Community
An Appeal for Churches to Embrace Multi-Modalism
As a result of the dominant development patterns and transportation practices of the 20th century, churches have receded in their role as an anchors for neighborhoods and broader communities.
How Public Surveys Aid the Planning Process
When planners are looking to find out what kind of developments residents like, one way is to ask them to weigh in. Planner Clement Lau shares key lessons learned about conducting and creating surveys as part of the planning process.
Stayin’ Alive: The life and death prospects of community ties
Connected communities aren't just about fun and frolic. When the goin' gets rough, they can make the difference between life and death.
Why the Titans of Tech Must Become Better Urbanists
Technology companies are increasing their presence in cities, adopting the language of planners, and seeking to create communities. Yet, according to Allison Arieff, the sector does a uniformly poor job of contributing to urban vitality.
What is a "Community"?
As communities based on proximate and personal relationships decline, the application of term "community" multiplies. Anand Giridharadas looks at the hijacking of the word and what its new applications say about our contemporary culture.
Building Resilience Through Reconnected Communities
What has the United States lost in its journey from a nation of communities to a nation of individuals? Resilience, for one, says Scott Doyon, who suggests how we can utilize community design and planning processes to regrow social ties.
Atlanta Artist Paints Suburban Ennui
Today's suburbs have discarded the human-scaled patterns they once promised. This newly resurfaced series of paintings from Atlanta artist Meg Aubrey will leave you longing for the world we neglected to build.
Haiti Update: Reshaping Ravines
Haiti has seen improvements since the 2010 earthquake. However, persistent challenges remain. Dave Hampton, architect and international development consultant for natural and built environment integration, writes about one in particular: ravines.
Connections, Community, and the Science of Loneliness
Can urban form help address the loneliness that so often accompanies aging? In a new blog post, Hazel Borys examines some remedies for severed connections.
Does Transit Build Stronger Communities?
The results of a new poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show that even in a notoriously sprawling metro (and perhaps more so), transit riders have a stronger connection to their neighborhoods and the larger region.
Communities Are People, Not Just Places
Richard Florida speaks with sociologist Zachary Neal, author of The Connected City, a new book that examines the essential role that social networks play in defining community.
LocalData: An App for Grassroots Planning
A free digital toolkit allowing communities to collect, analyze, and share their own data will be launched nationally at the end of the year.
Seven Social Capital Building Blocks
In the triple bottom line of profits, planet, and people, it's people that tend to get the shaft. Scott Doyon lays out seven ways to change that.
New Study Shows the Suburbs at the Cutting Edge of Racial Diversity in America
Diverse suburban neighborhoods now outnumber their central city counterparts two to one. How will increasing (or decreasing) diversity change America's suburban stereotype?
Urban Revitalization: Baby Steps or the Magic Bullet?
Writer Tara Sturm explores the merits of incremental urbanism on revitalization efforts with the help of L.A. architect Alan Pullman, highlighting grassroots, community-driven economic development.
How the Suburbs Killed Our Connectivity, And How to Fix It
The deeper our sense of community, the better positioned we are to take on change, says Scott Doyon, but the leisurely lull of the suburbs may have killed our ability to work together.
Struggling Centers Revitalized With New Tenants
With the increasing popularity of online shopping, many shopping centers are losing retailers left and right. More unusual tenants are filling in the gaps, like gun ranges and bounce houses.
The Food System's Negative Impact on Communities
In this food-focused installment of a series on "great places", Grist's Tom Philpott argues that food system as currently structured creates the opposite of great places.
Locals Rally to Stop Highway Extension
A vocal and dedicated contingent of residents have successfully rallied to halt plans to expand a highway in metropolitan Vancouver.
The Warhol Community
In comparing the legacies of artist Andy Warhol and urban thinker Jane Jacobs, this essay suggests that the sort of urban community we think of today is more a result of Warhol.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
