Social / Demographics

San Francisco Homeless

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.

October 9, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Small Town Craft Brewery

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.

October 8, 2017 - NPR via KPCC

4th of July Parade

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.

October 7, 2017 - The Washington Post

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.

October 6, 2017 - The Plain Dealer

London Crowded Street

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.

October 6, 2017 - Reuters via The Guardian

I-94

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.

October 5, 2017 - Wisconsin Gazette

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.

September 29, 2017 - The Planning Report

Redlining Map

Housing Discrimination Explained by a Comic Strip

A comic strip succeeds in presenting the complex history of redlining and housing discrimination.

September 29, 2017 - The Nib

Seatle Skyline

The Urban Revival Is (Probably) Not Over

Critiquing Richard Florida's claim that "the urban revival is over."

September 28, 2017 - Michael Lewyn

Puerto Rico

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.

September 27, 2017 - The Washington Post

Queens, New York City

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.

September 22, 2017 - New York Magazine

Homeless Services

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.

September 19, 2017 - Brookings

Chicago Bike Trail

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."

September 18, 2017 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Millennial Bike

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.

September 17, 2017 - The New York Times

El Paso Exurbs

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.

September 15, 2017 - Governing

Highway Living

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.

September 15, 2017 - The New York Times - Opinion

Guadalupe Arts Center San Antonio

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.

September 13, 2017 - Next City

Downtown Reno

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.

September 13, 2017 - Next City

San Francisco Houses

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.

September 12, 2017 - SPUR

Minneapolis Traffic

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?

September 11, 2017 - PlanIt - Metropolitan Council

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.