Social / Demographics

Opinion: Make Safe, Slow Streets the Default
For people with disabilities or limited mobility, a lack of safe infrastructure can cause significant disruptions, delays, and safety hazards.

Opinion: Opening Restrooms to Public Is Good for Business
For many people with chronic illnesses, access to public restrooms can be a critical medical issue. Incentivizing businesses to open their restrooms can fill a critical gap in U.S. cities.

"Imagineering" Versus Planning
The conference of the California chapter of the American Planning Association took place across the street from Disneyland this week. What Disney does for fictional landscapes, planners must do for real landscapes.

How Remote Work is Changing the Playing Field for Workers With Disabilities
The more widespread acceptance of working from home is helping millions of Americans with disabilities get back into the workforce and find better job opportunities.

Placemaking: Building on the ‘Soul’ of a Place
Placemaking is often mistaken for a form of manufacturing. Every place already has a story to tell—placemaking just brings that story forward.

Sacramento Voters to Decide on Using Lawsuits to Reclaim Sidewalks
Measure O may be one of the first ballot measures of its kind to empower residents to take legal action against a city for illegal encampments on city property. The Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 on August 9 to place the ordinance before voters.

The Great American Exodus: A Conservative's Perspective
During his keynote speech on September 11 at the National Conservatism Conference in Miami, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis describes the demographic shifts in America since he became governor in 2019 in what he calls the 'Great American Exodus.'

Promoting Diversity in Transit Leadership
Latinos in Transit works to connect and empower people of color to increase diversity in management roles at transit agencies.

D.C., San Francisco Lead Pandemic Work From Home Trend
Remote work increased threefold during the pandemic, but the numbers vary significantly from city to city and region to region. Almost half of D.C.-area employees, for example, worked from home in 2021, according to American Community Survey data.

Twin Cities Volunteers Help Recent Immigrants Navigate Transit
Showing refugee and immigrant residents how to use public transportation can improve access to essential services, jobs, and education, but a more robust transit system is needed to effectively serve all who need it.

How Tax Assessments in a Supposedly Progressive County Are Reinforcing Racism
Buncombe County in North Carolina was one of the first places in the U.S. to support reparations for Black residents. So why is the county not doing a better job of addressing property tax inequities that directly impact residents of color?

Making Healthy Places
The editors of the book "Making Healthy Places," recently published in a second edition by Island Press, discuss the intersections of public health and planning, including key concepts such as green gentrification, health impact assessments, and AI.

Democrats Call for Stronger Action on Environmental Justice
The Justice40 initiative could make a major difference for communities burdened by pollution, but only if funds are spent on projects that maintain a focus on equity.

Chicago ADUs Concentrated in More Affluent Neighborhoods
An analysis of city-issued permits shows that homeowners in gentrified wards are building accessory dwelling units at much higher rates than those in less well-off communities.

Census Bureau: Remote Work Tripled Between 2019 and 2021
The percentage of Americans working primarily from home tripled to over 27 million people during the pandemic. Will the popularity of remote work last?

The 'New Great Migration' Picks Up Pace
Recent American Community Survey data solidifies an underappreciated pattern of migration in the United States: a reversal of the Great Migration of the 20th century, when an estimate 5 million Black Americans left the South.

Jaywalking Up for Decriminalization in Denver
Like other city and state leaders, Denver’s city council will weigh a proposal to decriminalize jaywalking in an effort to reduce interactions with law enforcement and improve transportation equity.

Unhoused Austin Population Spikes Under Reinstated Camping Ban
The Texas capital is struggling to house its unsheltered residents even as the city commits more resources to building and acquiring more affordable housing units.

The ‘Meanest Cities’ in America
A list dubbed the ‘Dirty Dozen’ shames the cities where unhoused people face the most harassment and least support from authorities.

Measuring the Urban Exodus
New data reveals truths about one of the biggest questions to emerge from the pandemic: Did the public health risks and economic disruptions of 2020 and 2021 spur an urban exodus away from the urban cores of large metropolitan areas?
Pagination
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.
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