Community
Planning for Love, Part 1: The link between urban form and dating
A brief exploration of dating through history highlights how the spaces in which we live and move shape our social lives and relationships.
String Lights are Secular! The Holiday Case for Year-round Placemaking
The holidays make streets and spaces warm, cozy, and welcoming. Why don’t we do that year round?
The Rise of Crowdfunded Real Estate
Enabled by provisions in the JOBS Act of 2012 that allow smaller scale investing, community members are becoming co-owners of local real estate projects.
This City Will Pay You to Meet Your Neighbors
A North Kansas City grant program offers up to $400 for residents to throw neighborhood block parties.
Parks: Essential Community Infrastructure — and a Smart Investment
Even during times of budget constraint, continued investment in parks is critical, as they provide proven benefits to public health, safety, climate resilience, and community well-being — particularly for under-resourced communities.
Report: The State of Public Spaces
A 50-year-old institution takes stock of placemaking in the public realm today.
Public Libraries May Be More Relevant Than Ever
Libraries around the country are expanding their services in an effort to become ‘third spaces’ for the community.
More Than a Game: How Sports Can Uplift Communities After Disaster
In the wake of devastating wildfires, a professional sports team in Los Angeles is stepping up to support affected fans, offering aid, morale-boosting gestures, and a sense of community resilience.
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.
Pagination
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