Social / Demographics

Bike infrastructure is often viewed with skepticism in minority neighborhoods across the U.S. Jay Walljasper looks at how to extend the benefits of biking to communities that often have fewer options for transportation and exercise.

October 24, 2013 - People for Bikes

Though vehicular deaths have been declining across the U.S., pedestrian and cyclist deaths have risen. While intuition might say our ubiquitous cell phones are to blame, hard data has been scarce. A new study seems to support this conclusion.

October 23, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Are you exceedingly agreeable or exceptionally conscientious? If so, there's a good chance you live in Utah or South Carolina. At least that's according to the findings of a 13-year study into American attitudes conducted by a team of researchers.

October 23, 2013 - Time

Drawn by plentiful jobs and an improving quality of life, millennials helped swell D.C.'s population over the last decade - to the delight of some and dismay of others. In a series of articles, The Post chronicles the city's "millennials moment".

October 22, 2013 - The Washington Post

A new study observes the growing economic and income divide’s impact on America’s neighborhoods. Researchers have found the proportion of Americans living in 'middle class' neighborhoods declining, while 'rich' and 'poor' neighborhoods are growing.

October 20, 2013 - The Huffington Post

Emily Badger is extremely impressed—and for good reason—with the City of Los Angeles' new neighborhood data portal, built in connection with the development a new health and wellness chapter for the city's General Plan.

October 19, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

For the first time, the World Health Organization has identified air pollution, in its entirety, as a cause of cancer, putting it on par with tobacco smoke, asbestos and arsenic. In 2010, 223,000 people died from lung cancer caused by air pollution.

October 18, 2013 - Quartz

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown served two terms as mayor of Oakland. His attempts to bring more downtown housing to the city led him to veto an inclusionary housing bill that would have required developers to supply affordable housing or pay an in-lieu fee.

October 18, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

Apparently there may be a subconscious reason why so many people are attracted to the architecture of Frank Gehry. Using magnetic resonance imaging, researchers have found that our brains are hard-wired to enjoy curvilinear forms.

October 18, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Design

Creating parks that benefit and reflect the needs of the communities that use them is the goal for both planners and landscape architects. Programming is a big part of this. So is design.

October 18, 2013 - Mark Hough

Have you ever noticed that the image of little man (it's usually a man) in pedestrian traffic icons differs depending on which country you're in? Artist Maya Barkai has, and her new project seeks to explore what these guys say about their culture.

October 17, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

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

Add a list of the "Top 100 Best Places to Live" to the seemingly endless series of rankings seeking to quantify what's best and worst about our cities and states. Though the inputs have changed over the last 80 years, our desire to rank hasn't.

October 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Toronto's suburbs have often been dismissed as bland and banal. A closer look, however, reveals a diverse, complex landscape whose rapid changes have profound implications for the metropolis as a whole.

October 16, 2013 - Satellite Magazine

To celebrate its first anniversary, Future Cities has assembled a list of the top 100 city innovators making the biggest difference across a range of industries and specialties.

October 15, 2013 - Future Cities

By "protecting" San Francisco's physical character through down-zoning and NIMBY activism, the city has transformed its social character, as families, young adults, and others flee the city to find cheaper rents. A regional solution is required.

October 14, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Supported by imagery of human urban conduct, Chuck Wolfe argues that walkable is good, but sit-able is better—and that "it’s time for the next big focal point and the next big idea, the 'Sit-able City'."

October 14, 2013 - myurbanist

Micheline Maynard writes about an AASHTO study showing that the share of American families who don't own cars had been declining since 1960 but stopped in 2007 at 8.7%. By 2011, it had budged up to 9.3%. She suggests four reasons for the reversal.

October 12, 2013 - Forbes

An estimated 79 percent of young adults with autism spectrum disorders reside with their parents. But a new residence built to house 16 autistic adults in Sonoma, CA aims to provide a supportive alternative to living at home, and a nationwide model.

October 10, 2013 - The New York Times

Come November, 11 of Colorado's 64 counties, mostly in northeast, will vote to form a new state. Jack Healy explores what's behind the 51st State Initiative, what set it off, as well as other secession movements, mostly by rural areas in the U.S.

October 10, 2013 - The New York Times - U.S.