Americans are living longer and changing the demographic profiles of our cities in the process. Planners are just beginning to understand how our streets and systems must adapt to accommodate this trend.
Did you know that crosswalks timers assume that people walk at about 4 feet per second? Most 80-year-olds don't move at that pace; just one illustration of why most places are "woefully unprepared" for an aging America.
"As Richard Florida reminded us last week, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day between now and 2031," notes Emily Badger. "By then, one in five people living in America will be older than 65. Crosswalks are only one piece of a deep-rooted problem composed of many subtle environmental details most of us never even notice: Is there a park bench to catch your breath? How about a curb cut for your walker?"
"Cities everywhere need to begin recalibrating for this moment now (a better crosswalk speed, for instance, would be closer to 3 feet per second)," she explains. "But this generational age bomb is also arriving at precisely the worst moment to pay for those changes that will actually cost money. And then there is the problem of imagination: How do you get urban planners, transportation engineers, and anyone running around a city in their prime to picture the places where we live through the shaded eyes of an octogenarian?"
"Age-proofing cities will be a cultural challenge as much as an urban design one."
Read the full story: The Next Big Infrastructure Crisis? Age-Proofing Our Streets
How Urban Design and Infrastructure Affects Public Health and Dignity
Poor infrastructure can have powerful impacts on how different groups access resources and experience the public realm.
'Pedestrians First' Measures Walkability for Babies, Toddlers, Caregivers, Everyone
The ITDP's new Pedestrians First tool describes why and how to improve walking conditions, and provides comprehensive analysis of walkability for 1000 cities.
Op-ed: Federal austerity is funding what kills us
Tracing the backstory of the last year of cuts to multimodal transportation reveals an alarming definition of road safety that only serves one mode.
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.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello