Social / Demographics

Prospect Park Bike Lane

The Wisdom and the Hysteria

Opposition to NYC's bike infrastructure improvements was loud, emotional, and ultimately ineffective. But can planners like Janette Sadik-Khan learn from seemingly unhinged opponents? Planetizen Blogger Josh Stephens decided to ask.

May 2, 2014 - Josh Stephens

Young and all people stroll at a community event in New York City.

APA Poll Finds Millennials and Boomers 'Investing in Place'

During the American Planning Association's (APA) 2014 National Planning Conference in Atlanta, the APA announced findings from a national opinion survey that shows a clear interest in place-making among the concerns of Americans of all ages.

May 1, 2014 - American Planning Association

Honolulu—Nation's Most Expensive Metro Area

Using a metric called "regional price parity," the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that urban areas are the most expensive places in the country. Honolulu, Hawaii rates as the most expensive metro area in the country.

April 30, 2014 - Vox

Maintaining Social Mobility Amid Salt Lake City's Changing Demographics

A study released in 2013 ranked Sat Lake City fifth in upward mobility, but critics say that the study reflected an earlier era. Now with changing demographics, the Salt Lake is redoubling efforts to maintain opportunities for all of its citizens.

April 30, 2014 - National Journal

The Texas Miracle: Looking Beyond the Impressive Growth Numbers

Texas is booming—its growth in people and jobs puts it in a league of its own. But another set of growth data pales by comparison: Infrastructure, particularly in the water and transportation needed to accommodate the growth, is woefully lacking.

April 30, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S. News

New Seattle Bus Funding Initiative Addresses City-Suburb Split

It's a pattern seen as recently as two years ago in metro Atlanta: a crucial transit measure wins in the central city but dies in the more populous suburbs. The fix is to craft a city-only transit initiative—just what advocates in Seattle will do.

April 28, 2014 - KUOW

New AARP Study Finds Older Americans Redefining 'Livable'

"People in the United States are getting older. But increasingly, they don't want to live in some old folks' community," writes Sarah Goodyear. As the number of Americans over 65 grows, concepts like aging in place are gaining new pertinence.

April 28, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

The Grotao Community Center

Interdisciplinarity and the Equitable City

On Urban-Think Tank, a design firm working at the intersection of architecture and urbanism to further environmental justice.

April 28, 2014 - Anna Bergren Miller

Curitiba Skyline

Ecocity versus Duplicity

If certain elements of masterplanning are not carefully chosen—and their impacts not carefully explained to final decision makers—then there runs great risk that the cities we design from scratch perform worse than the cities we already have.

April 28, 2014 - Ian Sacs

How the Sharing Economy Brings Strangers Together

Sharing economy companies encourage personal interactions to improve customer satisfaction and trust among users.

April 26, 2014 - Wired.com

Transportation Considerations for Aging Populations

An article on PlannersWeb details the considerations relevant to the needs of people over 65, who are growing more multi-modal and car-independent every year.

April 24, 2014 - PlannersWeb

Complete Street Vancouver

What Millennials Want: A Multi-Modal City

A recent study finds evidence of an overwhelming desire by Millennials to live multi-modal, car-lite lifestyles. They're even prepared to move to find what they want.

April 24, 2014 - Transportation for America

'A Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles' Elevates Public Health Among Planning Priorities

Available for public comment until May 13, Los Angeles is considering a new Health and Wellness Element for its General Plan, called “A Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles.” It’s an ambitious document for a large and diverse city.

April 23, 2014 - KCET

Commute

Which Cities Get to Work Early (or Late)?

According to new analysis by Nate Silver, New York City might be more aptly described as the city that sleeps in.

April 23, 2014 - Five Thirty Eight

Leaving California

Two Kinds of Migration Drive Urban Growth

A new post by Richard Florida distinguished between the two different types of migration—domestic and international—driving the influx of residents in urban centers around the country.

April 22, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Durham North Carolina

Finding Authenticity

The coveted creative class is in search of neighborhoods and communities with lots of character. Why are such places so hard to find? Maybe it is because we are trying too hard.

April 20, 2014 - Mark Hough

Uhaul Trucks

The Urban Reordering: Can the United States Make it Stick?

The trend toward the urban has been documented from every possible angle, but a recent op-ed wonders whether it will be possible for the federal government to make a course correction that ceases the endless subsidies for the suburbs.

April 20, 2014 - New York Times

Study Maps the Spatial Patterns of U.S. Environmental Injustice

A new study by researchers from the University of Minnesota presents a sweeping portrait of trends in exposure to nitrogen dioxide across the United States.

April 18, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Strip Mall

Is it a Suburban Exodus Yet?

A new report finds that suburban areas are losing residents to urban areas like New York City and Washington D.C., even well past the point when people would have traditionally made the choice to return to the suburbs.

April 18, 2014 - New York Times

Is Cleveland Too Negative?

A recent opinion article by Richey Piiparinen of the Center for Population Dynamics at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University says “Cleveland's negativity is a challenge to the city's future.”

April 17, 2014 - Cleveland.com

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.