Children
Cities, the Middle Class, and Children
Joel Kotkin argues that Jane Jacobs's insights are of limited value because cities are no longer useful for middle-class families.
Will Young Families Stay in Cities?
With their reputation for decent schools, lower crime, and affordable housing, suburbs can be an attractive prospect for young families. Can cities retain that demographic? Should they?
Family-Friendly Downtown Living
What helps make a downtown family friendly? Safe places to play, safe streets, good schools and attainable housing, writes Jennifer Hill.
A Case for Putting Kids First
Instead of "Bikers First!" or "Creative Class First!" James Siegel, president of Kaboom!, proposes an alternative for cities: "Kids First!"
Child-Friendly Cities: What My Toddler Taught Me about City Design
In a post from the new Plan.Place blog, the author explores the city with a two-year-old as his guide and offers reflections on viewing the urban landscape anew--from an elevation of 34 inches and with a renewed sense of wonder.
How Cities Criminalize Youth Activities
In an effort to build healthy, active public realms, many cities should considering some of the laws currently on the books that amount to shouting "get off my lawn."
10 Books for Kids to Spark an Urban Imagination
Next City has published a list of ten "great picture books" that explore urban life for the curious and imaginative children in your life.
Study Casts Doubt on Bike Helmet Laws for Children
Do bike helmet laws prevent injuries for children, or do they just discourage children from riding bikes?
Let Our Children Walk
Many Americans believe children should not be free to walk alone, because of crime and traffic. But children constantly driven around by their parents or locked away at home are also subject to significant risks.
How Families Can Benefit the Planning and Design of Cities
An August 19 article in the Washington Post took a tough stance on the value of families to urban settings. Here Bradley Calvert responds by describing how families provide opportunities for planners to rethink cities for the better.
Designing Child-Friendly Cities: More Trouble than it's Worth?
With the Millennial boom in many urban centers, many cities are looking for ways to retain young families rather than losing them to the traditional suburban exodus. One columnist dares to ask: Do cities even need kids?
Weekend Inspiration: Kids Design 'Dream Cars of the Future'
The ideas generated by a global competition that asks children to design the "dream car of the future" are incredibly aspirational in their pragmatism.
One Failure of Suburbia
Are suburbanites less fearful of crime than city-dwellers? Maybe not.
Is Washington A Childless City?
Some media commentary suggests that fast-gentrifying cities such as Washington are unable to attract families. In Washington, the reality is more complex; the city's high-income neighborhoods actually gained children over the past decade.
Is Biking With Your Child an Unnecessary Risk?
Tanya Snyder, Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor and mother of 21-month-old daughter Luna, writes about a conversation she had with Dr. Phyllis Agran, consultant to American Academy of Pediatrics, about the risks she has exposed Luna to when biking.
Cities vs Suburbs: Where do Parents Want to Raise Their Children?
Tanya Snyder wades into the ongoing discussion over whether America's urban revival can be sustained, a question that essentially hinges on whether cities are creating an attractive alternative to the suburbs for raising children.
Play Dismay: Traffic and the Epidemic of Cloistered Children
Sarah Goodyear examines the connection between the way we design our streets and the reluctance of parents to let their children play outdoors.
Friday Funny: 15 Mid-Century Modern Death Traps
With their flexible open spaces, right angles, and expanses of glass, mid-century modern houses are coveted by those homeowners with a keen design sense. And, as Projectophile illustrates, it's best if those homeowners don't have children.
'Stroller Index': A Thermometer for Measuring the Health of Your Neighborhood
According to Mark Funkhouser, former mayor of Kansas City, there may be no better measure of a city's livability than whether parents want to raise children there. He explains why everyone benefits when sidewalks are filled with baby strollers.
What It's Like to be a Child in China's Polluted Cities
Chronic coughs, stuffy noses, and face masks whenever you venture outside. Edward Wong looks at the "hell" that is childhood in China's polluted cities, which is forcing some affluent families to leave, and giving foreigners pause before entering.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
