Publishers and marketing folks admit that the barrage of lists titled "Top 10 Places To...." is inspired purely by the public's inability to resist clicking them.
Amy Hoak writes that the quality of such lists is entirely variable, but one thing is for certain- people love a Top 10 Cities story:
"'It's a marketer's dream to generate these lists," said Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America. As soon as you assemble the ranking, you've created a piece of news, she said, and in these times 'there's a proliferation of new media outlets so there is a crying need for more content.'"
Hoak points to lists of the most haunted cities, the manliest cities, the most "sex-happy cities", etc., etc.
Read the full story: Top 10 Places To (Fill In The Blank)
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
After decades of planning, Sacramento gains new light rail station
Trains will arrive every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during non-peak hours.
Massive tunnel-boring machine breaks ground on Gateway Project
The Trump administration revoked funding for the project in October 2025, and then restored it earlier this year.
Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route
The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.
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