Academic Studies

How Twitter Identifies Public Sentiment

Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow asks the question of whether the data produced by Twitter could be used to understand and plan cities?

October 23, 2014 - Next City

Study Compares Job Access by Transit in 46 U.S. Metropolitan Areas

The Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota has released the Access Across America: Transit 2014 report.

October 9, 2014 - The Transportationist

Leaving California

Migration Trends Don't Support the 'Golden Age' of Cities Narrative

"Who's Moving to the Cities, Who Isn't" suggest that the number of Americans selling the "Golden Age" cities narrative is greater than the number of Americans buying into it.

October 6, 2014 - Center for Community Progress

Study: Domestic Responsibilities Contributing to Biking's Gender Gap

Answering the question of why more women in the United States don't bike, researchers find that infrastructure and design only explains some of the gender gap. Another obstacle for women: a higher share of chores and child-supporting car trips.

October 6, 2014 - The Guardian Bike Blog

San Francisco View from Dolores Park

Report: Cities Segregating by Employment Type—Not Just Income Level

New analysis from Richard Florida and the Martin Prosperity Institute maps segregation by employment type, finding the darker effects of the creative class.

September 29, 2014 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Walking

Study: Positive Psychological Effects for Walking and Biking to Work

A research study finds evidence of the positive psychological effects of walking and biking to work, joining a quickly growing body of academic research supporting multi-modal lifestyle choices.

September 23, 2014 - The Washington Post

Transit Ridership

Study: Reducing Car Dependence Would Save $100 Trillion by 2050

A study examines the impact of a worldwide shift away from automobile infrastructure and finds a staggering amount of potential benefits by the year 2050.

September 18, 2014 - UC Davis

Great Literature and the Value of Thinking While Walking

An article in The New Yorker examines the many benefits granted the life of the mind through the act of walking.

September 5, 2014 - The New Yorker

Plan Maps the Best (and Worst) of Future Road Construction

A new study published in the journal Nature maps out a plan for the development of roads around the world—where roads should be avoided due to their environmental costs, and where they can be built to maximize their potential benefit to humanity.

August 30, 2014 - Science Daily

Complete Street Vancouver

Bike Infrastructure Study: Bigger Investments Return Bigger Payoff

You get what you pay for, goes the old saying, and a new study out of New Zealand makes the case that when it comes investing in bike infrastructure, it's best to invest in quality.

August 18, 2014 - FastCompany Exist

Walkable DC

A Collection of Benefits for 'Walkable, Compact, Diverse' Neighborhoods

A meta-analysis published in Housing Policy Debate finds that extensive studies in recent years support positive claims about walkable neighborhoods.

August 16, 2014 - Better Cities & Towns

Researchers Pull Social Media Data to Track Migration

The limitations (and inaccuracies) of traditional data sources like the U.S. Census are well known, so researchers are looking social media to gather the data necessary to draw conclusions about societal movements.

August 10, 2014 - Forbes

Study Shows Public Health Benefits of Recreational Facilities on Urban Rivers

A new study finds that the cost of building urban river parkways and other recreational facilities is more than offset by the savings in public health costs, such as obesity.

August 7, 2014 - LA.Streetsblog

Study: Bikeshare Replaces Transit Trips in Minneapolis, Washington D.C.

Eric Jaffe dives into evidence that bike share should be considered an essential component of a multi-modal public transit network.

July 30, 2014 - CityLab

Literature Review: On the Importance of Affordable Housing for Families and Communities

A new report by Enterprise Community Partners provides a literature review of research about the effects of stable and affordable housing.

July 22, 2014 - HousingWire

Woman in Bike Lane, Toronto, Canada

Study Finds Benefit in Proximity to Bike Lanes: 45 Minutes of Exercise a Week

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that people who live near bike lanes are more likely to exercise—45 minutes more exercise per week, in fact.

July 21, 2014 - road.cc

Study Evaluates Protected Bike Lanes in the United States

The National Institute for Transportation and Communities released a new study this week called "Lessons from the Green Lanes: Evaluating Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S."

June 6, 2014 - Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium

What's Wrong with the Senate's MAP-21 Reauthorization Bill?

Plenty, according to Tanya Snyder, Streetsblog USA editor, who finds Obama's Grow America plan far superior. Outside of not including a gas tax to fill the Trust Fund gap, she finds the proposal "underfunded and highway centric." She is not alone.

May 15, 2014 - Streetsblog USA

Debate Over How to Measure Ridership Plagues HSR Project

The UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies has issued a report questioning ridership projections on the $43+ billion, 800 mile, voter-approved California High Speed Rail project. Cambridge Systematics defends their numbers.

July 5, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

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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.