Social / Demographics

Letting Kids Design the Cities of the Future
The Box City event held in Denver recently educated children on the process of planning by letting them create their own version of a city.

Where Have All the Writers Gone?
Aaron Renn identifies the negative effects of ongoing concentration of media professionals of the "writer" variety in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Chronic Homelessness Persists at New York City Transit Hubs and Airports
Two train stations, two airports, and one bus terminal double as homeless shelters in New York City. When some close for the night, the subways fill in.
Business Groups Sue Portland Over Homeless 'Safe Sleep Policy'
The Safe Sleep Policy, enacted by the mayor in February without City Council approval, allows homeless people to sleep in tents in select public areas and on sidewalks. Now a coalition of business groups says the policy was an overreach of power.

Debunking Myths About Domestic Migration
A post in reply to the question: If so many people are leaving New York and Los Angeles, why are they still growing?
Inside One of the Detroit Region's 'Forgotten Neighborhoods'
The success stories about Detroit leave out big pieces of the puzzle, including some just outside of city limits. The Detroit News looks at the ongoing struggles of one of the forgotten neighborhoods in the suburb of South Warren.
HUD's Resilience Revolution
The United States Housing and Urban Development agency is utilizing new ways to empower communities to become resilient ones. The agency's National Disaster Resilience Competition is one way they are helping cities around the U.S. achieve just that.
30-Story Mixed-Use Tower Planned for Downtown Austin—Without Parking
Thanks to the elimination of minimum parking requirements downtown, a vacant one-story building "could be transformed into a 30-story tower with 135 luxury apartments, office space, a restaurant and a bar," reports the Austin-American Statesman.
'Community Partners Program' Offers $5 Memberships for Capital Bikeshare
The new Community Partners Program will help Capital Bikeshare respond to concerns about the system's lack of access for low-income and minority residents.

Community Engagement Highlights from APA 2016
As I do every year at the APA National Conference, I did my best to catch as many community engagement sessions as possible. Here are highlights, takeaways, and the common threads I noticed this year.
Study: Geography Matters for Life Expectancy of Low Income Residents
A new study, released this week, reveals the connections between geography and life expectancy.

City vs. Suburb Battle Reignites
There's a new volley in the long-running battle between cities and suburbs. In his new book "The Human City," urban scholar Joel Kotkin contends that cities and their planners have lost sight of the residents who matter most: families.

The Demographics of U.S. Transit Ridership
New research from the Pew Research Center provides insight into the people relying on public transit.

Urban Demographics: The New Elite
Economist Jed Kolko's recent study on how the lack in affordability of cities determines who's moving there, whose moving out, and how these changes are shaping cities and suburbs. His paper is the basis for several articles by leading urban writers.

How to Rethink the Suburbs: A Lesson From Toronto
A new zoning law in Toronto could enable its hundreds of suburban tower developments to become vibrant and active communities.

Inner Suburbs Face Identity Crisis
Places like Columbia Heights, an older suburb north of Minneapolis, lie at the focal point of conflict over development and gentrification. Can these places support a 21st-century urbanism?

Suburban Poverty Rising in Atlanta
Driven by economic and demographic trends, poverty in "outer ring" suburbs is on the rise. Since 2000, Atlanta's suburbs have seen the highest rate of change in poverty of any comparable metro region.
Making Sense of Median Rent Statistics
Amid the ubiquitous, and inconsistent, reportage on rising rents and housing prices, a guide from City Observatory helps point readers toward the most accurate numbers.
Los Angeles River Restoration Going From Grassroots to Glam
As excitement around the L.A. River revitalization heats up, neighbors of the once-neglected channel wonder who will benefit from the billion-dollar redevelopment.
Could Tent Cities Work in California?
Seeking new approaches to a growing homelessness problem, Sacramento officials recently toured the "tent cities" of Seattle.
Pagination
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Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont