Social / Demographics
Citizen-Activated Adaptive Urban Spaces
The availability of information in the city is creating a new opportunity for adaptive and interactive urban spaces. As Carlo Ratti of MIT's SENSEable City Lab discusses, the key is people.
Mapping Population Density of Nations
These maps are distorted to emphasize areas with higher populations. Check out the warped US and bloated Australia.
A City Burns its Troubles Away
Every year, residents in Santa Fe, New Mexico send a huge human effigy into flames. Burning with it are physical representations of the bad memories and experiences of the past year.
Not So Fast- Seniors Moving to Cities
A report by the MetLife Mature Market Institute says that seniors are moving away from suburbs and to more walkable, urban areas.
Boomers Get Rural
A new report from the USDA says that baby boomers will be flooding out of metropolitan areas and into the countryside over the next ten years.
Ban on Biking and Walking to School May Be Lifted
A 15-year-old ban on biking and walking to school in Saratoga Springs, New York may be lifted, after one bike-friendly parent challenged the policy.
The Rural Recession
A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.
Kids Tackling Planning Issues
The Municipal Art Society of New York talks with four young people who are actively involved in addressing the planning challenges facing their communities.
Small Town History on a Cell Phone
A two-minute call on a cell phone is now a window into local history in Orange, New Jersey, where a new project has created an audio tour/history lesson out of more than 30 recordings of local residents.
Top 10 Cities for Today's Youth
The Wall St. Journal assembled a panel to determine which cities will be the next 'youth-magnets,' using factors like economic diversity and lifestyle to make their selections. Number one? A tie between Washington, D.C. and Seattle.
Fastest Growing Areas in U.S. Also the Whitest
As we learned in The Big Sort, America is sorting itself into enclaves of people with similar beliefs. In Whitopia, Rich Benjamin shows that the fastest growing areas are also the most white.
Creating Neighborhood Capital from Strip Malls
Strip malls are in virtually every American city, but they're rarely an important part of those cities. Ava Bromberg says they can be. Her idea is to turn strip malls into community-owned hubs that generate capital within their neighborhood and keep it there.
How to Speak Senior Citizen
Elaine Cogan gives these tips for talking about planning issues with senior citizens and getting the most out of them throughout the planning process.
Social Networking for Skyscrapers
Mary Newsom recently argued that social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter don't create a "third place". But what if the network is hyperlocal, like within a skyscraper? STACKD is a new site that does just that.
Rural Suicides Far Exceed Urban Suicides
Suicide rates are on the rise in rural areas, according to a new study. Compared to urban areas, rural men are committing suicide 54% more often.
Urban Sports Creating New Life in Civic Spaces
Urban sports like bike polo and urban golf are taking off in Germany, and are beginning to bring life back to formerly uninhabited concrete spaces.
Is a Digital Neighbor as Good as the Real Thing?
Can Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace replace the neighborhood bar, cafe, or hangout? Mary Newsom says no.
Westward, No?
Westward migration in the U.S. seems to be slowing, as jobs dry up overcrowding begins pushing people away.
The People Under the Strip
A community of hundreds of people live beneath the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip in flood control tunnels.
An Inside Look at the Decline of America's Rural Communities
Rural areas have been losing population for decades, creating what some are calling a "rural brain drain". According to this article, the hollowing out of these rural areas will have negative impacts beyond the borders of those small towns.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
