Sitemap for Useful Community Development

market, great buildings, and mountain backdrop in Luzern

Last Updated:  June 28, 2023

Just to liven things up on this Useful Community Development sitemap, we have selected a few photos to help you think about successful placemaking, a topic that is so broad it doesn't even have a page on this site. Placemaking just refers to creating a memorable, distinctive, pleasant place to be. You will see a few elements that can contribute to placemaking, including people outdoors, interesting architecture, street markets, and outstanding scenery. Don't focus on what you lack; focus on what you can have to make a special town or neighborhood.

A sitemap gives a list of the topics under each of our navigation divisions.    Everything in blue beside the bullet points is a link. Here is how the sitemap is organized.

1. The major topics are displayed alphabetically in larger type. Access them through the main navigation menu. Content pages are arranged under the appropriate topic.

2. After those major content divisions, we show links to the two visitor-generated content headings, sub-headings, and content pages.

3.  We conclude with the Site Information items.

We also have created PDF files for viewing or downloading that capture links to all our pages of particular interest to certain groups. Just click on the bold type for your area of interest:  Neighborhoods, Distressed Neighborhoods, Planning Commissioner, HOA Boards and Members, Rural, Suburban, Business District, Local Government Officials, Code Enforcement Issues, Community Development Corporations (CDCs), International Developing Nations, Regional, Arts and Community Development, Greenway Planning, Congregational Leaders, and Working with Lower-Income Populations.  This way you don't need to comb through every category to find pages of interest.  You may still have to scan the sitemap and use the search feature to find topics of particular relevance to your own community, but these files give you a head start.

Beautification

Code Enforcement

  • Building codes, touching on electrical, plumbing, mechanical, performance, and energy conservation codes

Community or Neighborhood Organizations

Definition of Community Development 

Crime Prevention

Economic Development

Housing

People by Campo de Fiori fountain in Rome

Again we see the elements of lots of people outdoors and nice architecture, this time with a great water feature in the form of one of Rome's famous fountains.

City or Community Planning

Redevelopment

Sprawl (and Regional Governance and Economics), and How They Affect Your Neighborhood (Sprawl on the navigation bar)

Sustainable Development Practices

Viktualienmarkt food markets and beer gardens in Munich

This example from the Munich Viktualienmarkt incorporates the same placemaking elements, adding great shade, food, adult beverages, and nice pavers underfoot.

Zoning, Subdivision Regulations, and Other Regulatory Methods

Community Development Ebooks (gateway to learning about and purchasing ebooks by authors on this site)

Community Improvement Projects

Beginning here, the remainder of this section encompasses visitor-initiated stories of their projects. By visiting the sub-heading (such as Alley Clean Up), you can find a form to submit your own story.

Alley Clean Up

Derelict property clean up

Best street parties

Large park clean up

Stream clean up 

And more from our visitors:

Community Development Ideas

"Big idea" Pages include:

The following pages generated by site visitors, with editor comments, amplify the big picture, so we continue to include these under the heading of community development ideas:

Best "city plan," whether parcel, block, neighborhood, village, or city

Best international development strategies

Current economic development success stories

Visitor Community Development Questions

Note: Ask a question on a form for that purpose on the community development question page or on its sub-pages, and probably you will receive an online answer or several from editors and/or visitors.

We have separated the questions and answers into categories.  Many questions and answers that fall outside of the categories below have remained in the general questions page linked just above. These include:

Still under Visitor Submitted Community Development Questions, we have sorted many questions into the following categories.  Note that on the category pages, such as civic engagement question (the first one below), you can find the form for submitting your question, which will be answered by editors and-or visitors if your question is chosen. 

Civic engagement question

Deed restriction question

Note that we have discontinued the Sitemap listing all of the individual questions in this section.  We thought it was taking our site off-topic a bit. You can still access a complete list by clicking on the above Deed Restriction Question link. It is highly likely you will find something there that is relevant to your particular community development question or problem.

plaza in Madrid

In addition to reinforcing the previously described placemaking elements, this photo adds the ideas of outdoor restaurant seating and protected spaces for pedestrians.

Economic development issues

Environmental planning question

Housing questions

How cities work

Infrastructure issues

Neighborhood quality of life

Planning terms

Rural development question

 Zoning questions

famous Hyde Park lawn chair area in London

In London's Hyde Park we see the same elements of placemaking reinforced. While almost everyone opted out of paying for a chair, would the place be the same without the famous uniform chairs?  What do you think?

USEFUL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SITE INFORMATION

What's New is a record of the newest articles on the site and is formally titled Community Development Blog.

About Us talks about the background of our writers.   Newsletter Archive provides links to back issues of our almost-monthly newsletter, Community Development Plus, previously known as Quick Notes.  

Contact Us is a general contact form, although please use the community development question page on the navigation bar if you are asking a question.

Consulting gives information about contacting the site authors for consulting services, not about hiring consultants in general.

Affiliate Sponsorship Disclosure  discloses that we use Google ads and might use some other sponsorships in the future.  If so, we'll tell you when you click this page.

The Privacy Policy also is reached also from the footer of each page.

Last but not least, use this Sitemap to the fullest.

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