Social / Demographics
Feature
Nathan Glazer's <em>From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture's Encounter with the American City</em> reveals how this influential social movement's good intentions shaped the look of the 20th century.
<p>An analysis of census data has shown that the shape of the mass migration from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina was largely determined by race.</p>
The Indianapolis Star
Blog post
The number of farmers’ markets has grown dramatically in the US over the past few years. The number increased by seven percent from 2005-2006 on top of the incredible 79 percent increase from 1994 to 2002. People love the festive atmosphere, the ability to meet the people who grow their food and the connection to the earth this experience provides, and the quality and freshness of the produce. Many patrons value local farmers’ markets as a means of lessening their impact on the earth by allowing them to eat more locally.
Yet in some places, farmers are abandoning the markets. They cite a number of reasons, including:
<p>A report on Portland, Oregon, residents' visions for the future of their city has been released. The people say they want the future of their city to be pretty much the same as its present, just slightly better.</p>
The Oregonian
<p>The mayor of a small German city is fighting depopulation by paying young women to move in.</p>
Der Spiegel
<p>While the ailing Fidel Castro remains behind the scenes in Cuba's governing, his brother Raúl has earned popular praise for putting various quality-of-life projects on the fast track.</p>
CNN
<p>Rapid development is expected to bring the population of Albuquerque, New Mexico, over the 1 million mark within 15 years.</p>
The Albuquerque Tribune
<p>A new study shows that property values have spiked around the proposed parkway, threatening to price lower-income residents out of their homes.</p>
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
<p>With constant complaints from the public and consistent reports of drug dealing and prostitution, Seattle's automated public toilets may be on their way out.</p>
Los Angeles Times via San Francisco Chronicle
<p>Forgotten in the ongoing debate about new high-density development is the city's long history of multi-family and mixed-use housing.</p>
The Los Angeles Times
<p>Buffalo is grappling with a blight of abandoned homes - which are directly correlated to crime rates in neighborhoods. It shares much in common with other cities well past their heyday, such as St. Louis, Detroit, and Youngstown.</p>
The New York Times
Feature
With Americans living in ever larger homes, the growth of the self storage industry demonstrates the irony of an American solution to an American problem -- overabundance.
<p>One Florida towns desire to promote works of art in public spaces demonstrates the challenges when government (and taxpayer dollars) get involved with art.</p>
The Orlando Sentinel
<p>An analysis of Census figures shows that the number of long-distance commuters -- those who spend more than 90 minutes on their average commute -- has increased.</p>
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
<p>The rise in childhood obesity and diabetes has been linked to declining numbers of children who walk or bike to school. In addition, new traffic accident data shows that being driven to school is also a serious health threat.</p>
The New York Times
<p>The Los Angeles City Council will consider a moratorium on fast-food restaurants in South L.A., a part of the city with high rates of obesity and below-average access to grocery stores.</p>
The Los Angeles Times
<p>More and more people are ranking New York and London at the top of the list of cool cities. But will London move ahead of front-runner New York to become the coolest city of the 21st Century?</p>
The Guardian
<p>Officials in Russia are hoping to help kick-start a population boom in the rapidly depopulating country by declaring September 12 the "Day of Conception" and awarding prizes to those who give birth exactly nine months later.</p>
Associated Press via Contra Costa Times
<p>The rapid rural-to-urban population shift is felt heavily in many African cities, but especially so in the continent's smaller cities, such as the Botswanan capitol of Gaborone.</p>
The Christian Science Monitor
<p>The growth of Vancouver has far surpassed what planners projected half a century ago. And though some problems have followed, the region's growth hasn't wrought the city's downfall, as many expected.</p>
The Vancouver Sun
