Suburbs
Is New Urbanism Best Suited to the Suburbs?
25 years after development started on Gaithersburg's model New Urbanist community Kentlands, Dan Malouff surveys the movement's impact on America's development patterns. He argues its products are more necessary in less-urban environments.
Cities vs Suburbs: Where do Parents Want to Raise Their Children?
Tanya Snyder wades into the ongoing discussion over whether America's urban revival can be sustained, a question that essentially hinges on whether cities are creating an attractive alternative to the suburbs for raising children.
Suburban Sprawl Reaches the End of the Cul-de-Sac
The Washington Post speaks with Leigh Gallagher, author the new book “The End of the Suburbs”, about the decline of America's suburbs, models for suburban reinvention, and the correlation between neighborhood form and health and happiness.
Inner-Ring Reboot
Urban Land looks at the reinvention of America's inner-ring suburbs. The authors explore the challenges of mixing uses, integrating cars and attaining authenticity as planners and developers seek the right recipe for the next big wave of development.
Suburban Poor? Are You Sure?
Brookings Institute's “Confronting Suburban Poverty” is generating a lot of buzz. Community development leaders and planners took to Rooflines to voice opinions and critiques of the book, moving its authors to submit a response that you must read.
The Case for Protecting Strip Malls from 'Commercial Gentrification'
As our suburbs diversify, the most affordable commercial districts found in such areas (often in strip malls) become an important entry point for immigrants to build their 'American Dream'. Kaid Benfield asks if such opportunities deserve protection.
American Home Ownership: Dream Deferred or In Need of Renovation?
While conceding that suburbia, and home construction patterns, will change in the coming decades, a new report from Joel Kotkin argues that the "dream" of suburban American homeownership is alive and well and poised to remain relevant.
Poverty's Sprawling Tentacles
From 2000-2011 the number of poor Americans living in the suburbs increased at a rate double that of the country's cities. The result is that more poor people now live in the suburbs than in cities. A new book examines this troubling trend.
Reverse Migration Threatens New Jersey Suburbs
After a half century of growth driven by families fleeing New York City, New Jersey's northern suburbs face an uncertain future as young families, young professionals and retirees find a resurgent Big Apple more to their liking.
Gas Stations Get Guzzled as D.C.'s Suburbs Densify
Reflecting a nationwide trend, gas stations across the Washington D.C. metro area are disappearing, as rising land values and shrinking margins have station owners eager to sell.
Suburbs and Exurbs Were Hit Hardest by Great Recession
A new report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program shows that areas located 10-35 miles from America's central cities sustained far higher job losses during the recession, staunching the sprawl of people and employment.
Maryland Suburb Fights Sidewalks
The DC metropolitan area has a largely suburban character inherited from an era when cars were the only conceivable form of transportation. Efforts to expand sidewalk infrastructure are meeting resistance, especially in University Hill.
Which cities are (perceived as) safest?
A Gallup poll asked residents of each Congressional district whether they felt safe walking alone at night in their city or area. Although city residents feared crime more than suburbs, there were some surprises.
Inequality Finds a Home in the Suburbs
Through the lens of the Los Angeles region, Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese examine how America's suburbs sustain and reinforce inequality.
D.C.'s Displacement Woes Spread to the Suburbs
D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.
Canada's 'Slab Farm' Blind Spot
In Canada, more people live in suburban high-rise apartment buildings than any other housing type. Doug Saunders looks at the country's belated recognition for its "elevator suburban" identity.
America's New Geography of Poverty
NBC News looks at the plight of the Simons family in West Hartford, Connecticut, to examine the growth of suburban poverty in the United States.
The Life and Death of the Suburban Paradigm
A new article by city historian Graeme Davison traces the rise and fall of the suburban paradigm from its ideological roots in Victorian England to its current backlash.
Downtown Chicago: America's Hottest Urban Center
With its surging job and population growth, and high retail sales, downtown Chicago is outperforming the suburbs for the first time in decades. Perhaps more than any other city in the country, it reflects the inversion of the post-war paradigm.
Bred in Brooklyn, Hipsters Now Colonizing the Suburbs
Facing increasing property prices, Brooklyn's hipsters must decide whether to abandon their lifestyle and recreate it "upstate."
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
