News on Urban Planning

A Chicago alderman was indicted Thursday on federal fraud and bribery charges for allegedly accepting $40,000 in home improvements from a developer in return for supporting a zoning change for the city's largest undeveloped tract of land. Alderman Isaac "Ike" Carothers allegedly supported the rezoning of a 50-acre former rail yard and industrial site on Chicago's West Side, sought by developer Calvin Boender, the 11-count indictment said. Boender also was charged in the alleged scheme, which prosecutors ...

Since this seaside resort legalized casino gambling 31 years ago, blighted neighborhoods have sat just blocks from glitzy big-money casinos. On Tuesday, several casino executives and a former mayor who is now a state lawmaker called for aggressive use of government's power of eminent domain to seize vacant buildings and land and clear the way for new development in the nation's second-largest gambling market. At the East Coast Gaming Conference Tuesday, State Sen. Jim ...

A former Atlantic City mayor who is now a state senator is joining several casino executives in calling for aggressive use of eminent domain to seize vacant buildings and land to clear the way for new development in this struggling seaside gambling resort. At an East Coast gambling conference Tuesday, State Sen. Jim Whelan, the former mayor, said eminent domain — in which private property owners are required to sell their real estate for a ...

Developer Bruce Ratner says he is ready to break ground on a Brooklyn arena for the New Jersey Nets this year after an appeals court struck down a challenge to his Atlantic Yards project. Ratner says he plans to begin building the $800 million arena this year after issuing bonds to finance the project this fall. The state Supreme Court's appellate division on Friday struck down an opponents' lawsuit that sought to stop ...