Ryan Sager looks at the results of two recent studies that explore the ways in which cities, commonly lauded as bastions of diversity, actually incubate groupthink.
Sager discusses the results of studies on cell phone preference by researchers from the Norwegian telecom provider Telenor, and friendship networks at different sized colleges, conducted by researchers at Wellesley College and the University of Kansas, that demonstrate "'small town' thinking can crop up as easily in the megalopolis as in Palookaville."
In the latter study of friendship networks, which has been replicated at the city scale but not yet published, researchers reached a surprising conclusion. "'People would expect in bigger and more diverse places you'd come into contact with a bigger and more diverse set of people,' says lead researcher Angela Bahns, a social psychologist at Wellesley. 'But you find the exact opposite.'"
According to Sager, these findings make sense. "It's simple, really: We like people who are like us. Social scientists call it the 'similarity-attraction effect,' and it influences everything from whom we date and hire to where we choose to live. The bigger the pond, the more likely we are-consciously or not-to swim around until we find a group of like and like-minded people."
FULL STORY: How Big Cities Can Lead to Small Thoughts
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.