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Communities, developers, and real estate asset managers will continue to need to reimagine and reinvent shopping malls into mixed-use redevelopments. The availability of large amounts of land, building space, parking capacity, and typically superior access to roadway connections, provides the physical resources to transform malls from predominantly single-use spaces to a dramatically more varied mix of uses.

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles newly accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: Pasadena (Texas) Economic Development Corporation.

This month, attendees of IEDC’s 2021 Annual Conference in Nashville had the chance to tour the city’s civil rights and music landmarks and rising neighborhoods. Here are the places they visited. The state-of-the-art National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM)—Nashville’s newest cultural icon—has been called a “jewel” by The New York Times and is the only museum dedicated to celebrating and preserving the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans. The museum’s expertly-curated collections integrate history and interactive technology to share the story of America’s musical heroes. Attendees explored the history of civil rights in Nashville through ...

As transportation options proliferate and walkability improves, personal car ownership has declined in many U.S. cities. That has left some communities with a glut of parking spaces, a situation that will likely worsen when autonomous vehicles become commonplace. According to a recent study by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a transportation think tank, “peak car ownership in the United States will occur around 2020 and will drop quickly after that.” But as older parking garages fall into disrepair, some are finding new life (Governing). In Wichita, Kan., Knightley’s Parking Garage, which opened in 1950 as the Midwest’s most modern parking facility, has been repurposed as Broadway Autopark, a 44-unit apartment ...

A new report from Smart Growth America shows that walkable neighborhoods perform better economically. Suburban drivable commercial real estate has been losing market share to walkable real estate in all 30 metros studied. In some metros, walkable places have accounted for almost all new commercial spaces while drivable suburban places have added no new space or lost occupancy since 2010. Historically after World War II, governments at all levels subsidized suburban sprawl by promoting car culture and the American dream of homes with white picket fences. However, there is growing demand for walkability in suburbs as well as cities. Housing costs are higher in walkable neighborhoods, but this is partially offset by less expensive ...

Tampa has been busy reinventing itself. The Cigar City is now expecting over $13 billion in development projects in the pipeline by 2022 and gaining more than 50,000 new residents a year (Urban Land). The focus has been on the obvious — the city’s waterfront — which inexplicably had been fenced off and ignored for decades (Politico). The stage for revitalization was set gradually, starting in the late 1980s with the arrival of the performing arts center, then the convention center, aquarium, hockey arena, and history center. Now, a 2.6-mile long Riverwalk connects them all and is transforming a former industrial zone by attracting restaurants, parks, and other amenities. The jewel of Tampa’s renaissance may be ...

Walkability was standard in urban planning until the mid-20th century, when the automobile and newly sprawling suburbs redirected development toward cars. Now, many developers and planners have changed their goals back to creating more walkable spaces that appeal to younger generations. In places suffering from deindustrialization, auto-oriented development and urban renewal, walkable urban spaces can be recreated through large-scale catalytic development, according to a recent Brookings Institution report and panel. They define three features of catalytic development: patient equity—financial equity that has long-term expectations (five years or more); integrated development—combining diverse real estate uses into one area; ...

What started as a simple game has exploded into a cultural sensation. Pokémon Go is a smart phone game that uses GPS to send players scouring their neighborhoods for monsters to capture. The game is being lauded by some for getting kids out of the house and exercising, and condemned by others over public safety concerns. Either way, its power to drive foot traffic is undeniable, as evidenced by the recent appearance of a rare Squirtle at a park in Bellevue, Wash. Though there’s a good chance the craze will fizzle out in a matter of months (or even weeks), small businesses would be remiss to not capitalize on the trend while it’s hot. Players converge at locations designated as “PokéStops” and gyms to ...