The hottest Community Development Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Accepting proposals - A unique coliving opportunity (Tempe, Arizona)

Supernuclear • 519 implied HN points • 14 Oct 24
💼 Business Community Development
  1. Culdesac Tempe is a car-free community designed for walking and biking. It's the first of its kind in the U.S. and has hundreds of happy residents.
  2. There’s a new opportunity for a group of friends or a community to lease an entire block of apartments there. It's a unique coliving situation with some design flexibility.
  3. The offers are starting at $1400 a month, and groups can get a discount for taking multiple units. It's a chance for creative living arrangements in a cool location.

A Wave Is Coming

Midwest Humble • 65 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
💼 Business Community Development
  1. Entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) is a practical way to preserve local businesses as baby‑boomer owners retire, and it can prevent job losses by keeping companies open.
  2. Targeted programs and investment that help women, POC, and Black leaders buy Main Street businesses can shift regional wealth and ownership with just a few acquisitions each year.
  3. Community and nonprofit leadership skills translate well to business ownership, and buying established companies often offers a higher chance of success than launching risky new startups.

Land should be a public good—not just private property

The Novelleist • 325 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26
💰 Finance Community Development
  1. Design cities by starting with a clear vision of how people should live together, using that utopian horizon to guide practical planning choices.
  2. Treat land as a public good and organize its use around long-term stewardship instead of short-term speculation.
  3. Capture and return the value created by land to the community so cities become more stable, humane, and make residents stakeholders in local prosperity.

Effective Urban Planning in 10 Simple Steps

Exasperated Infrastructures • 33 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🪑 Design Community Development
  1. Decide carefully about planning school and commit to being a lifelong learner; pick a technical specialty you can go deep on while also learning the adjacent fields that shape your work.
  2. Develop clear core values and a reasoned point of view, and learn the local politics and history so your projects actually fit the people and place you’re serving.
  3. Build relationships by showing up, be open to moving between public/private/nonprofit work, ask for help politely, and protect yourself from burnout while you persist through the field’s counterintuitive challenges.

The central planners come for me

In My Tribe • 653 implied HN points • 08 Feb 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Community Development
  1. Central planners are trying to reshape communities based on their ideas, which may not reflect the preferences of the people living there. Residents should have a say in how their neighborhoods are developed.
  2. Plans for new walkable communities can complicate life for those who rely on cars, especially in areas that are already affordable and diverse. It's important to consider the needs of all residents before making drastic changes.
  3. Incremental improvements might be better than sweeping changes. Solutions like reducing traffic speed can help, but they should not disadvantage those who depend on cars to get around.
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Rural Radicals – a path to non-urban revitalisation

City Quitters • 199 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Community Development
  1. Rural Radicals helps connect creative people to empty buildings in the countryside, making it easier to turn them into community spaces. This can help both the artists and the villages by bringing new life and activities.
  2. Many rural areas are struggling with declining populations and decaying buildings, so finding ways to revitalize these places is important. Young people often leave for cities, leading to economic issues and less diverse communities.
  3. The initiative aims to avoid gentrification by ensuring newcomers engage with and support the local community. Open dialogue and collaboration between locals and newcomers can help build a stronger sense of community.

Shamann Walton’s YCD subsidiary got a no-bid contract on shipyard homes — but where’s the money?

Gotham by Susan Dyer Reynolds • 196 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Community Development
  1. Shamann Walton's YCD subsidiary got a no-bid contract for shipyard homes, raising questions about the money's whereabouts.
  2. Walton quietly started a for-profit entity related to YCD, leading to concerns over transparency and potential conflicts of interest.
  3. Connections between Walton, YCD, and developers like Lennar have raised questions about funding sources and community benefits.

The perfect weekend getaway: Escaping Shanghai to cool, green Moganshan

Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones • 216 implied HN points • 05 Jul 23
🏝 Travel Community Development
  1. Moganshan is a peaceful weekend getaway just a few hours from Shanghai.
  2. The local villager, Mr. Lang, has a successful guesthouse and a rich history of the area.
  3. The area's potential success shows that you don't need top-tier scenery to attract tourists; sometimes being good enough and close to a city can be sufficient.

36,000 Funds or Bust! 💥

mainstreetjournal • 78 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
💼 Business Community Development
  1. Communities can benefit from private investment for funding local priorities.
  2. Addressing racial wealth gap requires proactive intervention by government and institutions.
  3. Promoting ownership shares at birth can help reduce wealth disparity caused by past discrimination.

Will the Reconnecting Communities program survive Trump?

Urben Field Notes • 27 implied HN points • 27 Jun 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Community Development
  1. The Reconnecting Communities program aims to fix the damage caused by highways in Black neighborhoods, like the Rose Quarter Project in Portland. It's about healing and bringing back the community that was lost.
  2. The Albina Vision Trust is actively working to rebuild their neighborhood with affordable housing and community spaces, even if the Reconnecting Communities program faces cuts. Their goal is to create a mix of homes that support both the community's needs and the environment.
  3. Political challenges, especially with changing leadership, threaten funding for these important community projects. Despite the uncertainty, the efforts to redevelop with a focus on racial justice and community resilience continue to move forward.

It's all happening in Nova Scotia

mainstreetjournal • 39 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
💼 Business Community Development
  1. In Nova Scotia, there are Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIFs) that allow people to invest in community-focused projects.
  2. FarmWorks, a CEDIF in Nova Scotia, has raised over $4.6 million and provided loans to local food businesses, with investors receiving a return on investment and tax credits.
  3. Regional investment funds in the U.S. could learn from Nova Scotia's model by involving local grassroots investors and prioritizing community needs over outside investments.

"Suburbanization" and Detroit's Davison & Banglatown Neighborhoods

The Chargeback • 39 implied HN points • 15 Sep 23
💼 Business Community Development
  1. Ownership of Detroit property appears to be growing in certain Michigan cities like Warren, Hamtramck, and Sterling Heights.
  2. There is a trend of immigrant communities from Detroit neighborhoods like Davison and Banglatown moving to suburban cities for various reasons.
  3. High concentrations of rental properties owned by Detroit residents are observed in Davison and Banglatown, with potential ownership movements to suburban cities.

How to Save Oakland

KERFUFFLE • 25 implied HN points • 24 May 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Community Development
  1. Oakland's new mayor, Barbara Lee, needs to focus on improving the city's problems and making it a better place for everyone.
  2. The Oakland Ballers, an independent league baseball team, is bringing hope and excitement back to the community.
  3. Engagement and support from locals can play a big role in turning around Oakland's current challenges.

Fighting for Ghost Traffic

Kathy PM • 0 implied HN points • 27 Apr 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Community Development
  1. Traffic in San Francisco is actually down since the pandemic, not worse. Many streets have seen a big drop in vehicle numbers compared to 2019.
  2. The feeling that traffic is worse is tied to emotions around loss and change. People miss the way things used to be and feel frustrated by new street designs.
  3. Instead of trying to return to pre-pandemic traffic patterns, the city should focus on making space for people and adapting to current needs for movement and community.