Despite gains in the 1990s, the last decade has seen jumps in poverty in rural areas, where rates continue to exceed the national average.
"The increase in the number of poor Americans was heavily weighted in rural communities. Rural counties were home to just over 16% of the nation's population in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But 33% of the increase in the number of poor Americans from '03 to ‘08 - more than one million people - was found in rural counties.
As a result, the gap between the poverty rates in urban and rural America widened, doubling between 2003 and 2008."
FULL STORY: Poverty Rate Jumps in Rural America
New Book Analyzes America’s Poorest Communities
The similarities between the nation’s most disadvantaged areas, often rural, reveal the economic patterns that lead to chronic poverty.
The Legacy of Structural Poverty in Alabama
In rural Alabama, a long history of racial inequality and poverty has left people struggling to survive in uninhabitable housing.
Bringing the Rural Housing Crisis to Light
Advocates for housing and quality of life in rural communities face an uphill battle in gaining attention, much less funding, to fight the problem.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service