Segregation

Long Island, New York

Reporters Go Undercover to Identify Housing Discrimination

A three-year investigation of the real estate industry on Long Island reveals rampant discriminatory practices and an industry complicit in the segregation of the communities that comprise the region.

November 20, 2019 - Newsday

Los Angeles in 1939, as determined by the  Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC).

Watch: Segregation's Terrible Legacy in U.S. Cities

"Segregation by Design" is a new film available to the public on Vimeo.

October 9, 2019 - Greater Greater Washington

Ghost Bike

Op-Ed: Street Safety Is a Matter of Race

What do traffic safety and gun violence have in common? A lot, as it turns out. In both cases, hard-hit neighborhoods tend to have suffered from historical disinvestment along racial lines.

September 1, 2019 - Brookings

Atlanta Skyline

The Deliberate Segregation of U.S. Cities, as Evidenced by Freeway Congestion

A thorough and damning indictment of 20th century land use and infrastructure planning, and its contemporary legacy of segregation and congestion.

August 15, 2019 - The New York Times Magazine

Another 'Poor Door' in San Diego

The developers of a large residential development in the Seat Village neighborhood of San Diego is including a large number of apartments affordable to low-income residents, but in a separate building.

July 26, 2019 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Eviction

The Star-Studded Discussion of the National Housing Debate

Residential zoning has long been considered a local issue, but some presidential candidates have started weighing in on zoning and housing. Journalists, pundits, and researchers have plenty of complexity to examine as the debate changes venue.

July 25, 2019 - KCRW

The Village

'Community Preference' Housing Policy Under the Microscope on Either Side of the Country

A new study out of New York City reveals the worsening effects of segregation due to the city's "community preference" affordable housing policy, Seattle sets out to craft a policy of its own.

July 23, 2019 - The New York Times

Boston Housing

Study Shows Segregation Linked to Housing Shortage in Massachusetts

A study from the Boston Foundation shows that besides homelessness and housing costs, Massachusetts housing debt also fuels the racial wealth gap and segregation.

July 17, 2019 - The Boston Globe

Mississippi State Capitol

The Political Segregation of U.S. Cities

Not all urban dwellers are as liberal as conventional wisdom would have us believe.

May 21, 2019 - FiveThirtyEight

Urban Pollution

Zoning’s New Role in Environmental Justice

Long used to promote inequality, zoning and land use are now helping to keep vulnerable communities safer and cleaner.

May 13, 2019 - CityLab

Texas State Capitol building

Texas State Legislators Aim to Reduce Their Own Housing Sway

Current Texas law grants state representatives significant power over whether affordable developments receive federal tax credits. Controversially, several representatives have proposed the reduction of their own authority in that regard.

April 18, 2019 - Next City

Japan Shared Space

Zoning in Japan Versus Zoning in the U.S.

Japan's system of zoning appears highly capable of fostering mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods. How does Japanese zoning differ from our own, and what factors caused those differences?

April 6, 2019 - Market Urbanism

Boston Street

Mapping the Microcosms of Segregation

A new analysis of inequality looks at where people go and how they spend their time.

March 15, 2019 - CityLab

Protesting racism

Planning and the 'Real Estate State'

A new book by Samuel Stein links planning to the causes of a global finance industry that values worldwide real estate at $217 trillion, or 60 percent of the world's assets.

March 7, 2019 - Next City

Redlining Map

A Reading List on Exclusion and Racism in the Legal History in the United States

The legal history of the United States is full of laws designed to exclude and segregate the racialized other. This reading list recommends scholarship that sheds light on that history.

March 6, 2019 - Places Journal

Chicago Bungalows

Mapped: Chicago's Shrinking Middle Class

In 1970, half of the city's census tracts were middle-income. Now, only 16 percent of them remain so. Polarization between the well-off and the poor essentially splits the city in two.

March 3, 2019 - WBEZ 91.5

Abandoned Buildings

Revitalization Should Not Overshadow the Continued Decline in Cities

When gentrification takes center stage, neglected places facing poverty, segregation, and disinvestment are overlooked.

February 28, 2019 - City Observatory

Los Angeles in 1939, as determined by the  Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC).

Housing Discrimination Still a Vast Problem, Survey Finds

In a survey conducted last October, Zillow found that 27 percent of respondents believe they've experienced housing discrimination. National Fair Housing Alliance president Lisa Rice discusses why that is.

February 21, 2019 - Zillow Research

Seattle Neighborhood

Taking Action Against Racial Covenants in Washington Property Deeds

Covenants restricting ownership to white people are not uncommon in old Seattle-area property deeds. Homeowners can now put in requests to legally strike the offensive language.

January 15, 2019 - The Seattle Times

People

Black-White Segregation Decreasing, Slowly

Segregation is decreasing, even in America’s most segregated big cities.

December 26, 2018 - The Brookings Institute

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.

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.