Social / Demographics

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a 'broad decline' in childhood obesity rates among poor children in the United States. Could the country be turning a corner in its battle against childhood obesity?

August 6, 2013 - The New York Times

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman looks at two great American cities, one losing population for decades and now filed for bankruptcy, the other growing rapidly but through sprawl, not smart growth. Yet Atlanta suffers lower social mobility.

August 4, 2013 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

Inequality is alive, well, and growing in the U.S. As President Obama indicated in a speech last week, it's a problem the country must address. First, says Eduardo Porter, will need to articulate the problem to build the consensus needed to solve it.

August 3, 2013 - The New York Times

For its fourth annual list of the best college towns in America, Livability looked beyond the experiences of students to the relationship between colleges and the surrounding community, and to opportunities for the former to transition to the latter.

August 2, 2013 - Livability

Utilizing an online tool that compares images from Google Street View, researchers have built a better understanding of the 'small, often imperceptible reasons' that make some streets and places feel safer than others.

July 31, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

The mass ride through city streets was originally intended to increase the visibility of bicyclists. Though it still attracts participants, as bicycling has been embraced as a mainstream mode, Critical Mass has lost its relevance, says Joe Eskenazi.

July 26, 2013 - SF Weekly

Charles Montgomery discusses the findings of a fascinating study on the responses of residents and visitors to different environments in New York, Berlin and Mumbai. The results hint at the impact of experience and memory on how we perceive a place.

July 26, 2013 - happycity/lab

A new study by researchers at Children's and the University of Pennsylvania concludes that, contrary to popular perception, cities are safer than rural or suburban areas. Higher rates of fatal car accidents outside cities are largely to blame.

July 23, 2013 - philly.com

A new study presents the 'most detailed portrait yet' of the places in America where opportunities for, and obstacles to, upward mobility abound. The Southeast and industrial Midwest are the most difficult places to rise out of poverty.

July 22, 2013 - The New York Times

The number of single households has grown three-fold since the 1950s. More sustainable and more likely to live in cities than married households, singles experience a major problem: metro areas are not planned for them but for nuclear families.

July 18, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Thanks to an executive order issued this week, New York City's government buildings will become another tool in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's multipronged effort to fight obesity.

July 18, 2013 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

In the U.S., were used to comparing our life expectancies with other countries, says Emily Badger, but in many cities one only needs to travel a mile to see decades of difference in average life spans. Stark new maps make these discrepancies clear.

July 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

The students of Gallaudet University, one of the world's premier colleges for the deaf and hard of hearing, helped transform H Street into one of D.C.'s 'hippest neighborhoods'. Could the area's popularity extinguish an enclave of deaf culture?

July 16, 2013 - The Washington Post

A recent book examines the causes and effects of the 'persistent and long standing problem of concentrated poverty in the inner city' and offers recommendations for breaking the cycle. Do we have the commitment to fix the problem?

July 16, 2013 - Rooflines

Art, architecture, and incarceration collide in essays on prison design from the Panopticon to the Golden Gulag.

July 16, 2013 - Places Journal

A new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution makes the first conclusive case for the ability of urban foliage to reduce fine particle pollution, reducing breathing problems and saving lives in the process.

July 15, 2013 - The Baltimore Sun

The fact that New York is loud is unlikely to surprise anyone. But despite decades of noise abatement efforts, the contributors to noise pollution keep multiplying. As scientists recognize the multitude of negative health impacts, what can be done?

July 13, 2013 - The New York Times

At $23,550, the federal poverty line is a blunt instrument used to measure the nuances of affordability. A tool provided by the Economic Policy Institute shows how much more a family needs to make for a modicum of security in cities across the U.S.

July 12, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

The creator of the TED conference has teamed up with Esri to develop an innovative interactive exhibit and online mapping tool to compare 16 global cities along 16 data points, including: population density, open space, and traffic.

July 12, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The federal government's controversial decision to scrap Canada's long-form census in 2011 and replace it with a voluntary household survey is coming home to roost, as cities across the country dismiss its skewed results.

July 11, 2013 - The Ottawa Citizen