Social / Demographics

Houston

Refugees Learn to Survive as Pedestrians on Houston's Dangerous Streets

For one refugee family, living in Houston has meant facing a host of new challenges as they traverse the city’s roadways without a car.

February 20, 2020 - Texas Monthly

Welcome

Neighborhood Preference Splits on Partisan Lines

Preferences in the characteristics of communities—from the shape of the built environment to demographics—reveal stark partisan preferences. Planners are faced with the task of navigating ideological divides.

February 20, 2020 - Pew Research Center

Mumbai Traffic

To Curb the Honking, Mumbai’s 'Punishing Signal'

Incessant honking just adds to the chaos on city streets, so Mumbai police put up a clever device to remind drivers that making noise will not ease traffic woes.

February 20, 2020 - The New York Times

Traffic

Real-Time Art Installation Reveals the Many Dimensions of Data

Using a wagon filled with phones, an artist in Berlin demonstrated the disconnect between data and the real world.

February 19, 2020 - Vice

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

U.S. Cities Where Homeowners Stay Put the Longest

A study identifies cities where people stay in their homes longer, and they tend to be at either end of the income and home values spectrum.

February 14, 2020 - The New York Times

Beijing Traffic

Study Shows Link Between Car Ownership and Decrease in Physical Activity

A study of residents in Beijing, China who became car owners indicates that they used alternative transportation modes less after buying cars.

February 14, 2020 - MinnPost

Tech Shuttle

Tech Buses: Not Just for Techies, and Not Just for San Francisco

What began as Google buses, transporting highly paid engineers from San Francisco to Silicon Valley, has transformed into multi-company fleets serving white- and blue-collar workers in the 3,000-square-mile Northern California megaregion.

February 13, 2020 - Protocol

Angry Public Meeting

The State of Public Meetings

Dating back to a tradition begun in the 1630s, public meetings are an essential part of the political systems, and planning processes, of U.S. cities. Public meetings are also broken, according to this article.

February 13, 2020 - Curbed

State capital building

Top Planning Issues for State Legislatures

The American Planning Association identifies three issues that will define the year in state legislatures around the country.

February 12, 2020 - American Planning Association

Road Rage

Report: Virginia's Drivers Ranked Rudest in the Nation

Auto insurance comparison outfit Insurify reviewed two million insurance applications and calculated the states with the rudest drivers based on one or more driving violations.

February 11, 2020 - Insurify Insights

Historic home of Louisa May Alcott

Lessons in Architecture and Development Found in This Year's Oscar-Nominated Films

A pair of articles mine the films nominated for Academy Award for lessons in design and development that could potentially benefit housing equality.

February 10, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Moving Van

Rental Searches Shed Light on Where People Want to Move

Renters looking for new apartments in other cities are not looking to move far, a new study shows.

February 9, 2020 - CityLab

Atlanta

The Winners and Losers of Atlanta’s Transformation

The city has reinvented itself in many ways, but its residents are not reaping those benefits equally.

February 9, 2020 - Atlanta

Subway Platform

For Transit to Better Serve Women, More Data Needed

Understanding how women use transit does not just help make systems more equitable. It also guides policy and planning changes that benefit all riders.

February 7, 2020 - Wired

Chicago

The Impact of Segregation and Disinvestment on Chicago's Black Population

The city is losing black residents, but those who stay are relocating to parts of the city with less transportation access and opportunities.

February 7, 2020 - Streetsblog Chicago

Social Justice

Black Homeownership Climbed in 2019

Black homeownership climbed in 2019, but still lags far behind homeownership rates for the entire country.

February 6, 2020 - Urban Institute

Welcome Sign

Leaving New York

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed New York with an estimated population of 19.5 million people as of July 1, 2019, making it the fourth largest state in the country, but also showed that New York’s population dropped.

February 4, 2020 - New York State Senate

Pittsburgh Steel City

Coming to Terms with the Racist Causes of Pollution

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania took the dramatic step of officially declaring racism a public health threat. Public policy has yet to mitigate the city's worsening air quality, however.

February 2, 2020 - CityLab

U.S. Census Bureau

Census Information for Rental Property Owners

There are a number of obstacles and issues related to the 2020 Census enumeration of apartment building residents. This set of FAQs covers “Census Information for Rental Property Owners.”

January 27, 2020 - Metropolitan Council

Climate Change protest

Fewer Baby Boomers Choose Urban Lifestyles Than Previous Generations

Despite appearances and a popular media narrative, Baby Boomers aren't becoming more urban in old age—when compared to previous generations at the same age.

January 27, 2020 - The New York Times

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.