Social / Demographics

Eastside Gold Line and Los Angeles skyline

Why Equity Groups Opposed California Legislation to Increase Housing Production

YIMBYs don't understand poverty, claimed one social justice group. Few, if any, connections with equity groups and too many with tech companies may have helped doom SB 827's chances of making it to first base in the legislature this year.

May 11, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Denver Rowhouses

Formerly Redlined Denver Neighborhoods Are Now Gentrification Hotspots

Prices remain depressed in most formerly redlined neighborhoods, but several such areas in Denver now boast higher home values than the city as a whole.

May 11, 2018 - The Denver Post

Pedestrians

Insurance Institute: Pedestrian Fatalities Jump 46 Percent from 2009

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study on May 8 that attributes the increased number of pedestrians killed in part to road design that allows for higher speeds, fewer intersections and pedestrian crossings and more SUVs.

May 9, 2018 - The Washington Post

U.S. Census

Concerns About Census 2020, As Told by GIFs

Interested observers have been sounding the alarms about the federal government's readiness and commitment level for the 2020 Census.

May 8, 2018 - Vox

Trump Campaign

Lawsuit Challenges the Trump Administration's Approach to Fair Housing

Housing Advocates have filed a lawsuit to press the Department of Housing and Urban Development to enforce requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

May 8, 2018 - The Washington Post

Ohio River

Millennials Moving to Mid-Size Cities

Jobs and cheap housing give some small cities a big appeal for folks in their 20s and 30s.

May 7, 2018 - Curbed

Cleveland 4th Street St. Patrick's

Can Density Prevent Diabetes?

In Australia, a new study will determine the best ways to make high-density developments healthy places to live.

May 7, 2018 - Diabetes.co.uk

Delay Sign

Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities

A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.

May 4, 2018 - The New York Times

Uhaul Trucks

Cities Need Labor So Badly They'll Pay You to Move There

Some cities are employing a "modern-day Homestead Act" to attract new residents.

May 4, 2018 - The Wall Street Journal

Payday Loans

Report Details Racial Inequality in Four Cities

Five decades after the Fair Housing Act, racial inequality is still rampant in American cities. Trulia and the National Fair Housing Alliance collaborated on this report on four of them.

May 3, 2018 - Curbed Atlanta

New York Nightlife

Understanding the Unique Challenges of Urban Loneliness

Let's acknowledge that loneliness and depression is common among urban residents, and figure out ways urban planning can foster connections and social interactions between people.

May 3, 2018 - Kayla Matthews

Housing

It’s Time to Build New, Mixed-Income Public Housing

Interview with the co-author of the report "Social Housing in the United States," on the politics of home ownership, why public housing needs to be mixed-income, and providing adequate, affordable housing to all citizens.

May 2, 2018 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Wealthy Neighborhood

Looking for a Starter Home in Dallas? Good Luck

According to a new study, fewer than 10 percent of homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are priced for first-time buyers.

May 1, 2018 - The Dallas Morning News

South Bay Area

Where the Economic Recovery Has Been Most Inclusive

Across racial and economic lines, not all cities are recovering equally.

May 1, 2018 - Color Lines

Crash

Hit-and-Run Traffic Fatalities Reach Record High

Over 2,000 people died from hit-and-run collisions on American roads in 2016, the highest since 2009, claiming a disproportionate amount of pedestrian and cyclist lives. One solution: more protected bike lanes.

April 30, 2018 - CBS This Morning

Retro Streetcar

Tenant Advocates Turn in Signatures for Rent Control Ballot Measure in California

The measure would repeal the 1996 Costa-Hawkins Act that places limits on rent control ordinances. Repealing the act would allow cities with rent control to consider expanding rent control to provide tenants greater protections.

April 28, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Gated House

Older People Have All the Wealth

"And you know why they made the new twenties? Cause I got all the old ones."

April 27, 2018 - City Observatory

Busy Downtown

How Social Physics Explains About the World

Big data has ushered in a new era of Social Physics.

April 25, 2018 - BBC - The Big Idea

California

Four Interest Groups Contributed to the California Transit-Housing Bill's Defeat

Two journalists discuss what led to the defeat of the SB 827, the controversial bill which garnered national attention and lots of in-state opposition from groups that one would think would support the effort to address the state's housing crisis.

April 24, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Another Use of Motor Vehicle as a Weapon Leaves 10 Dead, 16 Injured in Toronto

A van driver apparently deliberately mowed down pedestrians on sidewalks and intersections in the North York area of Toronto on Monday. The suspect is in custody. The incident is reminiscent of a similar scene last May in Times Square, Manhattan.

April 24, 2018 - CNN

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.