A list of 36 of the best nonfiction books ever written about Jacksonville and the people who made it what it is today. Many of these books can be found at Jacksonville booksellers including Chamblin Bookmine, Chamblin’s Uptown, San Marco Books, and BookMark Independent Bookstore, or local Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million and Target stores. A. Philip Randolph: A Biographical Portrait - by Jervis Anderson, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1973 (first edition)A leading figure in the early civil rights and labor movements, Asa Philip Randolph grew up on Jacksonville’s Eastside. Jervis Anderson’s biography includes a good history of Jacksonville from the perspective of a prominent citizen who lived there from 1891 to 1911. Read the rest of the list of best books about Jacksonville on ModernCities.com.

Every great city is home to a great park. For the City of Orlando, that great space is known as Lake Eola Park. Dating back to the late 19th century, Lake Eola Park is one of the oldest public spaces in Central Florida. However, the centerpiece of the sinkhole lake and park is the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain. In recent decades, downtown Orlando and the neighborhoods surrounding the park have increased in density and vitality, making the park a central popular destination for area residents.

Jacksonville, Fla. – The term innovation has become a big word in the transportation industry. However, a number of transit agencies are making significant strides where innovation provides the greatest impact for the end user: the pocketbook. With local officials unanimously approving funding to eliminate fares for all bus riders, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is poised to become the next trendsetter. In early December 2019, the Kansas City city council approved a resolution requiring a set aside to allow riders to use local buses for free, beginning in 2020. Viewed as monumental and meant to reduce barriers to access to people, according to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, “this is going to improve the lives of so many and help fuel the local economy.”Read full article on ModernCities.com

During the 20 years following the creation of the country’s first enclosed regional mall in 1956, so many were built in Florida that they started to cannibalize each other. Here’s a walk down memory lane at 10 once-popular enclosed malls around the state that don’t exist anymore. Gateway Mall, JacksonvilleDeveloped by Sam Morris Spevak, Gateway Shopping Center originally opened as an open-air strip shopping center in 1959. Gateway’s days as a regional shopping mall peaked in the late 1970s. Read about nine other closed Florida malls on ModernCities.com.

Here is a brief look at the latest food hall projects in Florida, involving the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Brooklyn Food Hall 301 Park Street JacksonvilleCatlin and Sons Studebaker, 301 Park Street, in the 1950s. A former Studebaker dealership housed in a building constructed in 1924 could become urban Jacksonville’s largest food hall. Bumby Arcade Food Hall 126 W Church St, OrlandoThe Bumby Arcade, one of Orlando’s oldest buildings, will soon become one of Florida’s newest food halls. Renderings indicate the Bumby Arcade Food Hall will include 18 total stalls and ample seating in 16,000 square feet of space.

The vibrancy of cities comes in all shapes and sizes. Despite the diversity around the globe, all lively cities, downtowns and urban cores have something in common: being pedestrian-friendly. As of 2018, London’s official population was 8,908,081 with a total of 14,187,146 residing within its metropolitan area. London’s Soho is a place that defies many of our regulatory assumptions. Yet, despite elements commonly labeled as “blight” by many civic leaders, people seem to be attracted to Soho like bees are to honey.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Could an influx of private sector investment fuel long-needed economic growth into our most distressed neighborhoods? Or will a new community development program designed to drive private investment to certain areas simply advance the negative impacts of displacement and gentrification? At the same time, in stocks and mutual funds alone, U.S. investors hold trillions of dollars in unrealized capital gains. Viewing unrealized capital gains as a significant untapped economic development resource. Through private sector investment vehicles that invest at least 90 percent of their capital in these Opportunity Zones, called Opportunity Funds, investors can receive a variety of tax incentives on their unrealized capital gains, ranging from temporary tax deferral to permanent exclusion from taxable income of capital gains from the sale or exchange of an investment.

Wine bar CASK operated at 1049 Park Street for five years, before closing in late 2017. Michael Schmidt and Chad Munsey, the team behind The Bearded Pig in San Marco, have taken over the former CASK space and will be opening the Rec Room -- an arcade and bar. The concept is simple: a craft beer bar that also features retro arcade games. First made popular in Brooklyn, arcade bars began appearing in Jacksonville when Chicago Pizza at the Jacksonville Landing converted a large portion of their waterfront restaurant into an arcade bar and gaming room in 2016 under the new name, GLHF Game Bar. In late 2017, former craft beer package store Beer:30, in the King Street District, expanded to include an arcade bar called Keg and Coin.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville may be its own worst enemy when it comes to urban revitalization and redevelopment. Although it serves as the city's development arm for the downtown district, the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) has no control over what happens or doesn't happen with most of these properties. However, what the DIA does control, it plans to move forward in returning to the tax rolls. Here are six downtown properties the DIA plans to attempt to dispose of over the next few months. The DIA plans to issue an RFP for this building in spring 2018.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. retailers closed an estimated 9,000 store locations in 2017. Here are five chains you may have heard of that could be headed towards bankruptcy or massive store closures in 2018. SearsWith both the Sears and Kmart chains hemorrhaging money, store closures have become a dominant theme for struggling retail giant Sears Holdings. According to the Motley Fool, more store closures won't save Sears Holdings from bankruptcy. If Motley's prediction holds true, expect another round of struggling Sears anchored malls to go belly up.