Social / Demographics

According to Carl H. Nightingale, urban centers have been racially divided since Mesopotamia. However global organizations and demographic changes are making the possibility of increased integration a reality.

June 3, 2012 - Salon.com

How far outside of New York City do you have to travel to find the suburban pleasures of miniature golf, batting cages, or an Applebee's? Surprise, they can all be found in the five boroughs. Jesse McKinley seeks to explain this phenomenon.

June 2, 2012 - The New York Times

Richard Florida reports on why America ranks second to last among first world nations for economic mobility; the Northeast remains the most mobile region of the country.

June 1, 2012 - Atlantic Cities

Joel Kato speaks with Richard Louv, author and founding chairman of The Children and Nature Network, about his new book and how 'nature-deficit disorder' is making us fat, sick, and depressed.

June 1, 2012 - Good

Sabrina Tavernise explores "one of the most important developments in the recent economic history of this country" - the growing divide between metro areas with large numbers of college graduates, and those struggling to keep those they have.

May 31, 2012 - The New York Times

A new report released this week seeks to address whether the "urban health advantage" can be extended to more of the world’s population as cities continue to grow in the coming decades, reports Katherine Harmon.

May 31, 2012 - Scientific American

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the latest front in his war on obesity with an announcement yesterday that the city plans to ban the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts.

May 31, 2012 - The New York Times

The battleground is the Big Sandy coal power plant in eastern Kentucky. The owner, American Electric Power, under pressure from coal proponents, agreed to do a $1 billion retrofit rather than switching to natural gas. Victory was short-lived.

May 31, 2012 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Nate Berg reports on a Kenyan High Court decision that allows the government to proceed with "slum upgrading and road construction projects" in one of the largest informal settlements in the world, by tossing out ownership claims made by residents

May 30, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

In a new book out this week, Michelle Obama explores the lessons she's learned while cultivating the First Garden, which has blossomed into a nationwide anti-obesity campaign, writes Marian Burros.

May 30, 2012 - The New York Times

A new study published in the June issue of Landscape and Urban Planning intends to settle once and for all the debate about whether urban trees provide a deterrent or inducement for crime, writes Eric Jaffe.

May 30, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Shell Oil's seven-year, $4 billion investment has paid off. Awaiting final Interior Dept. permits, two drilling ships, moored in Seattle, are poised to travel to the Arctic to begin drilling test wells in 150 ft of water off northern Alaska in July.

May 28, 2012 - The New York Times - Environment

Tim De Chant compares satellite images of neighborhoods from cities around the world to see if inequality is manifest in the patterns of the landscape. The differences are striking.

May 27, 2012 - Per Square Mile

Ever wonder what effect the pollution you're exposed to in your neighborhood on a daily basis is having on your family's long-term health? The emerging field of geo-medecine is providing answers, reports Christine MacDonald.

May 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Ashley Halsey III probes the end of America's monogamous love affair with the automobile, as a younger generation experiments with alternative transportation lifestyles.

May 23, 2012 - The Washington Post

Christine Green reports on the ways in which transportation and planning professionals in the Washington D.C. area are working alongside public health professionals to tackle the obesity epidemic.

May 22, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

Richard Florida speaks with Alan Ehrenhalt about the subject of his new book, The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City: the reversal of the last century's great shift in people and economic activity to the suburbs

May 22, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Matt Bevilacqua pens a response to a recent opinion piece by author Shalom Auslander in the New York Observer that decries the big city for turning people into "blithering narcissists."

May 22, 2012 - Next American City

To close off the paper's series on Canadian immigration policy, the Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders calls for a dramatic increase in immigrants, arguing that the country's underpopulation harms almost every aspect of national life.

May 21, 2012 - Globe and Mail

Is it a calamity that more Californians are leaving the state than are migrating there from others? USC demographer Dowell Myers takes a closer look at migration data and finds that most native-born Californians remain there.

May 20, 2012 - Zocalo Public Square