Social / Demographics
Designing The Female-Friendly City
As women become a larger segment of the nation's urban population, more planners are recognizing the importance of addressing the concerns of women through urban design.
Louisiana Rebounds, But Nevada Grows Fastest
More than 50,000 people were added to the population of Louisiana in 2007, where growth has been gradual since more than 250,000 fled after Hurricane Katrina. Nevada has regained its long-held title as the nation's fastest growing state.
California Growth Slows As Out-Migration Continues
Far more residents left the Golden State than arrived from other states, but births and foreign in-migration kept the state growing to 37,771,431 residents, with 3/4 of total population increase resulting from births alone.
Will Retiring Baby Boomers Revive The Cohousing Movement?
Cohousing could be the answer for seniors looking for a strong sense of community and support from neighbors as they age.
Saving Lives With Urban Planning
With auto accidents the leading cause of death for teenagers, there's yet another reason to build communities that don't make us dependent on our cars.
Toy Libraries Critical To Childhood Development
Libraries for toys are popping up in developing countries all over the world, and especially in Africa, giving poor children a glimpse of a less troubled childhood. Many say the simple libraries are making big changes in the children's development.
Fair Housing, But For Whom?
The Fair Housing Act was passed by Congress in 1968, but some minorities still struggle to obtain mortgages and home loans. This article from The Next American City asks why.
Housing The Most Vulnerable
Homeless advocates are working in Los Angeles to identify the city's most vulnerable homeless people on Skid Row. With this list the county intends to take a piecemeal approach to housing the city's homeless.
More Fast Food Options Make Residents Fatter
The higher the concentration of fast food restaurants in a city, the fatter its residents, according to a recent study from the University of Alberta.
City Noise Posing Health Threat
Ho Chi Minh City is one of the loudest cities in the world. It's excessive noise is being targeted by the World Health Organization as a serious threat to physical and mental health.
Experts Weigh In On Urbanization
The Freakonomics blog at The New York Times recently put together a panel of experts and asked them to outline the implications of our increasingly urban world.
Land of the Living, Dead
Vice Magazine presents this photo essay on a cemetery in Manila that is heavily populated with both the living and the dead. More than 10,000 families make this graveyard their home.
Workplace Childcare Edges Into Canada
Integrating childcare facilities with the workplace is experiencing a slow but steady start in Canada, where some activists are trying to convince employers of the real economic benefits of bringing the kids to work.
Energizing Canada's Urban 'Magnets'
A new report ranking Canada's cities in terms of their ability to attract skilled workers finds that looming demographic challenges and infrastructure deficits will require urgent attention from higher levels of government.
Social Steps Toward Environmental Sustainability
Toronto's poet laureate argues that environmental sustainability cannot be achieved until people become better neighbors and create better communities.
The Marseille Model
As racial tensions erupt across France, the diverse city of Marseille has remained calm. Many look to it as a model for the future of an increasingly ethnically-mixed France and Europe.
The New Suburban Ghetto
High foreclosure rates are turning Charlotte's new starter home suburbs into bastions of crime and decay.
Bangalore Techies Advocate For Bicycling Amenities
As the city traffic grinds to a crawl due to the rising amount of vehicles on the road, techies in Bangalore have taken a liking to commuting on bicycles.
Is This Liquor Store An Amenity Or A Nuisance?
In a gentrifying neighborhood in Washington D.C., residents are campaigning against a local liquor store they say encourages littering and public drunkenness. But longtime neighborhood residents defend the store, calling it a neighborhood staple.
'Complete Streets' Movement Gaining Momentum
The new slogan for bicyclists and pedestrians across America is gaining attention, as well as weight, from a number of municipalities.
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
