Education & Careers
Boxing Gyms in Shrinking Cities: Refuge for the Formerly Incarcerated
Sociologist Lucia Trimbur describes how urban boxing gyms provide an opportunity for a particularly vulnerable population, formerly incarcerated men of color, to "recover from detention and establish stability in the free world."

The University and The City: Location and Structure
Institutional structure and culture can matter as much as location to the success and survival of urban universities.

The Future of Higher Education: Location, Location, Location
Despite the improving economy, the outlook for the higher education sector is still poor, especially between the endowment haves and have-nots. Another factor playing a critical role in the success or failure of institutions: their location.
Can Kentucky Compete in an Urbanizing, Global Economy?
Braden Lammers provides a dispatch from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Business Summit and Annual Meeting, sharing the testimony of one business leader on the state's work force challenges.
New Jersey Addressing Nation-Leading 'College Flight'
A Philadelphia Inquirer blog post details what it calls a "brain drain" problem in the state of New Jersey—where more residents go out of state for college than in any other state.
Study Links Affordable Housing and Intellectual Ability in Children
Jonathan Walters shares news of a new study out of Johns Hopkins University finding a connection between affordable housing and the intellectual ability of children. Spend more, or less, than 30 percent on housing, and intellectual ability suffers.

New Musical Glamorizes Urban Planning
If/Then, a new Broadway musical, describes two possible lives of a dynamic, intelligent, glamorous, detail-oriented, and somewhat wonky urban planner. The character is based on Amanda Burden, who recently-retired as New York City's planning director.
Planning Education: Made in China?
A high school field trip in China that is hard to imagine in the United States.

The Fall of Planning Expertise
With increasing skepticism and conflict towards planners and planning projects, we must ask ourselves: Is the power and politics now vested in "community participation" undermining the planning profession?

Urbanists Soak Up Buffalo: PlaceMakers Empty Their Notebooks
Many of you attended CNU in Buffalo last week, but for those of you who couldn't make it, here's a quick collection of a few of the ideas shared.

Arguing for Cars, Not Transit, as a Poverty Solution
Data show that cars are more effective than transit in providing poor people to jobs and economic opportunity. But does that mean transit systems are fundamentally inadequate or just currently inadequate?
Long Commutes Pose Additional Risks for Students in New York City
A recent study shows significant variation in commute times for students depending on where they live in New York City. The concern with the findings is that longer commute times have greater impacts on students already facing other obstacles.
Report Details the Role of Infrastructure Jobs in the U.S. Economy
A new report from the Brookings Institute examines the details employment in infrastructure jobs in the United States—as well as making a case that infrastructure jobs can address ongoing concerns in the economy.

Making Biking Cool for Kids
A three-year bike-to-school initiative in Europe encourages children to bike to school.
Why School Integration Requires Neighborhood Integration
Emily Badger examines the role of housing segregation in obstructing the promise of Brown v. Board of Education.

Lessons from a Groundbreaking Interdisciplinary Design Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati
Niehoff Urban Studio brings students from different departments together to work on bettering Cincinnati's built environment.
The Policy Implications of Families in Virginia Choosing to Stay in Cities
Data in Virginia shows that more young families are choosing to stay in urban areas to raise their children. This is causing a rapid increase in school enrollment and fueling the fastest growth Virginia's urban areas have experienced since the 1950s.
Trends from the APA 2014 Conference
Every year we analyze all of the tweets from the APA Conference and tell you about the trends in planning. With more than 1,000 people tweeting from the APA Conference, there is a lot of great ideas, links, and blogs that we can all learn from.
New Leadership Elected at the American Planning Association
The APA has announced the election of the next president of the national organization—Carol Rhea, FAICP.

Planning on a Budget: There is an App for That
Tight on time, staff, and budget and looking for technology to help your planning effort? Explore new mobile friendly tools that can aid planners with public engagement, documentation of existing conditions, and traffic counting.
Pagination
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.
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions