Social / Demographics

Making Space for Art in the 'Science of Cities'

An article by Adam Frank argues that a discussion of quality of life in cities, as an emerging of "science of cities" claims to improve, must include a discussion of public art.

July 30, 2014 - NPR

New York Skyline Fisheye

Survey Says: What Makes a City Great?

The results of a survey commissioned by Sasaki Associates reveal key insights into what makes cities great for those who love them, as well as where planners and urban designers should focus their efforts in improving the urban experience.

July 29, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

Explaining the Connections between Physical Mobility and Economic Mobility

A new post by Danielle Kurtzleben explains the complicated mix of infrastructure considerations that must be in place for transportation to benefit economic mobility.

July 28, 2014 - Vox

'El Barrio Tours' Tells of Gentrification in Working Class Neighborhoods

Documentary filmmaker Alex Padilla tackled gentrification in East Harlem with the film, El Barrio Tours. Now Padilla is touring cities to tell the story of gentrification's impact on working class immigrant neighborhoods.

July 28, 2014 - Next City

High Line Crowds

Making Planning 'Just Green Enough' to Balance Environmental Justice and Gentrification

A growing body of research examines the question of how to make places more attractive and healthy, without then making them more expensive.

July 24, 2014 - Next City

Anti homeless bench

Cities Criminalizing Homelessness Amid Urban Boom

More cities—many of them "revitalizing" their urban cores at the same time as a national recession and a real estate market beset by diminishing supplies of low-income housing—are criminalizing homelessness.

July 23, 2014 - PBS NewsHour - The Rundown

Where Smaller is More Marketable

Unlike the message of an annoying commercial, bigger may not be better in the real estate market. Residential developers in Washington D.C. have found that millennials like small studios, or micro-units, provided the spaces are well designed.

July 23, 2014 - The Washington Post

Seattle Skyline from Kerry Park

Recession No Match for Gentrification in Many Cities

Rachel Dovey details a new report that finds boom-era trends of gentrification persisted in urban areas throughout the effects of the post-2007 recession.

July 21, 2014 - Next City

Worldwide Urbanization Reflected by Growth of Mega-Cities

A new report by the United Nations projects the growth of the world's urban population, which is expected to surpass six billion by 2045.

July 21, 2014 - Quartz

Seattle Voters To Be Put To Transit Test in November

Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.

July 20, 2014 - The Seattle Times

Little Free Winnipeg Libraries

What are all the elements that make people more likely to successfully come together? It's complicated, but here are a few.

July 18, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Bike The Drive

More People are Riding Bikes; After That It Gets Confusing

A pair of articles explores the implications of data released in May by the U.S. Census about the increasing use of bikes among commuters. The articles, however, don't agree about the implications of the data for low income and minority citizens.

July 18, 2014 - Vox

North Dakota 'Man Rush' Compared to Historic Population Booms

Jens Manual Krogstad provides historical context for the migration to oil boom jobs in North Dakota by comparing the current "man rush" to the silver rush in late 1800s Colorado and the Alaskan oil boom of the 1970s.

July 17, 2014 - Pew Research Center

San Francisco Coit Tower Construction

Study Quantifies the Large Economic Cost of NIMBY Politics

A new study by economists Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti claims to have found the cost, in economic growth, incurred by the high price of housing in expensive coastal cities. Hint: the word trillion is involved.

July 16, 2014 - Vox

The Perils of Whimsy: Bookshelf Reveals Community Dysfunction

A small town in Kansas exposed itself to ridicule not so long ago with their crack-down on a Little Free Library. Their problem goes a good bit deeper than clunky enforcement.

July 14, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Gentrification

Study Finds Evidence of 'Nationwide Gentrification'

A new study finds that economic inequality is a national problem, evidenced by the access of college educated residents to quality of life indicators in cities all over the country—not just San Francisco, New York, and Boston.

July 14, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Parking Sign

Portland Shows How to Create More Downtown Parking (Without Building Any)

Dynamic pricing is not the only route to increasing parking availability. Better management of disabled placards at metered spaces may be an easier and more effective strategy. Implemented on July 1, Portland's policy is showing dramatic results.

July 14, 2014 - AP (via KATU.Com)

Bakken Oil Boom Straining Rural Communities

Joe Eaton reports from Bainville, Montana, which is suffering the effects of the Bakken oil boom, although the majority of the Bakken wells, and its corresponding tax revenue, are in North Dakota.

July 12, 2014 - National Geographic

Sacramento

Sacramento's Tale of Two Downtowns

Northern California is no stranger to debates about redevelopment, displacement, and the proper mix of affordable and market-rate housing—but this time the setting for these stories is in the state capital of Sacramento.

July 11, 2014 - Next City

Asians and Latinos: Contrasts in Population Growth

The immigration trends in the United States are both changing quickly and a long time in the making, according to new research by the Pew Research Center

July 11, 2014 - Five Thirty Eight

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.