Social Cohesion

Children sit on temporary street furniture next to book cart at pop-up reading event at open streets event in Sunset Park in New York City.

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?

May 14, 2024 - The Deseret News

A Sociologist Explains Why We Shouldn't Dismiss the Cul-de-Sac

With their anti-urban inward orientation, cul-de-sacs are representative of the auto-oriented, privatized suburban development model. But one sociologist is out to demonstrate their benefits by showing how cul-de-sacs can develop social cohesion.

October 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Neighborhood Form and Extreme Weather Events

Adapting to extreme weather events resulting from climate change has largely taken the form of infrastructure engineering, e.g building flood doors for subways or reinforcing sand dunes, but what of 'social adaptation' for residents themselves?

January 5, 2013 - The New Yorker

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.