Social / Demographics

San Francisco Sets Five-Year Plan to Drastically Reduce Homelessness
A new plan in San Francisco aims to reduce the city's chronically homeless population 50 percent by December 2022. Other goals include ending family homelessness and eliminating large, long-term tent encampments.

Craft Beer and Small Towns—A Perfect Pairing
NPR has identified a cultural phenomenon in rural America: craft beer is economic development—and a draw for young people.

NAACP Lawsuit Targets the Trump Administration Over 2020 Census Preparation
The NAACP does not believe the Trump Administration intends to make an honest count of the country's minority populations when it comes time to perform the 2020 Census.
450,000 People Live in Food Deserts in the Cleveland Area
A new map reveals the scale of the food desert challenge in Cleveland and environs.

Study Touts the Public Health Benefits of Dense, Urban Living
A study of British cities find people living in dense urban cores are less likely to struggle with obesity and more likely to exercise—signs of higher quality of life—than their counterparts in suburban environments.

Wisconsin's $1.1 Billion Highway Widening Project on the Ropes
The proposed widening of I-94 in Milwaukee is a $1.1 billion chunk of a $6.4 billion road widening program in the region. The NAACP sued the project as a matter of environmental justice.
High Speed Rail Transforming California's Housing, TOD Conversation
The California Legislature took steps to address the state's housing crisis this year, but housing activists might look to the Governor's High Speed Rail project to provide a link to affordable housing in the Central Valley.

Housing Discrimination Explained by a Comic Strip
A comic strip succeeds in presenting the complex history of redlining and housing discrimination.

The Urban Revival Is (Probably) Not Over
Critiquing Richard Florida's claim that "the urban revival is over."

Without Basic Utilities, Puerto Rican Exodus Expected
Hurricane Maria left the flooded island of 3.4 million American citizens without power, communications, and running water, which may take months before they are restored. An exodus to Florida, which had begun before Maria hit, will likely accelerate.

Hyper Urban Growth Without Residential Displacement
Here's a change: Displacement in the nation's fastest growing urban neighborhood has largely been limited to businesses. The new highrises have given Queens something it never had: a skyline.

New Poverty and Income Data Reveals a Tale of Two Types of Cities
While the country overall made progress, larger cities are making stronger gains against poverty.

Sustainable for Whom? Large-Scale Urban Development Projects and 'Environmental Gentrification'
Large, adaptive-reuse projects are all the rage in urban planning today, but absent a fundamentally new approach—with affordability at the center of the process—they are likely to become engines of what's been termed "environmental gentrification."

Is This How Millennials Prefer Their Suburbs?
As more young people express a preference for suburban life, Alan M. Berger gives us a vision of tomorrow's suburbs: smart and sustainable, but still spread out.

State Budget Delivered Blow to Impoverished Texas Exurbs
Along the Mexican border, Texas "colonias" have often gone without basic infrastructure. Saying it'll cut bureaucracy, Governor Greg Abbott removed funding for a program that helps residents access government services.

How Overly Restrictive Land Use Regulations Hurt the Nation's Economy
Two economics professors from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley argue that the housing crisis doesn't just affect booming coastal cities. It's a national problem.

Preserving the Character of San Antonio's Near West Side
Latino activists look to preserve a 'Chicano epicenter,' recently given the designation of a UNESCO site.

Homeless People Could Pay the Price of Reno's 'Revitalization'
Reno is considering a law that critics say is a textbook example of the criminalization of homelessness and everyday life.

Coming to Terms With the Bay Area's Housing 'Death Spiral'
Prospects for solving the Bay Area's severe housing shortage look far off. Action on the state level may be one way to approach this crippling collective action problem.

The Metropolitan Council's 'PlanIt' Podcast on Equity in Everyday Planning
Equity is a popular topic of discussion, but how can planning organizations address that within their structure? What are some actions that they can take to include equity in everyday operations?
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