Social / Demographics

Racial Equity and Urban Climate Action
Equity is hardly mentioned in most urban climate action plans, but a few cities, like Austin, Texas, are leading the charge to center in equity in both the process and content of climate planning.

The Shifting Geography of Protest
Compared to 1992 in Los Angeles, the protest and civil unrest of 2020 have relocated to neighborhoods farther north, and further entrenched by white wealth.

Black Urbanism at Work
Black Americans have been working hard to build a better world.

An Institutional Racism Syllabus
JSTOR Daily has compiled a syllabus for reading on the causes and consequences of institutional racism.

Opposing the Militarization of Police in Urban Areas
An impassioned plea for police not to escalate the violent and angry scenes that have punctuated the peaceful protests of the past week, as desired by key figures in the Trump administration as well as the president himself.

Connecting the Dots Between Planning and Policing
The newest issue the Journal of Planning and Education Research responds to a clear need of the time: the need to address social justice in the public realm while reforming planning practices in the United States.

Poverty Concentrating in Already High-Poverty Neighborhoods
A pair of reports analyzing U.S. Census Bureau poverty data from the last two decades show that high-poverty neighborhoods have become further impoverished.

UCLA Report Raises Housing Crisis Alarm to L.A. Officials
A new UCLA report predicts a grim future for renters in Los Angeles. The report, the first issue published in a new journal dedicated to housing and the coronavirus, spells out what government officials must do to offset and prevent further damage.

Blue-State Plague No More
A month or two ago, COVID-19 was primarily a Northeastern problem. Is that still the case?

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on State-Imposed Social Distancing Restrictions
In a 5-4 decision, the court voted to uphold the prohibition of religious services that was part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order. While the restriction had since been loosened, the plaintiff wanted all restrictions removed.

Violence Against Black Americans a Moment of Reckoning for the Planning Profession
After a wave violence against Black men in the United States, it is the duty of the planning profession to consider its role in perpetuating institutional racism.

Nextdoor Getting Cozy With Local Officials
CityLab investigates the practices of company officials at Nextdoor to cultivate relationships with police and local officials.

Second Wave or Second Peak?
The terminology of the coronavirus pandemic isn't applied consistently, particularly when dealing with areas seeing a resurgence of infection after states have relaxed social distancing restrictions. The World Health Organization added some clarity.

Many Small Farmers Predict Bankruptcy by the End of the Year
As peak harvest season approaches, about a third of small farmers expect that their short-chain food business will not survive to continue production in 2021.

The 2010s Didn't Live Up to Potential as the 'Decade of the City'
The renaissance predicted for urban areas in the United States started strong during the 2010s but slowed in the years leading up to a potentially generation defining pandemic.

New Coronavirus Hotspots Flaring Up in Rural America
The novel coronavirus is outlasting the narratives of March 2020, and the country will have to reevaluate its assumptions to understand and respond to shifting threats as the public health crisis deepens.

Nursing Homes With Black and Latino Residents Have Much Worse Covid-19 Rates
Age segregation has contributed to the tragic outbreaks of Covid-19 in nursing homes all over the country, but racial data adds another layer of tragic consequences of the pandemic.

California's Population Might Be Peaking
Heretofore, the question was never if, but when, the nation's most populous state would reach 40 million.

Study: 36,000 American Lives Would Have Been Saved if White House Acted One Week Earlier
Research from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health looks at the timing of the imposition of public health control measures, at the start of the pandemic and in the present if infections increase, to project lives saved or lost.

Religion in the Pandemic: First Amendment vs. Public Health and Safety
Conflicts between church and state are being decided in state and federal courts as governors act to protect their constituents from the coronavirus while religious institutions and their supporters seek exceptions from social gathering restrictions.
Pagination
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