Enabling local affections involves hard work from individuals, locally embedded institutions, a built environment scaled to people, and community-focused habits and practices.
Ever since our country was founded, moving has been in our collective DNA. Every year, 30 million Americans move, and we do so for all kinds of reasons—to get an education, to be closer to (or farther from) family, to be nearer to cultural amenities, and (most often) for a job. And although economists laud our incessant mobility as good for national prosperity, critics are increasingly worried about our apparent inability to be in place.
Rather than lament our national restlessness, Melody Warnick sets out to help nomads like herself in her new book, This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live. The wife of an itinerant professor, Warnick has certainly contributed to the statistics on moving herself—her recent move to Blacksburg, VA was number six for her family. But instead of succumbing to loneliness and fatigue, as can be the case with any new move to an unknown place, Warnick decides to not just to get to know her community but to learn how to care for it.
FULL STORY: The Emergence of Place Attachment A Review of Melody's Warnick's "This is Where You Belong"
Marrying Urban Identity and Economic Prosperity
A new book posits that truly successful communities have a strong economic base and a firmly rooted sense of place.
Columbia’s Revitalized ‘Loop’ Is a Hub for Local Entrepreneurs
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Appreciating Rural Cultural Resources
A focus on ‘placemaking’ too often obscures or exploits local culture and history.
Rethinking Redlining
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure
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The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?
In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions