Social / Demographics

Homelessness Growing in Austin—For the First Time in Years

The state capital of Texas is not immune to the growing numbers of homeless in cities around the country.

March 6, 2016 - KVUE

New Orleans street

The Life and Death of Urban Hierarchies

Kristen Jeffers writes that she's changed her mind about the existence of hierarchies among U.S. cities.

March 5, 2016 - The Black Urbanist

McMansion

Empty Nesters Stuck in the Suburbs

Just when boomers are ready to return to the city to enjoy all its cultural offerings, they find themselves priced out. Many do downsize, however, from large single family homes to more urban areas close to home.

March 4, 2016 - The New York Times

Making Sense of Community

Most of us Planetizen readers were inadvertently complicit in killing the term "sense of community." Scott Doyon points out where we go from here.

March 1, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Rich Suburban House

Millennials Leaving Their Mark on Suburbia

How will millennial homebuyers change suburbia, or will they? Realtors observe that millennials relocating from the city look for parts of their urban lifestyle, e.g., walkable neighborhoods, yet they also have traditional suburban tastes.

March 1, 2016 - Marketplace

Pittsburgh Skyline

Black Residents Displaced in Pittsburgh

Rents are on the rise in Pittsburgh, prompting some longtime residents to relocate farther away. Race, as well as class, figures heavily in this narrative.

March 1, 2016 - Carnegie Museum of Art Blog

Downtown, now

New Tool Accesses Chicago Open Data

OpenGrid gathers together Chicago's open data, letting users specify areas of focus on a map of the city. Users can also overlay different datasets on the same map.

February 27, 2016 - Chicago Magazine

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

A Map of the Most Economically Distressed Communities in the United States

The economic recovery of recent years has not reached all corners of the country—it hasn’t even reached all corners of many cities. A new report plots a new map of the nation's distressed communities.

February 26, 2016 - CityLab

Friday Eye Candy: Dallas, Transformed Into Poetry

Dallas is a subject in a visual experiment titled "A City is a Poem."

February 26, 2016 - The Dallas Morning News

Smart Design = Smart Policy? Not So Fast

After a few decades watching—and sometimes helping—great ideas die of overexposure to reality, I'm convinced it's not enough to just listen to folks you're hoping to help. You have to make something happen. A well-conceived charrette helps.

February 24, 2016 - PlaceShakers

Millennial Crowd

'Peak Millennial' Has Passed: What Comes Next for Cities and Suburbs?

The largest cohort of Millennials (those born in 1990) recently turned 25, leaving only smaller waves of their generational peers to follow. Are economic and generational trends primed for another, suburban shift?

February 23, 2016 - The Urban Edge

Study: Location Matters for Farmers' Markets

Research conducted in Flint, Michigan, found that changing the location of the local farmers' market had a dramatic effect in how residents shopped.

February 23, 2016 - NPR

Lots of Positive Signs for Pittsburgh in 2016

Good news for Pittsburgh, which is now officially reversing decades of Rust Belt trends.

February 22, 2016 - Pittsburgh Today

Auto Repairs From Potholes Got You Down? You Are Not Alone

A new report from the AAA indicates that American motorists encounter damage from potholes three times a year, with each incident costing an average $300 to repair. Middle and working class drivers feel the pinch disproportionately.

February 20, 2016 - AAA

CN Tower rises above Gardiner Expressway on Toronto Waterfront

From 'Traffic' Planning to 'Transportation' Planning: Toronto's Pivot to the Future

Ken Greenberg, the former director of architecture and urban design for the city of Toronto, sits down to discuss how Toronto needs to transform to ensure a less auto-reliant future that serves a changing demographic of younger urban dwellers.

February 20, 2016 - Metro

Public Meeting Speaker

Socially-Blind Urban Planning

In this era of increased inequality, socially-blind urban planning is morally questionable. Specifically, on the issue of homelessness in America, there are three problems to which planners need to pay particular attention.

February 18, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Program Protects School Diversity in Gentrifying Neighborhoods

The benefits of diverse classroom settings are well established. How then to protect diversity in schools when the surrounding neighborhood is quickly becoming homogenous?

February 18, 2016 - The New York Times

Is Jersey City the New York Metro Area's Next Brooklyn?

A 10-minute commute to lower Manhattan has made this once dingy city into the fastest growing in the Garden State. Yet from an historic perspective, Jersey City was a "shrinking city," not unlike Detroit or Youngstown, until 25 years ago.

February 18, 2016 - The New York Times - Real Estate

Toronto Mid-Rise

Zillow: Suburbs Becoming More Like Cities

According to the real estate website, urban home values are growing faster than those in the suburbs, bucking a longtime trend. This isn't exactly surprising, but it has serious social justice implications.

February 17, 2016 - Puget Sound Business Journal

Urban and Suburban Poverty: The Changing Geography of Disadvantage

After two recessions that limped into slow and uneven economic recoveries, the number of people living below the federal poverty line rose to record levels. The suburbanization of poverty reflects shifting housing and labor markets.

February 16, 2016 - Penn Institute for Urban Research

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.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

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.