Community
Third Spaces and Public Life
Public parks, libraries, and other social infrastructure foster community connections and stave off loneliness. Why are they increasingly deprioritized in civic life?
How to Participate in Post-Pandemic Urban Resilience
In a summary of a recent talk, Chuck Wolfe provides five tools to help reimagine post-pandemic urban spaces with a focus on livability and co-creation.
Why Social Infrastructure Matters
The pandemic highlighted the importance of parks and public spaces for maintaining both the physical and mental health of urban residents.
In Praise of the Endangered ‘Third Space’
The public spaces where people can spend time among strangers without buying something are crucial to healthy cities—and are quickly disappearing.
Vancouver Day Care Rejection Poses Larger Questions
What does it mean for cities and civic life when neighborhoods are viewed as products geared for individual consumption rather than ever-evolving communities?
The Geekiest Cities in America
Which cities have the most comic book shops, D&D meetups, and LARPing groups?
How Mutual Aid Increases Community Resiliency
Recent devastating weather events highlight the importance of community connection in keeping people safe when infrastructure fails.
Overcoming Social Distance
People are finding new ways to connect digitally across physical spaces during the coronavirus pandemic, and these temporary solutions could have a lasting impact on the way we live.
Survey Finds High Levels of 'Social Capital' in Toronto
The first comprehensive look at social capital in a Canadian city reveals lessons for planners and more about what connects citizens to their communities.
Community-Based Planning: A Case Study
When neighborhoods are allowed to plan and zone without considering the regionwide interest in increasing housing stock, scarcity results.
Student Planners at the University of Nebraska Making a Difference in Lincoln
Graduate students pursuing the Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln have been collaborating this semester with NeighborWorks Lincoln and city and county partners to assess local neighborhoods.
Routes of Change: a One-Man Journey Around the World Without a Motor
Markus Pukonen is circumnavigating the planet without a motor to raise awareness for the global community and to create positive change.
Community Ties in the Era of Isolation
Connectivity may form the bedrock of what we call "resilience" but we're just not all that neighborly these days. Can we become more competitive and lasting by restitching our threadbare community fabric?
Measuring Well-Being in Santa Monica
The beachfront town known for its surfers and celebrities is collecting data that dig deeper than traditional measures of economic prosperity, and the results may be surprising.
Reading Cities Cover to Cover, and Why
Chuck Wolfe underscores the importance of a holistic view of urban places, referencing themes of common experience, aesthetics, feelings of happiness, safety, or security—a basic narrative of the city that often goes beyond first impressions.
Foreclosures Are Making People Sick
Seven years after the housing bust began, millions of Americans are still suffering. And suffering is the operative word—because both foreclosures and economic inequality impact people’s health.
The Death of Neighborhoods
In the same vein that Robert Putnam explored decaying community and social capital in American in his work, Bowling Alone, Brian Bethune discusses how the decay of Western communities shapes our health and political realms.
An Appeal for Churches to Embrace Multi-Modalism
As a result of the dominant development patterns and transportation practices of the 20th century, churches have receded in their role as an anchors for neighborhoods and broader communities.
How Public Surveys Aid the Planning Process
When planners are looking to find out what kind of developments residents like, one way is to ask them to weigh in. Planner Clement Lau shares key lessons learned about conducting and creating surveys as part of the planning process.
Stayin’ Alive: The life and death prospects of community ties
Connected communities aren't just about fun and frolic. When the goin' gets rough, they can make the difference between life and death.
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.
University of Southern California
City of Meridian
University of Calgary
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Market Building Foundation Inc
Detroit Regional Partnership