The percentage of adult Americans living by themselves has doubled since 1960, to its highest level ever, and businesses are taking note.
Eric Klinenberg writes of a dramatic demographic shift over the last 50 years, in which the percentage of married adults has fallen from more than 70% to only 51% of the adult population. "The extraordinary rise of living alone is among the greatest social changes since the baby boom."
In several large cities, including Denver, Seattle, and Washington D.C., more than 40% of households have just one occupant. In Manhattan it is nearly 50%. The implications of this shift are just beginning to be appreciated by businesses and marketers.
"Singletons play an essential yet unappreciated role in revitalizing cities and animating public spaces. Compared with married people, they're more likely to eat out in cafés and restaurants, exercise in a gym, take art classes, attend public events, and volunteer. Perhaps more important, singletons are fueling the economy. They spend more discretionary dollars than their married counterparts."
FULL STORY: Solo nation: American consumers stay single

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.

Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians
Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
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City of Laramie