Social / Demographics

Houston, Texas

Sun Belt Cities: Booming Populations, Low GDP Growth

Population trends are often used as a shorthand for a city's economic prowess, but Pete Saunders argues they may be a lagging indicator.

March 14, 2018 - Forbes

Times Square

Beacon / Bunker

Kris Graves photographs all 77 NYPD precincts from Tottenville to Edenwald, looking to these buildings—sometimes humble, sometimes imposing—for the face and footprint of law and order in the neighborhood.

March 10, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

Metro Gold LIne

L.A.'s Mayor Garcetti Sides With Single-Family Housing Near Transit

Politicians are taking positions on a controversial California housing bill to densify by transit. Even after amendments were accepted on March 1 in response to concerns about displacement and demolitions, the mayor of Los Angeles remains opposed.

March 9, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Exurbs Black and White

White Flight Hasn't Gone Anywhere

White flight gets described as a symptom of the racism of the mid- to late-20th century, but a new study finds evidence that it's still rampant and suggests that it's a sign of contemporary prejudice.

March 8, 2018 - Pacific Standard

Demonstration

Facing Contention: 21 Tips to Detox Public Engagement

Forces are aligning to increase polarization and tension in public dialog, and planners are increasingly caught in the middle. A recent workshop with 100 engagement experts resulted in a free eBook to help planners detox their public involvement.

March 8, 2018 - Dave Biggs

El Paso

City as Border Zone

Architects Ersela Kripa and Stephen Mueller, founders of El Paso firm AGENCY, discuss the reality and rhetoric of the US–Mexico border.

March 7, 2018 - The Architectural League

Rosa Parks

Former President Barack Obama Addresses Gentrification

Former President Barack Obama is facing a new kind of politics while working to support the development plan for the Barack Obama Presidential Center.

March 7, 2018 - City Observatory

Mass Shootings

Where Mass Shootings Happen

It's tempting to try to find a link between sites of mass shootings, but data shows they happen in all types of American communities.

March 7, 2018 - CityLab

Kids on bikes

Building a Child Friendly City

Around the world cities struggle to build a safe, fun, kid-friendly environments.

March 6, 2018 - The Guardian

Homeless Person

Austin Proposes Using Blockchain Technology to Help Its Homeless

The city wants to give its 7,000 citizens without permanent homes "[u]nique digital identifiers" to help them get reliable access to services.

March 5, 2018 - Quartz

Puerto Rico

Study: Hurricane Maria Killed for Months After Hitting Puerto Rico

According to new research, the tragic impact of Hurricane Maria lingered for months after the storm hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, and at far greater magnitude than the federal government has acknowledged.

March 5, 2018 - Chicago Tribune

Utah Winter

Utah Legislation Would Allow Children to Play Outside Unsupervised

After passing both houses of state government, a "free range kids" law to allow children to walk to school and play outside unsupervised is headed to the governor's office in Utah.

March 3, 2018 - USA Today

Leaving California

California Has Been Shedding Residents—For Decades

The state Legislative Analyst's Office looks at California's out-migration data. Every year since 1990, more Californians left for other than states than arrive. Which states are sending their residents here, and where are Californians fleeing to?

March 3, 2018 - California Legislative Analyst's Office

Harvey Floods Houston

After Harvey, Texas Tries State-Run Disaster Relief, With Mixed Results

The scale of the housing recovery effort means some jobs normally handles by FEMA have fallen to the Texas General Land Office.

March 3, 2018 - Texas Tribune

Kayaking in the LA River

The Need for an Equitable L.A. River Revitalization

Jon Christensen urges Los Angeles to ensure that new park amenities serve, rather than displace, the river's low-income communities.

March 2, 2018 - CityLab

Capitol Hill

How the Federal Government Wants to Use 'Social Impact Partnerships'

Taking cues from the Trump Administration's recently-released infrastructure plan, the government intends to use a public-private partnership model to take on social challenges.

March 1, 2018 - CityLab

Uptown Oakland

Minorities Have Dominated Millennial Urban Growth

Despite the impression that young white people have reshaped cities' demographics, research shows that non-white Millennials account for the greater part of that growth.

March 1, 2018 - Brookings

A Black woman stands in front of a home holding an umbrella and smiling.

Homeownership Rates for Black Americans Unchanged for 50 Years

There has been precious little progress over the past 50 years in bridging gaps of inequality for Black Americans.

February 28, 2018 - The Washington Post

Arts, Sports, and Development in Atlanta

Galleries and clubs ponder inevitable change and gentrification in South Atlanta as developers show interest.

February 26, 2018 - Creative Loafing

Black Panther's Many Lessons in Urbanism

Black Panther is a smash hit with critics and audiences. In addition to long-needed perspective about race, the movie has presented urbanism in a new light.

February 24, 2018 - CityLab

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.