Social / Demographics

'Scripted Neighborhoods' By A Developer Who Defines Our Time

Do great civic spaces evolve or can they be invented? A look at the impact of "Disney-esque' developer Rick Caruso, the creator of The Grove, a successful retail complex in Los Angeles.

June 4, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Google's 'Street View' Sparks Privacy Questions

"Street View," a new feature of Google Maps, offers panoramic street-level views of major urban areas. Where do you draw the line between public & private?

June 4, 2007 - The New York Times

Conserving Gas By Buying A Third Car

Rather than down-sizing to a more economic vehicle, many commuters are instead choosing to up-size their car ‘fleet’ to include the smaller vehicle, rather than trading-in their gas-guzzler, resulting in an explosion of three-car households.

June 4, 2007 - The New York Times

A Primer on Community Cohesion

The UK releases a summary report on the growing need in the country for greater 'Community Cohesion' -- or how to promote community citizenship based on greater knowledge and contact between different cultures.

June 2, 2007 - IDeA Knowledge

Rezoning For An Aging Suburban Population

The first issue of a new journal on aging features a discussion on planning and rezoning of a suburb in response to the desires of an aging suburban population for a walkable community with mixed use and better transit services.

June 1, 2007 - CCQ Capital Commons Quarterly: The Dynamics of Aging and Our Communities

Iconic Hippie Neighborhood At Gentrification Crossroads

Ex-hippies-turned-homeowners and younger drifters have different expectations from San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

June 1, 2007 - The Los Angeles Times

Boston Tries Its Hand At Artist Housing

A new development in Hyde Park aims to revitalize its business district by attracting artists who are being priced out of Boston's formerly affordable neighborhoods.

May 31, 2007 - The Boston Globe

Vancouver Struggles With Homelessness, Affordable Housing

As Vancouver prepares for the 2010 Winter Olympics, rampant homelessness and a lack of affordable low-income housing threatens to tarnish the city's Olympic gold.

May 31, 2007 - The Tyee

Baltimore A Magnet For Female Homebuyers

With relatively affordable housing stock and an increasingly desirable urban environment, Baltimore has attracted single female homebuyers at twice the national average.

May 30, 2007 - The Baltimore Sun

Social Security For 1 Cent A Day

A bill facing parliament in India would provide a broad social security program for nearly 400 million poor workers in India. Some say the $22 billion program will cost too much to sustain.

May 30, 2007 - BBC

Boomers Flocking To Arlington County's Metro Corridor After Life-Changing Events

Major life changes affecting families, such as the death or divorce of a spouse, is often the stimulus needed for boomers to seek a new life in the vibrant Rosslyn-Ballston corridor along the Metro line in Arlington County, Virginia near D.C.

May 26, 2007 - The Washington Post

Iraqi Refugees Find Few Welcoming Mats

For Iraqi refugees, finding a place to go is a major challenge. Strict policies in many European countries makes finding asylum difficult, but Sweden has proven to be the most welcoming country.

May 25, 2007 - Der Spiegel

Is Chicago Serious About Ending Homelessness?

With little progress having been made on Mayor Richard Daley's campaign pledge to end homelessness by 2012, some are wondering if the promise is just a pipe dream, or worse, a political stunt.

May 25, 2007 - Time Magazine

Hope VI Leads To Revitalization Of Atlanta School

Though not mentioned in this article, a Hope VI-funded revitalization of Atlanta's Carver Homes housing project led to the development of a school which is now being considered as a city-wide model.

May 24, 2007 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Index For Measuring Income Segregation

This academic journal article proposes a new index that that can be used to relate income segregation on the spatial arrangement of neighborhoods, and uses examples from Baltimore, Maryland.

May 24, 2007 - Journal Of Regional Science

Second Cars Proliferating In Finland

n/a

May 24, 2007 - Helsingin Sanomat

Urbanization And Declining Birth Rates In Asia

Birth rates have been steadily declining in many Asian countries -- a trend some are attributing partly to rapid industrialization and urbanization.

May 21, 2007 - International Herald Tribune

Sex and the City, Pregnancy and the Suburb?

If a correlation exists between birth rates and urbanization, does the post World War II baby boom owe its existence to urban sprawl?

May 21, 2007 - Sriram Khé, PhD

Cleveland Struggles To Turn Talk Into Action On Regionalism

Following up on a series from three years ago, the Cleveland Plain Dealer finds that much hopeful talk on the benefits of regional cooperation have yet to translate into actual reform.

May 21, 2007 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Venezuelan Land Redistribution's Success And Violence

A program to redistribute farmland from wealthy landowners to the rural poor in Venezuela has shown success for the new farmers as well as violence on both sides of the struggle.

May 20, 2007 - International Herald Tribune

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.