Students

College Students

Urban Planning Is Often Overlooked as a Career — Why Is That?

Research shows that the majority of young people aren't aware of urban planning, let alone of its potential as a career. This article offers three ways colleges and universities with undergraduate degrees and masters programs in urban planning can do to attract children and young people from diverse backgrounds to the profession.

September 16, 2024 - Stephen Kofi Diko

Pandemic Protest

Pandemic Debate: Civil Liberties vs. Individual Liberties

The American Civil Liberties Union stepped into the nation's masking debate in K-12 schools on the side of parents of students with disabilities. They won the first round in the U.S. Southern District Court of Iowa. Mask mandates are permitted again.

September 20, 2021 - Des Moines Register

Back to School September 2020

Biden Administration Targets Five States that Ban School Mask Mandates

President Biden asked his education secretary to see what could be done about states that prohibit school districts from enacting CDC public health recommendations. Miguel Cardona responded by empowering his Office of Civil Rights to investigate.

September 7, 2021 - The New York Times

Back to School September 2020

Reopening Schools: CDC Reduces Social Distancing Requirement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now supports three-foot distancing in elementary school classrooms provided there is universal masking. For middle and high schools, it depends on the level of coronavirus transmission in the community.

March 29, 2021 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Porter Ranch

Study: Kids Do Worse in Schools Near Traffic

Moving to a school with higher levels of traffic pollution could impact students' academic performance, according to new research.

February 10, 2019 - CityLab

Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills Students Protest Subway Construction

Students from Beverly Hills staged a high-visibility "walkout" to protest L.A. Metro's extension of the Purple Line subway past Beverly Hills High School.

October 14, 2018 - The Los Angeles Times

Eviction

An App to Fight the Eviction Crisis

In "America's Eviction Badlands," universities are developing web apps to help tenants stay in their homes.

August 28, 2018 - CityLab

Sound Transit Link Light Rail

Seattle Mayor Wants to Provide Free Transit for All High School Students

Here's one way to make a kid-friendly city and introduce the joys of public transit at a young age: offer free multi-agency transit passes to high school students.

February 21, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Austin Bus

When Parking Is Cheap, Students Don't Take the Bus

Students and faculty at Austin Community College are less inclined to make use of their discounted transit passes. But, why?

August 2, 2017 - Austin Monitor

Baltimore Students Have to Adjust to Newly Limited Access to Buses

A local politician resorted to holding a bake sale to help fund free bus service for students.

February 6, 2017 - The Baltimore Sun

Teaching Students the Power of GIS

Ninth graders in Soldotna, Alaska, were introduced to geographic information systems (GIS) by a team of volunteers who spent two days illustrating how GIS technology is used in analyzing complex systems.

October 17, 2015 - Peninsula Clarion

Students a Bright Light for the Future of Planning at the APA National Conference

The American Planning Association has invited students to contribute blog posts on their reactions to the APA National Conference. Their thoughts so far have revealed holistic concerns and creative thinking—positive signs for the next generation.

April 20, 2015 - American Planning Association

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Advice for Students: When to Contact Faculty at a Different Institution

With social media and the internet generally making it easy to contact faculty across the globe students are tempted to do so. But when is it appropriate? The short answer is contact them if they request it.

February 10, 2015 - Ann Forsyth

APA Conference

Should I Present at a Conference? And If I Don't Present, Should I Attend?

One question I get asked a lot is if students should present at conference. In fact it is often more of a statement of intent rather than a question about whether it is useful. The answer, however, is not as clear as many students believe.

December 8, 2014 - Ann Forsyth

Long Commutes Pose Additional Risks for Students in New York City

A recent study shows significant variation in commute times for students depending on where they live in New York City. The concern with the findings is that longer commute times have greater impacts on students already facing other obstacles.

June 2, 2014 - Chalkbeat New York

A Tale of Two Markets

Re-examining recent thinking on student debt as major contributor to the lousy housing market.

May 16, 2014 - CityLab

Dartmouth Dorms

Should Students Be Zoned Out?

Although suburbs with college campuses are often eager to zone out students, this sort of exclusionary zoning has its own negative side effects.

April 26, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

A Suburb that Makes Walking to School a Priority

It's no accident that the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood is one of the few school districts in Ohio without buses. Choices made by planners, parents, and school officials have preserved the inner-ring suburb as a “walking school district.”

January 18, 2014 - DC.Streetsblog

Walking to School on the Rise Across America

A new report from the National Center for Safe Routes to School finds that the percentage of students walking to and from school "increased significantly" between 2007 and 2012.

December 6, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

A Dorm for All Students Opens in Chicago

La Casa is a first of its kind dorm building in Chicago, offering affordable housing for up to 100 students attending any of the colleges in the area. It is not only a living arrangement, but also a hub of support services, writes Michael Winerip.

November 7, 2012 - The New York Times

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.

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.