Social / Demographics

From education to housing to health, Chicago's Gary Comer, billionaire founder of Lands' End, invested millions into the struggling South Side neighborhood of Pocket Town in a mission to transform it into a beacon of hope for the community.

January 23, 2013 - Chicago Magazine

The old cool: Sealing yourself inside suburban air conditioning. The new cool? According to Howard Blackson, it's the joy to be found outside, connecting with one another and the world we share.

January 22, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Matt Bevilacqua found much to cheer in the 'renewed focus on urbancentric topics' that President Obama delivered in his second inaugural address. Climate change, immigration, and inequality were among the speech's primary topics.

January 22, 2013 - Next City

With average rents $2,800 more than the rest of the country, and the average home costing $1.46 million, it's increasingly difficult for the non-wealthy to live in Manhattan. Amy O'Leary goes in search of the borough's vanishing middle class.

January 21, 2013 - The New York Times

Renting out luxury homes has become an attractive choice in today's housing market. High-end renters get many of the benefits of owning a home, with greater built-in flexibility, and without the financial risk.

January 19, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Susan Elkin points to alarmingly low statistics on the number of children who walk to school, especially when compared with historic rates. She lays out some “blindingly obvious” and “child-centered” reasons why this trend needs to be reversed.

January 19, 2013 - The Independent

In a short film for The New York Times, Jason DaSilva documents how New York's famed public transit system, which serves millions of riders every day, fails the city's disabled residents.

January 18, 2013 - The New York Times

What do three-pack-a-day smoking habits, triple-decker cheese burgers and sprawl have in common? They all offer immediate gratification and deferred consequences. But now the bill's coming due. Ben Brown lays out some ways to face the music.

January 17, 2013 - PlaceShakers

The "great global project" of this century, says Patrick Doherty, is how to "accommodate 3 billion additional middle-class aspirants in two short decades." In a bold essay, he outlines how the U.S. must lead the global transition to sustainability.

January 15, 2013 - Foreign Policy

When the Kumbh Mela, a 48-day Hindu festival held every four years, starts this week in northern India it will be the largest gathering in history. Researchers are using the opportunity to study the formation and inner-workings of a pop-up mega city.

January 15, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Across the United States, bike-share systems have struggled to provide access to those with fewer transportation options. Darren Buck looks at what some cities are doing to expand their reach.

January 14, 2013 - Greater Greater Washington

A suburban Detroit developer is promoting an alternative vision for Detroit's Belle Isle: transforming the island park into a commonwealth free market utopia for the elite.

January 14, 2013 - The Detroit News

Social scientists have a theory that a neighborhood's character shapes its economic future more than income levels and foreclosure rates. A tragedy to the community of Chatham on Chicago's South Side has tested this "neighborhood effect."

January 12, 2013 - The New York Times

Broadening our definition of parks to recognize their role in preventative health care and promotion will only expand our awareness on how important they are to good neighbourhood design.

January 11, 2013 - Steven Snell

For decades, researchers have hunted for an explanation for why big cities have been more prone to violent crime than small ones. A new hypothesis may offer a surprising answer, and prove that big cities aren't inherently much more dangerous.

January 11, 2013 - Mother Jones

Can dynamic digital globes compete with flatter technologies like today’s iPad? Mark Vanhoenacker explores some of the possibilities these modern spheres may bring to places of work, study and play.

January 11, 2013 - New York Times

Hampton Court, a luxury apartment bldg in Manhattan, had two challenges to overcome in attracting tenants - being located in East Harlem and its distance from the Lexington Ave. subway line. An 'amenity' - a shuttle to the subway - proved the answer.

January 9, 2013 - The New York Times - Real Estate

A new app from the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation culls publicly available information to give you a graphically pleasing "cultural and demographic snapshot of your surroundings," writes Ariel Schwartz.

January 8, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

In her news article and blog, Rebecca Smith examines the reduction in electricity consumption in the U.S. - the causes and how utilities have reacted to remain profitable.

January 7, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Adapting to extreme weather events resulting from climate change has largely taken the form of infrastructure engineering, e.g building flood doors for subways or reinforcing sand dunes, but what of 'social adaptation' for residents themselves?

January 5, 2013 - The New Yorker