Social / Demographics

Black pumpjack oil derrick with houses in background

Advancing Equity Through Conservation and Restoration

Los Angeles County's Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+) makes the case that to be equitable, 30x30 efforts must include both conservation of additional natural lands and restoration of degraded lands.

March 13, 2023 - World Urban Parks Blog

babyt Boomer Homeowners

The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?

In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.

March 12, 2023 - PlaceShakers and NewsMakers

View down New York City alleyway at nighttime

Red Cities, Blue Cities, and Crime

Homicides rose across the nation in 2020 and 2021 but began to ebb in 2022 and 2023. Have these trends played out equally across all cities, or were they worse in cities controlled by one political party or the other?

March 12, 2023 - Michael Lewyn

UN and New York City, Climate Week NYC 2020 is kicked off with a "March For Climate Justice NYC" on September 20, 2020 in New York City.

Environmental Justice Advocates Criticize Federal Assessment Tool

A tool designed to guide federal grant distribution may not prioritize the highest-need communities, while conflicting grant guidelines create challenges for local agencies.

March 9, 2023 - Route Fifty

Concrete wall with crack running down the middle painted red on one side and blue on the other

Election 2024: Red vs. Blue States

In a speech on Sunday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, likely Republican presidential contender Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said that the pandemic was “a great test in governing philosophies."

March 8, 2023 - The Washington Post

View down a Los Angeles street with cars and tall palm trees on both sides

Study: L.A.’s Wealthier Residents ‘Export’ Air Pollution to Poorer Neighborhoods

Residents of Los Angeles who drive less are exposed to higher rates of air pollution due to policies that have encouraged commuting through low-income neighborhoods.

March 7, 2023 - USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Austin Scores Highest on Pandemic Recovery; Bay Area and Baltimore Lowest

The Bay Area Council and CBRE created an economic tracker to measure how well the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas have recovered from the public health restrictions imposed on their regions at the onset of the pandemic.

March 5, 2023 - Bay City News Foundation

A speedometer showing Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers

Generation Z Is Driving Less, But History Indicates It Won’t Last

Think Generation Z will usher in the long-awaited post-car future of transit advocates’ dreams? Think again (about the example set by the Millennials).

March 2, 2023 - Bloomberg CityLab

Black and white photo of Pike Place Market entrance in Seattle with "PUBLIC MARKET" and "Meet the producer" signs

A Chatbot Talks Regeneration and Recovery for Seattle

In his recent analysis of trends to watch for 2023, Managing Editor James Brasuell noted how ChatGPT might replace all the writers of Planetizen, and more. Chuck Wolfe decided to take literally Brasuell's “don't let it sneak up on you” admonition.

February 28, 2023 - Charles R. Wolfe

Elderly woman with short gray hair wearing blue surgical mask looks out window with wooden frame, a potted purple orchid on the windowsill

Study: Many American Seniors Can’t Afford to ‘Age in Place’

A lack of affordable housing and access to services and amenities make it difficult for many seniors to remain in their long-term homes or communities.

February 28, 2023 - Harvard Magazine

Resilience Matters: Collective Action For Healthier Communities

The Island Press Urban Resilience Project (URP) has published a new, free "Resilience Matters" e-book that contains fascinating articles, op-eds, and interviews that provide practical guidance for collective action to build a fairer, greener future.

February 27, 2023 - Resilience Matters: Collective Action for Healthier Communities

Aerial view of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin at sunset

Milwaukee Sets Sights on a Million Residents

Zoning reform will be key to the Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s vision to almost double the city’s population.

February 27, 2023 - Wisconsin Public Radio

Washington Square Park, New York City

Reshaping Cities for Present-Day Populations

The demographic changes of the last few years give city planners and urban designers an opportunity to reimagine how public spaces can most effectively promote public health, wellbeing, and equity.

February 23, 2023 - Douglas C. Smith

MacDougal Street

Jane Jacobs and Zoning

Does the work of Jane Jacobs support restrictive zoning?

February 21, 2023 - Michael Lewyn

Children

Study: Extracurricular Activities Benefit Children’s Mental Health

A new study indicates that improving access to extracurricular activities (EA) may help address the growing mental health needs of children and caregivers.

February 20, 2023 - Academic Pediatrics

Close-up of wood-frame houses under construction with mountains in the background against sunset sky

Utah Governor: Californians, Stay Home

Gov. Spencer Cox urged Californians considering the move to Utah to stay put, highlighting the state’s rapid growth and the strain on resources like water and housing.

February 16, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

An aerial view of Los Angeles at dawn, with Westlake and MacArthur Park in the foreground and Downtown Los Angeles in the background.

How L.A. County is Ensuring Data-Informed, Equity-Driven Implementation of the American Rescue Plan

Los Angeles County has developed a series of tools to democratize data on communities most impacted by COVID-19 and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act programs and services developed to serve them.

February 13, 2023 - County of Los Angeles

Overhead view of people at a large table working with charts and graphs on laptops and on paper

The Importance of Good Data Visualization

When done right, data visualization effectively translates complex data into easily understood visuals in the form of graphs, charts, maps, plots, animations, and more.

February 13, 2023 - The New Stack

Cleveland

Cleveland: The Nation’s Most Equitably Walkable City

A new study assesses which cities have the broadest access to walkable neighborhoods.

February 8, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Aerial view of coastline with homes in Encinitas, California

State Estimates Show Third Year of Population Loss for California

Demographic data from the California Department of Finance released last month shows a third consecutive year of population loss, mirroring Census data. Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties saw the highest numeric losses.

February 5, 2023 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.