Social / Demographics

Lessons From Decades of Racist Land Policy
President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Dr. George McCarthy traces the legacy of racist policy and offers guidance toward an economic recovery that begins to undo systemic racism.

Groundbreaking Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelter Project Underway in Berkeley
A new Berkeley development, the largest affordable housing development in city history, is slated to house 200 low-income and homeless residents by May 2022.

A New Generation of Community-Led Planning in New York
With a benchmark success in demanding rights for the community during an ongoing rezoning process in Inwood, a neighborhood in Manhattan, a new generation of community-led resistance to top-down planning is coalescing in New York City.

COVID Crisis Triggers Unprecedented Medical Measure in Arizona
At the request of the state's largest health network, Arizona has activated the "Crisis Standards of Care," meaning that if a hospital lacks capacity, it can turn away new patients, likely to be seniors, sending them home. Other states may follow.

CDC Sued to Force Release Racial Demographic Data on Coronavirus Spread
Systemic racism is blamed for the glaring and tragic racial disparities of the COVID-19 illness in the United States.

Marohn: End Single-Family Zoning
A prominent conservative voice in the urban planning debate makes the case for repealing the single-family zoning status quo.

The U.S. in Free Fall
The U.S. has over 2.9 million COVID-19 cases; half of them were diagnosed in the past week and a half. On July 6, cases are increasing in 32 states, holding steady in 14, and decreasing in four.

Survey Says 1 in 5 Americans Have Moved or Know Someone Who Did Since the Pandemic Began
Since the outset of the pandemic, predictions about waves of Americans moving, whether due to necessity or choice, have been rampant. Now, survey results reveal the first indications of how true those predictions turned out to be.

Boston's Deeply Discriminatory Rental Market Ignores Black Renters
A new study documents staggering racial bais in the Boston rental market and compares the racial disparities among prospective tenants seeking housing in 2018 and 2019.

New Opportunities for Big Data in Pandemic-Era Urban Planning
Big data startups and corporations are collecting information that can help planners make informed decisions about how to facilitate social distancing. Will planners center data-driven decisions in other planning processes?

July 4th Weekend a Time for Reckoning
As the U.S. celebrates its 245th birthday, the nation's top infectious disease expert issued a stern warning—the U.S. is on a path to having 100,000 Americans infected daily with Covid-19. In Florida, another expert warns that time is running out.

'Freedom to Move Act' Would Provide Federal Support for Free Transit Programs
New legislation by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) would also target fare enforcement on the nation's transit systems.

Census: 'Race-Ethnic Minorities' Responsible for U.S. Growth in the 2010s
The U.S. Census Bureau dropped a whole bunch of population estimates at the end of June, revealing details about the rapid demographic evolution of the country.

More Baby Boomers and Fewer Young People: More Dependents Among the U.S. Population
The first baby Boomers turned 65 in 2011, and now the population of the United States has a growing number of residents over the age of 65. The country also has fewer people under the age of 14.

COVID-19: What About Those Protests?
While not conclusive, evidence suggests that relatively few transmissions of the coronavirus occurred during the widespread protests that followed the death of George Floyd due to the outdoor settings, being in motion and wearing of masks.

Right-to-Purchase Policy Empowers Tenants In San Francisco, Fights Gentrification
A new policy in San Francisco gives tenants the opportunity to purchase their listed buildings with the help of non-profit corporations, a cause for celebration among anti-gentrification advocates in the Bay Area.

Mapping Eviction Risk
Millions of renters are at risk of eviction as federal support runs out and the economic realities of the pandemic take hold.

A Plan for a 'Just Green Recovery'
The Rhodium Group charts a path toward an economic recovery plan that would also achieve social and environmental benefits.

How to Define the Suburban: HUD Survey Sheds New Light
A new HUD survey could help change the way the federal government defines the "suburban"—a notoriously tricky proposition.

When Discussing Racist Monuments, Don't Forget Urban Freeways
The racist history of planning in Los Angeles is particularly evident in the way Interstate freeways were planned in the region.
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