Children
Planning for Kids Makes Cities Better for All
While some cities have focused planning efforts on making their public spaces more accessible for the elderly, some argue that the age group they should be focusing on is kids.
The Kids Are All Blight
The cities that often top the "most livable" lists like San Francisco, Portland, Boston and D.C. also happen to have the lowest percentage of households with children. Does that mean that kids make places un-livable?
Cities Too Dangerous for Kids? Maybe Not
Cities are commonly thought of as dangerous places for kids to grow up. But a new study challenges that perception.
Urban Planning Gift Ideas For Children (Your Budding Planner)
I've gathered some of the best here, properly field tested by my boys, to help you with your holiday shopping list.
Won't Somebody Think of the Children?
Kids make up a big part of city populations. But often the built environment doesn't reflect a world planned with children in mind. This post from Polis looks at an effort to put children's needs back in the minds of planners.
Corner Stores and Fat Kids
Urban convenience stores are being further linked to childhood obesity after the release of a new study from Temple University.
Pearl District Revitalization Now Includes Kids
A new affordable housing development going up in Portland's dense Pearl District will include a public school on the ground floor.
Ban on Biking and Walking to School May Be Lifted
A 15-year-old ban on biking and walking to school in Saratoga Springs, New York may be lifted, after one bike-friendly parent challenged the policy.
Le Corbusier for Kids
A new picture book introduces the architecture and urban ideas of Le Corbusier to children.
The Importance of the Informal Playground
Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.
Students Give Up Wheels for Their Own Two Feet
This piece from the New York Times looks at a program in Italy the encourages children to walk to school.
The joys of medium density
It is a chestnut of urban planning that a neighborhood must have a certain number of dwelling units per acre (usually around 8 or 10) in order to have adequate bus service. But the quarter-acre lot seems to get no respect: too dense for estate-home luxury, not dense enough to constitute "smart growth". But a 9 year-old girl recently taught me that, at least for children of a certain age, these medium-density neighborhoods have their advantages.
Cars, Kids, and a Safer Environment Through Planning
Urban areas are filled with cars, and this creates an unsafe environment for children. This commentary argues that officials need to regain their faith in the power of planning to address the issue.
Where Do Child Care Centers Belong?
A Houston bedroom community decides against allowing childcare centers to mix with other businesses in strip centers.
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
