Social / Demographics

With Resources Scarce, Bridge-Builders Cultivate Creativity
Innovation means different things to different people. For Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), a nonprofit that builds footbridges in the developing world, it’s a way to help people thrive despite limited resources.

Black Home Ownership Rates in Seattle's King County Continue to Shrink
King County, Washington was once home to a large number of black homeowners, today the county lags far behind the rest of the country.

Overcoming Density Opponents by Listening to Them
Urbanist Brent Toderian does not begrudge NIMBYs; he values them. In an interview with David Roberts of Vox, he explains that the problem doesn't lie with development opponents as much as it does with the decision-makers.

Mapping the Tools of Discrimination
The Innovations in Government Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation has announced the first winner of the "Map of the Month" contest.

Complete Streets Policies Still Seeking Equity
Though the quick expansion of complete streets policies is worth celebrating, minority and low-income communities are still being left behind, and killed at a disproportionate rate.

Construction, Hospitality Sectors Reporting Workforce Shortages in Texas
Texas has doubled down on the Trump Administration's deportation policies, and business leaders from several sectors in the state are starting to speak up about the policy's effects on the workforce.

Transportation Access, Inactivity, and Obesity Play a Role in Cancer Deaths
As smoking related cancer deaths decline, other unhealthy lifestyle choices are quickly replacing it as a leading causes of cancer.
The Silent Expansion of Fiscal Control Boards in the U.S.
The power and process of boards that take control of a city or territory's finances is becoming more generalized, although they affect local democracy, impose austerity measures without controls, and lack mechanisms to evaluate their efficiency.

Seattle's Cup Runneth Over: Suburb Launches Long-Range Transit Plan to Handle Growth
The city of Everett is expecting a 60 percent jump in population by 2035, most of which will be focused in its city center. All of those people will also need an efficient and useful citywide transit system.

What's the Matter With the Upper East Side?
In a free market, the richest neighborhoods would ordinarily be the most popular. But some well-off urban neighborhoods are actually losing population. Why?

Report Ranks the World's Leading Cities: Now and in the Future
New York is the most important city in the world, but San Francisco is best positioned for the future, according to AT Kearney's "Global Cities" report.

New Jersey Mosque Beats 'Discriminatory' Zoning
A proposed mosque in Bernards Township will move forward, after the DOJ sued the town for using zoning ordinances to undermine Muslims' religious freedom.

'The New Urban Crisis' and the High Line
A PBS NewsHour two-fer: an interview of urbanologist Richard Florida conducted in a walking tour of New York's famed High Line in the gentrifying West Chelsea neighborhood, a fitting backdrop for his new book, "The New Urban Crisis."

Explained: The Many Definitions of Rural
Wisconsin provides a case study in the varied methods for defining rural, and why that matters. "Rural is not simple to define, perhaps because the real question is rural for what purpose?"

New Report Plans Toronto at Kid Scale
Toronto has released draft urban design guidelines that put families with children at the center of the city.
Infill Comes to Atlanta's Single-Family Neighborhoods
The Atlanta metropolitan area is facing an estimated 2.5 million new residents by 2040. Some current residents are surprised at some of the neighborhoods accommodating that growth.

How Long Island Transit Segregates By Class
Long Island's two major transit services, MTA's LIRR trains and the NICE bus system, are less coordinated than they could be. This has a big impact on ease of movement for low-income residents.

Who's To Blame For Gentrification?
Journalist Peter Markowitz has written a provocative, and profoundly disingenuous, analysis of the causes and effects of gentrification in American cities. He sows division at a time that requires collaboration, writes Josh Stephens.

Seattle and Silicon Valley: Joined at the Hip?
Tech thrives on connection, and America's west coast tech hubs are more connected than ever before. But Seattleites aren't in a rush to abandon their city's distinctiveness.

How American Homeownership Fosters Inequality
Matthew Desmond, author of "Evicted," looks at the lives of Americans across the economic spectrum to gain insight into how homeownership, mainly through the mortgage tax deduction, keeps the U.S. unequal.
Pagination
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service