Social / Demographics

While we're sure the ever-popular "Best City" lists serve some nebulous purpose, a new metric seeks to identify and evaluate America's metro areas by a more comprehensive understanding of how well they're achieving "complete communities."

October 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

As Denver B-Cycle, the country's first large-scale municipal bike-sharing program, seeks to expand with 27 new stations, one city councilman is objecting to the plans with concerns that the system is skirting poor and minority neighborhoods.

October 2, 2012 - The Denver Post

Smoking is physically harmful to smokers and non-smokers alike, but what about its impact on public space? Nate Berg reports on a new paper in Urban Studies based on interviews in Singapore -- where smoking has been regulated since 1970.

October 2, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Some cities are fighting back against the mortgage crisis, using eminent domain to seize and write down troubled mortgages, keeping homeowners in their homes and keeping local economies afloat, writes Peter S. Goodman.

October 2, 2012 - Huffington Post

Wendell Cox delves into the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau that have prompted some to herald a return to America's downtowns, and argues that reports of such population growth are vastly overblown.

October 2, 2012 - New Geography

Elisabeth Rosenthal reflects on the deterrent to cycling, and the use of bike-sharing systems, posed by mandatory bike helmet laws. Does the rare serious injury prevented by a helmet outweigh discouraging cycling's wider health benefits?

October 1, 2012 - The New York Times

For the second year running, Businessweek has conducted an evaluation of America's 100 largest cities to determine their list of the top 50. Alex Konrad discusses the results.

September 29, 2012 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Forbes may think differently, but Washington D.C.'s residents know very well that their city isn't cool, writes Rebecca Greenfield. She discusses the structural reasons why D.C. is not, and never will be, hip.

September 29, 2012 - The Atlantic Wire

Nate Berg looks at new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau that puts hard numbers behind what people across the country have observed: America's downtowns are booming again.

September 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) hasn't exactly unleashed a flurry of new sustainable, dense development. But, as the economy strengthens, innovative projects in Oakland, Syracuse, and Milwaukee are beginning to take flight.

September 28, 2012 - Urban Land Magazine

Do you know the effect your spiffy new development will have on the neighbors' health? Aaron Wernham and the Kresge Foundation think you could use a health impact assessment.

September 27, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

Despite years of consistent decline, and a variety of efforts aimed at improving safety, traffic fatalities spiked by 23 percent last year in New York City. Matt Flegenheimer examines what may be causing the increase.

September 26, 2012 - The New York Times

Montreal architect Vedanta Balbahadur writes about his hometown's fall from its status as Canada's premier city through the lenses of baseball and the built environment.

September 26, 2012 - Satellite Magazine

Last Friday was annual PARK(ing) Day, and for Howard Blackson, who participated in a pilot park(let) project in San Diego, the reasons to enable context appropriate civic space was underscored again.

September 25, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Squatting has been a rite of passage for British youth since at least the 1960s, but a new law criminalizing the practice, amid a rise in squatters due to the economic crisis, is "upending the rebellious and politically charged British subculture."

September 24, 2012 - The Washington Post

With researching suggesting international immigration can kick-start local economies, cities across America are contemplating efforts at attracting, and retaining, immigrants. But are immigrants the silver bullet to revive declining cities?

September 24, 2012 - Bloomberg

Decaying and disused buildings litter many American inner-city neighborhoods. In Houston, one imaginative project turns potential into pride and empowerment by creating unique, new uses for old homes.

September 23, 2012 - Switchboard

Although the findings of a vast, decades-long study into the effectiveness of efforts to decrease the segregation of poor families did not turn up the results social scientists had hoped for, those efforts were successful in unexpected ways.

September 22, 2012 - The New York Times

In the latest entry in his "Boulevards" series, Christopher Hawthorne reports on the planned light rail line along Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles, and how it has caused a rift for some residents who are feeling left out of the revitalization process.

September 22, 2012 - The Los Angeles Times

A first-of-its-kind study measures the unique health problems of individual cities in the European Union, revealing interesting, and sometimes mysterious, results.

September 22, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities