Community Activism

Will This Resident Group Get Full Control of the Complex They Helped Fix?
A group of Cambodian immigrants took partial control of an affordable housing property in the 90s, and since then, they’ve made big changes to the complex. But they haven’t been able to get full legal control of the property for decades. Why?

Deconstructing Saint Jane
The iconic urban thinker has influenced generations of planners, but how do her ideas hold up in an age of massive upheaval and economic inequality?

New Bus Service to Relieve Crowding in D.C.
D.C. advocates are celebrating the mayor's support of several new bus investments.

How to Empower Renters
Renters who care about neighborhood issues have avenues for creating change, but they need to be savy about getting their message across.

The Disconnect Over Displacement in Los Angeles
A mixed-use development proposal in South L.A. highlights a blind spot of progressive urbanism—the gap between what checks all the boxes and what low-income communities really need.

Residents Forced Out of Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown
Can a neighborhood still call itself Chinatown when everyone living there is wealthy and white? Beset by rapid gentrification, longtime residents of D.C.'s Chinatown fight to keep their homes.

Grassroots Activists Take On Evictions, Displacement
On the ground, combating gentrification means putting a stop to cost-driven displacement and evictions. Grassroots organizations in some of the hardest-hit cities have dedicated themselves to that task.
Op-Ed: Time to Take Planning Power Back from Communities
In light of the current housing crisis, argues Stephen Smith, the community-based land use controls created as a response to urban renewal policies of the 20th century should be for forfeited to more development friendly political forces.
Developer Bows in Downtown Toronto Big Box Battle
Torontonians who have been fighting a Walmart in Downtown’s belovedly indie Kensington Market neigbourhood appear to have won their battle against a goliath developer. A revised development proposal features significantly scaled-down retail units.
Streets of a multicultural city
This past weekend I attended a memorial service for a local activist. Eric Quezada was important in many planning-related issues here in San Francisco – how we create space that reflects the cultural traditions of our large immigrant communities, the importance of preventing displacement of low-income people, the development of affordable housing and institutions that meet the needs of all of our citizenry. I had known Eric for many years, but had the privilege of working most closely with him when I served on our city’s Planning Commission and he was a lead organizer in the Mission District, an historically Latino neighborhood threatened by dot-com fueled gentrification. In his short 45 years on earth, Eric touched the lives of thousands here and around the world.
A Bronx Tale: Freeway Widening Halted
Lessons from the Bronx: A community can halt a road expansion project if they get involved and make their voices heard. In this case, the NY DOT listened and thus chose not to widen exit ramps during a rehabilitation project on the Major Deegan.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research