Social / Demographics

Growth Not Catching Suburban Houston Town By Surprise

A small suburban Houston town has been planning ahead for growth that's expected to bring its population from just over 700 to nearly 40,000 in the next 15 years.

October 13, 2008 - The Houston Chronicle

New York Families Make One Bedroom Work

The amount of young families squeezing into one-bedroom apartments in New York City is on the rise.

October 11, 2008 - The New York Times

Americans Continue to Migrate to Metropolitan Regions

Professor Richard Morill of the University of Washington maps population growth over the past seven years, which shows a continuing pattern of movement towards large metropolitan regions.

October 10, 2008 - newgeography

Disparities of Going Green

In this article, Deneen Borelli argues that elite environmentalists are blocking access to natural resources that are abundant and in urgent need. As a result, higher costs of stricter energy requirements hit poor black communities the hardest.

October 9, 2008 - The Root

Canada's High-Tech Hub

Ottawa's high-tech sector has burgeoned. More of its residents are employed in fields of engineering and science than in any other Canadian city, making it a high-tech hotbed not unlike those of the U.S.

October 8, 2008 - New Geography

Mr. City Rankings Answers Your Questions

Bert Sperling, who has earned recognition for his lists of "Best Places," responds to questions posed by the readers of the Freakonomics blog.

October 6, 2008 - Freakonomics (Opinion) on The New York Times

How Cities Can Compete - An Illustrated Guide

An artist recently drew an interpretation of a speech by author Richard Florida about the "creative class", competition between cities and the importance of place.

October 5, 2008 - Creative Class Exchange

Urban Explorers Venture into the Abandoned and Unknown

A growing group of people in Britain have taken to breaking into abandoned buildings and facilities. But they're not breaking in to steal things, or to squat. They just want to check the places out, which they call "urban exploring".

October 5, 2008 - The Independent

Preserving Historic Centers and Local Populations

The historic centers and plazas of Latin American cities are often viewed as prime prospects for preservation in the hopes of increasing tourism. Often this preservation has a negative affect on locals, but things are beginning to change.

October 4, 2008 - Land Lines, Lincoln Institute Of Land Policy

The President and Population Growth

Neal Pierce of Citiwire.net returns to the population issue, this time addressing U.S. federal foreign and domestic policies regarding the issue.

October 4, 2008 - Citiwire.net

Reconsidering the Trailer Park

A new study finds that manufactured housing (also known as mobile homes), despite their reputation, offer important advantages for low-income households.

October 3, 2008 - HUD User

Why Affordability Matters

In this article, Erick Villagomez argues that affordable housing, by enabling urban diversity, is the key to a city's economic and social sustainability.

October 3, 2008 - re:place Magazine

Educating the Newly Homeless Youth

As their numbers increase, students from homeless families face a slew of new challenges to their education. Some families, this article reports, don’t even know that they still have a right to an education after losing their home.

October 2, 2008 - NPR

East L.A. Bids for Incorporation

For the fourth time, the unincorporated area of East Los Angeles is making efforts to become a city. This article examines its colorful history and what East L.A. hopes to accomplish in gaining cityhood.

October 2, 2008 - Newsweek

No Washing in Washington

Washington State is telling local governments that they need to ban carwashing in driveways, where runoff goes into storm drains and pollutes groundwater.

September 30, 2008 - USA Today

Twin Cities Spreading

The Minneapolis-St. Paul region is spreading further south, according to a recent study, which shows that projected growth will require more than 50,000 new homes and millions of square feet of retail and office space.

September 29, 2008 - Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune

Cities Embracing Music Festivals

The Austin City Limits music festival, held at the city's major public park, has inspired other cities to invite festivals to their parks, despite the inherent challenges.

September 26, 2008 - Austin American-Statesman

On 'Black Urbanism'

Architects and researchers are looking into the influences of African and African-American culture on urbanism.

September 25, 2008 - Archinect

After Andrew, Homestead Bounces Back

Once nearly obliterated by Hurricane Andrew, Homestead, FL, is now a thriving city with a bigger and more diverse population than ever. This article takes a look at how it got there and how it plans to further reinvent itself.

September 24, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

Trying to Keep Youth in Changing Alaskan Fishing Towns

For coastal fishing communities in Alaska, tighter rules on fishing mean that there are fewer jobs. This is especially evident for younger populations, who find few reasons to stay in town. Researchers are looking at ways to increase retention.

September 24, 2008 - APRN

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.

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.