Social / Demographics
Urbanist Brent Toderian does not begrudge NIMBYs; he values them. In an interview with David Roberts of Vox, he explains that the problem doesn't lie with development opponents as much as it does with the decision-makers.
Vox
The Innovations in Government Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation has announced the first winner of the "Map of the Month" contest.
Data-Smart City Solutions
Though the quick expansion of complete streets policies is worth celebrating, minority and low-income communities are still being left behind, and killed at a disproportionate rate.
The Urban Edge
Texas has doubled down on the Trump Administration's deportation policies, and business leaders from several sectors in the state are starting to speak up about the policy's effects on the workforce.
AP via Southeastern Missourian
As smoking related cancer deaths decline, other unhealthy lifestyle choices are quickly replacing it as a leading causes of cancer.
USA Today
The power and process of boards that take control of a city or territory's finances is becoming more generalized, although they affect local democracy, impose austerity measures without controls, and lack mechanisms to evaluate their efficiency.
Shelterforce/Rooflines
The city of Everett is expecting a 60 percent jump in population by 2035, most of which will be focused in its city center. All of those people will also need an efficient and useful citywide transit system.
The Urbanist
Blog post
In a free market, the richest neighborhoods would ordinarily be the most popular. But some well-off urban neighborhoods are actually losing population. Why?
New York is the most important city in the world, but San Francisco is best positioned for the future, according to AT Kearney's "Global Cities" report.
World Economic Forum
A proposed mosque in Bernards Township will move forward, after the DOJ sued the town for using zoning ordinances to undermine Muslims' religious freedom.
The Atlantic
A PBS NewsHour two-fer: an interview of urbanologist Richard Florida conducted in a walking tour of New York's famed High Line in the gentrifying West Chelsea neighborhood, a fitting backdrop for his new book, "The New Urban Crisis."
PBS NewsHour
Wisconsin provides a case study in the varied methods for defining rural, and why that matters. "Rural is not simple to define, perhaps because the real question is rural for what purpose?"
WisContext
Toronto has released draft urban design guidelines that put families with children at the center of the city.
Next City
The Atlanta metropolitan area is facing an estimated 2.5 million new residents by 2040. Some current residents are surprised at some of the neighborhoods accommodating that growth.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Long Island's two major transit services, MTA's LIRR trains and the NICE bus system, are less coordinated than they could be. This has a big impact on ease of movement for low-income residents.
StreetsBlog NYC
Journalist Peter Markowitz has written a provocative, and profoundly disingenuous, analysis of the causes and effects of gentrification in American cities. He sows division at a time that requires collaboration, writes Josh Stephens.
California Planning & Development Report
Tech thrives on connection, and America's west coast tech hubs are more connected than ever before. But Seattleites aren't in a rush to abandon their city's distinctiveness.
The Economist
Matthew Desmond, author of "Evicted," looks at the lives of Americans across the economic spectrum to gain insight into how homeownership, mainly through the mortgage tax deduction, keeps the U.S. unequal.
The New York Times
According to this opinion piece, the tales of urbanizing Canada are overblown. "We're a suburban nation," says one of the sources quoted in the article.
The Globe and Mail
In 2015, the U.S. Census made some changes to its methodology for estimating city populations. The city of Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, provides a case study for the effect of the changes.
Ralston Recorder
