Social Mobility

View of back of moving van with back door open, loaded with boxes, next to a line of two-story apartment buildings.

Low-Income Residents Less Likely to Move During the Pandemic, Freddie Mac Says

Does low-income residents staying put in large metro areas, relative to higher-income groups, mean that low-income households are missing out on affordable housing options? Freddie Mac researchers think so.

May 9, 2023 - Freddie Mac

Coronavirus

Focusing Housing Policy on Outcomes to Ensure Economic Recovery

Housing policy can ensure a sustainable economic recovery by focusing on five outcomes.

January 20, 2021 - Urban Institute

Coronavirus Streets

Cities Should Take Advantage of Low Car Traffic to Accelerate Transit Construction

Beverly Hills is taking advantage of empty streets by accelerating construction on the Purple Line Subway extension currently cutting its way across Los Angeles. More cities should follow Beverly Hills' lead.

April 2, 2020 - James Brasuell

Seattle Transit

Giving Thanks for Public Transit

When going around the Thanksgiving table today, giving thanks for our friends and family to hear, don't forget to mention the environmental, social, and economic benefits of public transit.

November 28, 2019 - CityLab

Chelsea

Walkable Neighborhoods Set the Stage for Upward Mobility, Study Says

New research out of the University of Virginia makes the case for walkable neighborhoods as incubators of economic mobility.

November 11, 2019 - University of Virginia

Suburban Home

Report: Housing Choice Vouchers Fall Short of Intended Goals in Houston Region

The Housing Choice Voucher program is intended to provide new opportunities for low-income Americans to live in higher-priced neighborhoods, but few recipients of vouchers are taking full advantage of those opportunities.

October 16, 2019 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

National Memorial Day Parade

Where to Find the 'Opportunity Bargains' of Economic and Social Mobility

A few blue-collar cities proximate to Boston offer case studies of the "opportunity bargains" identified in the 2018 Opportunity Atlas published by Harvard and Brown universities an the U.S. Census.

October 15, 2019 - The Boston Globe

Map Kid

Kids and Urbanization

The question of whether there is space for children in rapidly changing cities was under investigation in two recent studies with somewhat contradictory findings.

August 5, 2019 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research: The Urban Edge

Famous Mexico City traffic

Report: Congestion Defeats the Economic Purpose of Cities

Rapid urbanization and over-reliance on the inefficiencies of automobiles has set back the economies of urbanizing locations in the Global South, according to a new report.

May 29, 2019 - Thomson Reuters Foundation

ADA Ramp

How Equitable Infrastructure Investments Benefit Everyone

A call for the country to focus its infrastructure investments to the most vulnerable and neglected populations—and watch the benefits compound.

December 21, 2016 - Stanford Social Innovation Review

Wynton Marsalis

Friday Fun: Wynton Marsalis on the 'Mythic Significance' of Trains

Famed musician Wynton Marsalis recently spoke with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx about the connections between music and transportation.

October 14, 2016 - Facebook Video

Commute

Economic Underperformance Tied to Bad Commutes

The price of long commutes can't just be measured in lost hours. Income segregation, job sprawl, and the resulting negative feedback on families eats into overall economic and social well-being.

June 30, 2015 - Chicago Magazine

Chicago Bus

Seattle Lowers Transit Fares for Low-Income Residents

Joining Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, and Kansas City, Seattle now offers reduced bus fares to low-income residents. Some worry the program entrenches class differences and doesn't truly aid social mobility.

May 14, 2015 - Governing

Kid on Bus

The Key to Escaping Poverty: Transportation

A recent study that connected place to opportunity also includes findings about the factor most likely to influence economic success: access to transportation.

May 11, 2015 - New York Times - The Upshot

Study Finds New Evidence that Place Determines Income Mobility

A new study by Harvard economists provides the best evidence yet that where children grow up matters to the outcomes of their lives.

May 4, 2015 - New York Times

Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge

What's so Miraculous about Minneapolis?

Minneapolis combines prosperity with plentiful affordable housing, an increasing rarity. Geographical factors play a role, but longstanding "fiscal equalization" policies may make the difference.

February 23, 2015 - The Atlantic

Millennial Crowd

Are Millennials Hiding in their Parents' Basements?

Recent studies have found that trends born of the Great Recession have left Millennials stuck in place. A recent article places the current milieu in context by comparing historic rates of mobility.

May 19, 2014 - Bloomberg View

Boston innovation district banner with lofts

Urban America's 'Reconnaissance Mission for Progressive Politics'

Recent commenters have described cities as the locus for a new type of liberalism that benefits a broader swath of demographics. Dissenters wonder whether certain progressive cities, enabled by privilege, are merely drivers of inequality.

May 9, 2014 - New York Times

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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.

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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.