psychology

Freeway traffic at dusk in downtown Los Angeles, California

Lonely by Design: How Urban Planning Can Intensify Social Isolation

Walkable neighborhoods, access to parks, and opportunities for social interaction can help reduce the burden of loneliness and promote community. But many of our cities aren’t built this way.

January 30, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Philadelphia Center City

A (Brief) Lesson in Planning For Psychologists

How can planners approach the emotions and psychology of urban stakeholders? Planning journalist Josh Stephens speaks with Psychology Today to give psychology professionals a glimpse into how planners think.

March 24, 2021 - Psychology Today

Office Building

Why We're Not Meant to Live in Boring Cities

Features like blank street facades literally turn us off, decreasing mental stimulation and bringing on restlessness and stress. Research points to worrying consequences for people who find their city, well, boring.

September 22, 2015 - Aeon

Road Rage

On the Psychology of Road Rage

Few of us are fully immune from the effects of road rage. Psychologists are asking why driving can provoke changes in behavior—and how to avert them.

March 15, 2015 - Pacific Standard

Warning Sign

Study: Dynamic Road Signs Make for Better Drivers

A psychological experiment finds that warning signs depicting more movement gain more attention, making drivers navigate more carefully.

March 9, 2015 - The Atlantic

Pink Stretch Hummer

How to Marginalize the Automobile

In a column for Fast Forward Weekly, Steven Snell explores the complexities in lessening the domestication of the automobile and its perceived necessity in our day-to-day lives.

November 21, 2014 - Fast Forward Weekly

Expo Line

Do Psychological Barriers Doom L.A.'s Transit Transition?

Creating a culture of transit in Los Angeles will require more than just expanding the area's train and bus infrastructure. New riders will have to overcome the psychological barriers that prevent many people from ditching their cars.

December 3, 2013 - KCET

Mapping America's Many Moods

Are you exceedingly agreeable or exceptionally conscientious? If so, there's a good chance you live in Utah or South Carolina. At least that's according to the findings of a 13-year study into American attitudes conducted by a team of researchers.

October 23, 2013 - Time

The Planning Fallacy Part Deux (now with more fallacies!)

A final, closer look on how our optimism can be our best quality and our biggest weakness.

May 17, 2013 - Norman Wright

The Planning Fallacy

Often times, what we think of as a plan is just an elaborate wish.

May 2, 2013 - Norman Wright

Einstein's Bike Shop

Bicycling: Good for the Brain and the Body

The physical benefits of cycling are well known, but researchers are just beginning to understand how riding a bike benefits our brains, writes Simon Usborne.

December 22, 2012 - The Independent

Sprawl is Driven By Our Collective Unconscious

Richey Piiparinen argues that Americans don't necessarily want sprawl, but they are driven by unconscious motives, fears and hopes that haven't been properly dealt with yet.

May 6, 2011 - Rustwire.com

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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.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.