Though population growth rates have slowed in cities and suburbs, their increasing interconnectedness has created sets of diverse metropolitan areas, according to the Brookings Institution's Alan Berube.
"This work is showing not only how our country's demographic dynamism confounds conventional wisdom about cities versus suburbs, but also how it complicates traditional notions of regional identity in America.
Indeed, we find that there's a new "metro map" of the nation that unites places not by their age or geographic proximity, but by their demographic similarities. These associations relate to three of the key dimensions of demographic transformation in metro areas-population growth, racial and ethnic change, and educational attainment. Through the lens of these metro areas, we identify seven distinct new demographic regions of the United States."
The new demographic regions include places with higher-than-average educational attainment, high rates of diversity, and places with lower-than-average shares of Hispanic or Asian populations.
Read the full story: The State of Metropolitan America: Suburbs and the 2010 Census
The Child Population in These Cities is Dropping Fast
Cities in the West are seeing sharp drops in their under-5 populations.
The Hollowing Out of Rural Georgia
America’s rural population is declining for the first time in history. In Georgia, it amounts to a demographic crisis.
Rural Population Grew Again in 2024
Americans continued to move to smaller towns and cities, resulting in a fourth straight year of growth in rural areas.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment
New York City's mayor plans to replace about 2,000 units of public housing with private, mixed-income housing.
All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move
The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.
Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries
Putting solar panels above farmland is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello