you do it, and how you actually plan to use the feedback you get from the process. The effort is worth the reward.

Market Spotlight: NYC

We’re doing more work in the New York metro area than ever before, from ground-up mixed-use and new mixed-income housing projects to affordable housing revitalizations.

It Takes a Village…to Drive Impact on Planning and Development

It takes engagement from an entire village - or town or city - to make a positive impact on development.

Q&A: Kristen Veit, coUrbanize’s Director of Community Engagement Strategy

This week, we wanted to introduce you to Kristen Veit, our director of community engagement strategy. She joined coUrbanize in March 2020 - just a few days before the world shut down - and recently moved into a role focused on helping our customers improve how they’re engaging with the community.

Market Spotlight: Toronto Rising

In the U.S., we expect the latest and greatest trends to take root in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York, but we can also learn from our Canadian neighbors -- especially from Toronto, where innovative approaches toward urban development are in progress.

The Changing Faces of NIMBYism

There is a very real need for education and awareness in the face of combative NIMBYism. Fairness, not bias, should win the day.

Bringing an Equity Mindset to Community Engagement

If you’re successful in more equitably engaging a community, you’ll find that the feedback you receive is more valuable because it’s truly representative of that community.

Do You Speak Inclusivity?

Many people can speak and comprehend simple phrases in a language besides their native tongue, but few are sufficiently fluent to understand and participate in discussions that take place in public planning and development meetings. That’s why we’ve just rolled out a Language Equity Plan (LEP) -- to ensure that people whose primary language is not English can have a say in what gets built in their neighborhoods.

When a Life Science Campus Comes to Town: The Community Perspective

Life science is one of the hottest areas of real estate these days. But without community buy-in, even the most capital-rich, thoughtfully designed projects are primed for failure.

22 Urban Planning Twitter Accounts You Should Follow

It has been well-documented that income, education, and race are correlated with access to green space, but the pandemic highlighted these stark divides. As we continue the conversation about inequities in planning, we’re sharing a list of some of our favorite thought leaders in the space.

Do People Want Affordable Housing in their Neighborhood? Short Answer: It Depends.

The findings of our second annual survey demonstrate that public support for real estate development grew significantly during the pandemic. While the housing crisis shows no signs of relief in the near future, the findings of the survey have already led to important considerations for how we can better engage with communities to build support for affordable housing.

Do All Community Members Have a Voice in Your Engagement Process?

Traditional public meetings are an important part of the community engagement process, but digital engagement is a more cost-effective, productive, and inclusive way to gather community feedback and engage the broader community. Effective community engagement requires both.

Overcoming NIMBYism for Affordable Housing Projects

People say they support affordable housing but then sing a different tune when it’s in their neighborhood. Why is this? Misinformation, lack of information, or bias. While there’s no quick fix for overcoming the NIMBYism that prevents good, community-focused projects from being built, there are ways to tackle NIMBYism head on.

Starting Early: The Key to Successful Community Engagement

The fear of NIMBYism often discourages real estate developers from embracing the community engagement process. But by engaging early and often, everyone wins.

A Guide to Fair Housing Month

Fair Housing Month serves as a reminder that access to dignified, affordable housing isn’t a guarantee in the United States. There is lots of work to be done. Join us this month in learning from our partners and other thought leaders in the space.

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