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.

October 11, 2009 - Wired UK

Mapping Population Density of Nations

These maps are distorted to emphasize areas with higher populations. Check out the warped US and bloated Australia.

October 9, 2009 - Fast Company

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.

October 7, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

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.

October 6, 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

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.

October 6, 2009 - The Oregonian

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.

October 4, 2009 - Governing

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.

October 3, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

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.

October 3, 2009 - Municipal Art Society

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.

October 3, 2009 - The New Jersey Star-Ledger

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.

October 2, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

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.

October 2, 2009 - Miller-McCune

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.

October 1, 2009 - Nate Berg

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.

October 1, 2009 - Planning Commissioners Journal

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.

September 29, 2009 - Urban Omnibus

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.

September 28, 2009 - The Daily Yonder

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.

September 26, 2009 - Der Spiegel

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.

September 25, 2009 - Citiwire.net

Westward, No?

Westward migration in the U.S. seems to be slowing, as jobs dry up overcrowding begins pushing people away.

September 25, 2009 - Miller-McCune

The People Under the Strip

A community of hundreds of people live beneath the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip in flood control tunnels.

September 25, 2009 - The Sun

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.

September 24, 2009 - The Chronicle for Higher Education

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.

Home and Land Services Coordinator

Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.