Social / Demographics

#TimesUp

Urban Design Professor Suspended for Harassment and Intimidation

The field planning and urban design has seen relatively little in the way of controversy or consequences since the #MeToo movement gained a foothold in the public consciousness. The status quo ended this week.

August 21, 2018 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Shanghai Shopping

China Population: From Explosion to Implosion

China's one-child policy, which compelled couples to seek abortions or undergo sterilization procedures, ended in October 2015. Yet the country's birth rate hasn't increased, and Communist Party officials are concerned about economic growth.

August 21, 2018 - The New York Times

A Black woman stands in front of a home holding an umbrella and smiling.

Lessons From Cities With Majority Black Homeownership

Locations with majority black homeownership have plenty to teach about closing the country's home ownership gap.

August 19, 2018 - Pew

Agriculture

Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Ban Harmful Pesticide

The ruling puts another stain on former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's legacy as it rebukes his denial of a petition to ban a pesticide that causes neurodevelopmental damage in children. Pruitt had rejected his own scientists' recommendation.

August 14, 2018 - The New York Times

Coachella Crowd

Carrying Capacity, Population Growth, and Urban Planning

Breakthrough Institute co-founder, Ted Nordhaus, explores the etymology of "carrying capacity" from a shipping term to a biological term, but objects to its application to human population. Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute responds.

August 10, 2018 - Aeon

NYC Health and Hospitals

Where Care Meets Confinement

For doctors trying to provide mental health care to people who are incarcerated or detained by the New York City Department of Corrections, city jails pose a challenge — and provide an opportunity.

August 8, 2018 - Urban Omnibus

General P.G.T. Beauregard equestrian statue

What Do You Do With Controversial Monuments and Statues?

Cities around the country are scrambling with ways to accommodate monuments to a past that many consider as oppressive.

August 8, 2018 - National Public Radio

New York City

'Move to Buffalo' Is No Excuse

One common argument against building new housing in high cost cities is that people priced out of those cities can always move somewhere cheaper. This post responds to that claim.

August 5, 2018 - Michael Lewyn

Boyle Heights

Why L.A.'s Boyle Heights Matters to Anti-Gentrification Activists

The historically Latino working class neighborhood is a frequent touchstone in debates over gentrification in Los Angeles. That history goes back decades and colors residents' perceptions.

August 4, 2018 - BOOM: A Journal of California

A Black woman stands in front of a home holding an umbrella and smiling.

How to Shrink the Racial Homeownership Gap

Following reports that Black Americans owned homes in 2017 than in 1983, banker Teri Williams offers recommendations to diversify homeownership across the United States.

July 30, 2018 - Truthout

School Chlidren

A Third Court Win for Children's Climate Change Lawsuit

Strike three for the federal government in trying to dismiss a lawsuit launched by 21 children in Oregon who sued the Obama administration in 2015, claiming the government was endangering their future because of its failure to reduce climate change.

July 30, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Sacramento

The Greening of California's Republicans?

One finding from a new statewide survey, "Californians and the Environment," suggests that the environment is becoming a more bipartisan issue, but that finding is still subject to interpretation. What isn't is the top environmental issue: water.

July 29, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Venice Beach Pedestrian and Bike Path

Study: Scooters Are Really Popular

The narrative of electric scooter users as affluent, entitled, and "tech bro-y" does not reflect the demographics of fans of the new mobility technology, according to a new study. Electric scooters are actually very popular.

July 27, 2018 - Wired

Durham

Evidence of Race's Role in Land Use Decisions

Analysis of a city's zoning and land use decisions over seven decades reveals the role race plays in decision making.

July 27, 2018 - CityLab

Woman Computer

Op-Ed: Pay Equity in Architecture Is Just a Math Problem

Unlike other measures of value, writes Jeanne Gang, pay is a number. And that should make it easy for architecture firms to address any existing wage gaps.

July 26, 2018 - Fast Company

Derelict Commercial Buildings

Optimism and Investment, Not 'Managed Decline," for the Rust Belt

Managed decline assumes that struggling cities will continue to struggle indefinitely. Is there a better way to plot neighborhood stabilization?

July 25, 2018 - Notes from the Underground

Wheelchair Accessible

6 Rules for a More Equitable Transit System

Transit can advance social equity and provide access to opportunity—but only if agencies work for inclusive planning and resource allocation.

July 23, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Young Family

Debt and Rent Burden Keeping Millennials From Homeownership

Research from the Urban Institute finds that economic hurdles, not just lifestyle preferences, are stopping millennials from buying homes.

July 23, 2018 - Curbed

Santa Monica Bikes

Sometime This Summer, California's Population Tops 40 Million

Rather than projecting when the 50 million milestone will be reached, demographic and political indicators predict the state's population is more likely to decline, according to Joe Mathews of Zócalo Public Square.

July 23, 2018 - Zocalo Public Square

Brooklyn

Debating the Qualities of a Changing New York

Is the gritty, diverse New York of yesteryear dying, vanishing, or otherwise ceasing to exist? Depends on who you ask and where you look.

July 23, 2018 - Harper's

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.