Rural Areas
Preserving Rurality
Rural areas across America are trying to figure out how they can improve their economies but still maintain their rural qualities.
Pockets of Youth in Rural America
Most of rural America is getting older. But not all of it.
'Garden Blocks' to Feed Urbanity
The relationship between agriculture and cities is becoming increasingly important. Daniel Nairn suggests building "garden blocks" within cities to meet community food needs.
Saving Small-Town Movie Theaters
Small town movie theaters are seeing new interest from community members who are fighting -- and volunteering -- to keep them open.
Alternative Energy Booms in Rural Areas
The changing face of America's energy menu includes a variety of alternative sources, many of which are being developed in the country's rural areas.
A Rural Future Beyond Agriculture
Development in rural America has long been a confounding problem. Increasing outmigration highlights the importance of finding new methods for economic development beyond agriculture.
New York Town Makes English the Law
Jackson, New York and several other small upstate towns have entered the immigration wars by passing a law requiring all official town business to be conducted in English.
Rethinking Rural Development
Silos and smokestacks are the way of the past for rural area development, according to economist Mark Drabenstott who offers a new idea for bringing economic activity to rural places.
Ideas to Transform India's Cities
Scholars from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad discuss how to remake the country's urban areas into sources of economic prosperity.
How Prisoners Skew the Census
At Census time, America's prisoners have typically been counted as residents of the places they are imprisoned. But with nearly 1% of the U.S. population behind bars, where they're counted is counting more to the urban areas they came from.
The New World of Roads in China
The New York Times reviews a new book about driving in China, and how the vastly expanding roadways are changing the Chinese way of life from the farms to the cities.
Boomers Get Rural
A new report from the USDA says that baby boomers will be flooding out of metropolitan areas and into the countryside over the next ten years.
The Rural Recession
A new report from the Economic Research Service looks at how the economic recession is affecting rural areas. For the most part, things are a lot worse in America's nonmetro areas.
Rural Suicides Far Exceed Urban Suicides
Suicide rates are on the rise in rural areas, according to a new study. Compared to urban areas, rural men are committing suicide 54% more often.
An Inside Look at the Decline of America's Rural Communities
Rural areas have been losing population for decades, creating what some are calling a "rural brain drain". According to this article, the hollowing out of these rural areas will have negative impacts beyond the borders of those small towns.
Broadband Stimulus Grant Requests Flood In
The application period has opened for federal stimulus grants to fund broadband Internet access projects in underserved areas. The response has been overwhelming.
An Udder Failure...
A couple of weeks ago, the South Dakota Supreme Court in Anderson v. Town of Badger held that a town had the power to grant a waiver of a distance requirement set by Kingsbury County for a CAFO. Click here for the decision. Wait a minute. Why wouldn’t you want to live near a CAFO? What’s a CAFO? It’s not Community Association Facility Operations. It’s not Centralized Area of Fun Outside …no, it’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, something akin to dinner time at my fraternity house in the mid-1960s…
Finding a Middle Ground Between Rural and Urban
A new city being planned on 77 acres of agricultural land in Oregon has prompted some to question the hard difference between urban and rural as compartmentalized by the Portland area's urban growth boundary.
Homelessness is On the Rise in Rural and Suburban Areas
Homelessness has jumped in the nation's suburban areas, according to a study from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of those in U.S. shelters, 32% are in rural or suburban areas.
Cities Miffed As Transportation Funds Filter to Rural Areas
Less than half of the money set aside in the federal stimulus plan for transportation projects is going to cities, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
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
