Social / Demographics

The Real Cost of Clean Water in One Kansas Town
Pretty Prairie has water with very high levels of nitrates, and lots of farmers that need to use nitrates if they want to keep the local economy going.

Defeating SB 827 Did Not Discourage the YIMBY Movement
Though the California housing bill was a high-profile failure for pro-development activists, there are initiatives all over the country that carry its spirit.

Bay Area Home Prices Rise Despite Out-Migration
Kathleen Pender, business columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, points to two reasons why home prices rise amidst a Bay Area exodus to other states. On a state level, out-migration shows California's strong but dysfunctional economy.

California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017
California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.

Why Equity Groups Opposed California Legislation to Increase Housing Production
YIMBYs don't understand poverty, claimed one social justice group. Few, if any, connections with equity groups and too many with tech companies may have helped doom SB 827's chances of making it to first base in the legislature this year.

Formerly Redlined Denver Neighborhoods Are Now Gentrification Hotspots
Prices remain depressed in most formerly redlined neighborhoods, but several such areas in Denver now boast higher home values than the city as a whole.

Insurance Institute: Pedestrian Fatalities Jump 46 Percent from 2009
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study on May 8 that attributes the increased number of pedestrians killed in part to road design that allows for higher speeds, fewer intersections and pedestrian crossings and more SUVs.

Concerns About Census 2020, As Told by GIFs
Interested observers have been sounding the alarms about the federal government's readiness and commitment level for the 2020 Census.

Lawsuit Challenges the Trump Administration's Approach to Fair Housing
Housing Advocates have filed a lawsuit to press the Department of Housing and Urban Development to enforce requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

Millennials Moving to Mid-Size Cities
Jobs and cheap housing give some small cities a big appeal for folks in their 20s and 30s.

Can Density Prevent Diabetes?
In Australia, a new study will determine the best ways to make high-density developments healthy places to live.

Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities
A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.

Cities Need Labor So Badly They'll Pay You to Move There
Some cities are employing a "modern-day Homestead Act" to attract new residents.

Report Details Racial Inequality in Four Cities
Five decades after the Fair Housing Act, racial inequality is still rampant in American cities. Trulia and the National Fair Housing Alliance collaborated on this report on four of them.

Understanding the Unique Challenges of Urban Loneliness
Let's acknowledge that loneliness and depression is common among urban residents, and figure out ways urban planning can foster connections and social interactions between people.

It’s Time to Build New, Mixed-Income Public Housing
Interview with the co-author of the report "Social Housing in the United States," on the politics of home ownership, why public housing needs to be mixed-income, and providing adequate, affordable housing to all citizens.

Looking for a Starter Home in Dallas? Good Luck
According to a new study, fewer than 10 percent of homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are priced for first-time buyers.

Where the Economic Recovery Has Been Most Inclusive
Across racial and economic lines, not all cities are recovering equally.

Hit-and-Run Traffic Fatalities Reach Record High
Over 2,000 people died from hit-and-run collisions on American roads in 2016, the highest since 2009, claiming a disproportionate amount of pedestrian and cyclist lives. One solution: more protected bike lanes.

Tenant Advocates Turn in Signatures for Rent Control Ballot Measure in California
The measure would repeal the 1996 Costa-Hawkins Act that places limits on rent control ordinances. Repealing the act would allow cities with rent control to consider expanding rent control to provide tenants greater protections.
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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Planetizen
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service