Birth rates are dropping across Europe, and some cities are on the verge of collapse because of it. Exhibit A: Hoyerswerda, Germany.
"After the Berlin Wall came down, millions of East Germans who stayed behind decided against producing another generation. Their fertility more than halved. In 1988, 216,000 babies were born in East Germany; in 1994, just 88,000 were born. The fertility rate worked out at 0.8 children per woman. Since then it has struggled up to around 1.2, but that is still only just over half the rate needed to maintain the population. About a million homes have been abandoned, and the government is demolishing them as fast as it can. Left behind are "perforated cities", with huge random chunks of wasteland. Europe hasn't seen cityscapes like this since the bombing of the second world war.
And nowhere has emptied as much as Hoyerswerda. In the 80s, it had a population of 75,000 and the highest birth rate in East Germany. Today, the town's population has halved."
The problem seems to be a combination of women leaving town and a generational disinclination to have children.
Read the full story: The population crash
The Consequences of Urban Population Decline for American Cities
Big cities saw the sharpest population declines during the pandemic. Is the trend here to stay?
Understanding Cities Through Their Life Cycles
Cities go through ups and downs over time, and where a city is in its longer history can reveal the reasons behind population changes.
DOT Memo Directs Transportation Funding to Communities With Higher Marriage and Birth Rates, Compliance with Immigration Officials and No Mask Mandates
The memo ties immigration enforcement to federal funding and prohibits mask or vaccine mandates.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello