To a T: How Phillip Eng got Boston's subway system back on track

A Dallas urban neighborhood was dilapidated with abandoned storefronts and offered no vitality for pedestrians. A group of artists and community members created Build a Better Block, in which local artisans and small businesses took over a vacant block and transformed it for a limited time to encourage the ingredients for more permanent urban renewal.

The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk region of Connecticut implemented a coordinated anti-sprawl strategy focused on dense, mixed-use development near transit stations and downtown areas, using tactics like zoning reforms and eliminating parking minimums. The approach helped the region jump from the 7th worst for sprawl nationally to the 2nd most compact among mid-sized metros by 2020.

In an effort to restore a sense of urbanism and community to the city, CityPark repurposed an old manufacturing plant to develop a 32-acre soccer campus, attracting sports teams, fans and other patrons to the city for games, shopping, dining and other festivities. During CityPark’s first season, it brought in an extra $73 million in revenue for the city.

As strip malls continue to decline, some urban planning and real estate experts are advocating to turn the spaces into mixed-use developments with both residential and commercial spaces. This redevelopment is an opportunity to revitalize and enrich a community by creating a village-like setting, like Woburn Village, with its 175,000 square-feet of commercial space and 350 housing units.

Medellin, Colombia has looked to architecture to help combat its high homicide rate and other problems. Over the past few decades there have been massive public architecture development, transit improvements, creation of public spaces that have all contributed to renewing this city.

Guerrilla urbanism by groups like Chattanooga Urbanist Society develop low-cost, short-term interventions to community problems, like installing bike lanes and painting crosswalks, to fill gaps left by local government. Chattanooga Urbanist Society is focused on making the city more pedestrian-friendly and has installed more than 60 benches in the area. The group also accepts service requests from locals to handle issues the local government hasn’t touched.

The UCSD-Alacrán Community Station is a sanctuary neighborhood for migrants fleeing violence in their countries of origin that allows them to participate in building a community and new life for themselves. The neighborhood houses about 1,800 people on three acres and features a health clinic, food hub and school.

After the highway’s removal in 2014, Rochester’s Inner Loop was transformed into Adventure Place, as part of the new Neighborhood of Play, which reimagined the urban landscape, featuring retail spaces, bike lanes and affordable housing options. Since the highway was filled in, more than $200 million in new investment has been generated. Moreover, several other cities, including New Orleans and Baltimore, are beginning to follow in their footsteps.

Community members, city officials, and local organizations work together to address the complex factors behind Detroit's recession. While land developers work to demolish and rebuild abandoned properties, the city looks for ways to balance gentrification of the downtown area with the need for urban growth and revitalization in other neighborhoods.

Belgrade, Montana, a city 12 miles outside of Bozeman, uses creative financing and revitalization to ensure its identity remains independent from its rapidly growing and ever-popular adjacent city. While many residents of Belgrade work in Bozeman, the city has developed "tax-based renewal strategies" and restaurant liquor license regulations to ensure Belgrade stays on the map.