Social / Demographics

Shaw, D.C.

Containing the Impacts of Gentrification for Long-Time Homeowners

Given the unprecedented nature of the gentrification occurring in American cities, many cities have had to respond swiftly to the pressures of changing neighborhoods. A new article surveys cities using property tax relief to support urban homeowners.

March 5, 2014 - New York Times

Edinburgh

Why Urban History Matters

Chuck Wolfe's recent reconnaissance of Edinburgh provides a foil for his rallying cry: Going forward, let’s not discount the influence of history’s recurring themes in how we redevelop the urban realm.

March 4, 2014 - myurbanist

A New Coalition for Urban Place

Who benefits the most from synergistic growth, where the parts of the built environment are brought together to create a strong community and sense of place?

March 4, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

Atlanta’s Food Desert Problem

An estimated 500,000 residents of the Atlanta area live without access to grocery stores. A recent article asks the obvious question: “Why can we build multimillion-dollar highway systems and multibillion-dollar stadiums but not more grocery stores?"

March 3, 2014 - Atlanta Magazine

A Guide to Organizations for Change—San Francisco Edition

The conversation about San Francisco has been dominated recently by housing, so maybe you forgot that San Francisco has a tradition of leading on social causes. Josh Wilson recently created a list for navigating the city like a radical.

March 3, 2014 - The Bold Italic

From Google Buses to Google Youth Muni Passes

Turns out all those protests against the ubiquitous Google (and other tech) luxury buses that often crowd out S.F. Muni (public) buses have contributed to a show of good will to public transit in the form of a $6.8 million gift to fund youth passes.

March 1, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Movie Marquee

Ranking the Top Movies About Urbanism

The Oscars are this weekend, so its an appropriate time to turn to movie magic as a powerful force for how American’s perceive environments—from rural to urban and everything between.

February 28, 2014 - Next City

Texas State Capitol building

America’s Fastest-Growing Cities

Forbes recently released its annual list of America’s Fastest-Growing Cities. The list considers both population and economy.

February 27, 2014 - Forbes

Seattle's Growth Patterns Buck Century-Long Trend

According to Census data, the city of Seattle's population is growing faster than its King County suburbs—for the first time since 1910.

February 26, 2014 - Seattle Times

Philadelphia’s Middle Class—Down But Not Out

A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts tracks the demographics of Philadelphia between 1970 and 2010. Overall, middle class residents left the city during those decades, but there are reasons for optimism regarding the prosperity of the city.

February 26, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer - Philly.com

Challenging 'Mountain Urbanism, Mountain Modernism'

In a recent editorial, Joe Andrade questions the assumptions underlying the Salt Lake City region's approach to population growth.

February 25, 2014 - The Deseret News

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

Millennials Moving to Cities; Older Generations Staying Put

Millennials are moving to cities around the country in era-defining numbers but so far, Generation X and Baby Boomers are mostly staying put. Is the millennial in-migration to cities a flash in the pan?

February 25, 2014 - Rooflines

Mapping Life Expectancies in the World’s Cities

“While average life expectancy for many cities far outstrips the non-urban regions of their country, there are others such as Johannesburg where it comes in way below,” according to an interactive feature on the Guardian’s Data Blog.

February 25, 2014 - The Guardian Date Blog

How Public Space Enables, or Prohibits, Protest

With the provocative title “A Dictator’s Guide to Urban Design,” a recent article in The Atlantic examines the revolutionary capacity of public squares like Ukraine’s Independence Square.

February 25, 2014 - The Atlantic

Google maps screengrab of the United States

Mapping GDP—Urban Areas and Everything Else

An intrepid Reddit user has produced a striking visualization for the economic importance of the country’s urban areas by splitting the nation’s GDP into two—the top 50 percent and the lower 50 percent.

February 24, 2014 - The Washington Post - The Fix

Los Angeles Reinvests in 'Family Solution' to Homelessness

Los Angeles County has allocated an additional $10.2 million to expand the Family Solutions Centers program, which supports some of the estimated 7,391 homeless families living in the county.

February 24, 2014 - Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

Homeless sleeping

The Inequality Problem of America’s Cities

A new report by Brookings confirms that “big cities remain more unequal places by income than the rest of the country.” Where is the gap between wealth and poverty the greatest?

February 24, 2014 - Brookings

Downtown Flint Michigan along Saginaw Street

More Debate About 'Saving' Rust Belt Cities

The populations of at least a dozen major cities declined by more than ten percent between 2000 and 2010, including Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit. How best to regenerate those “legacy cities” is a matter of no small amount of debate.

February 22, 2014 - Cato @ Liberty

California Bill Proposes Carbon Tax to Replace Cap-and-Trade

Decisions, Decisions. What's the best way to add transportation fuels to California's cap-and-trade program? Charge a carbon tax at the pump, as Senate leader Steinberg proposes, or charge refineries in the same manner as applied to other industries?

February 22, 2014 - Capital Radio News

A City that Takes its Planning Seriously (or Not)

Portland is a city that's often better known by the representations of it—like the television show Portlandia—than as an actual working city.

February 21, 2014 - Jess Zimbabwe

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.