This new suburban place has some lessons for old suburban places.

Montgomery County, MD is trying to build a new kind of suburb. It hasn't totally worked but there are lessons to be learned nonetheless.

Top Story, Urban DesignDan ReedAugust 23, 2017suburbs, Greater Greater Washington, race

The Promise of Durham

Can this mid-sized city save the American Dream?

Top StoryMike GreenAugust 22, 2017race, Entrepreneurship, small business

What does "gentrification" really mean?

Everyone seems to have an opinion on gentrification. But what does the word actually mean?

Housing, WIlson, Top EvergreenKea WilsonAugust 2, 2017gentrification, race, poverty, page highlight, Economic Development

On the Outside, Looking In

African Americans are moving to the suburbs in increasing numbers. While that's a promising sign of upward mobility, it could also mean they get left behind in declining neighborhoods, just as they once were during the era of white flight.

Pete SaundersJuly 26, 2017race, suburbs

A History of Zoning, Part II: The Problem Zoning Solves

The real impetus for the invention of zoning regulations was a desire to protect and enshrine the single-family home as the most virtuous and sacrosanct urban form.

Top Story, Zoning, GardnerSpencer GardnerJuly 18, 2017race, poverty

The History of Urban Freeways: Who Counts?

The only problem this highway project seeks to solve is, "How do we move more vehicles through Shreveport?" The perspective of residents whose neighborhood would be destroyed by the highway seems to count for nothing.

Urban Renewal, ShreveportDaniel HerrigesFebruary 21, 2017history, white flight, race, page highlight

Evicted

Evicted is a powerful book with important lessons for those who design, govern and live in American cities and towns.

Housing, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauOctober 3, 2016affordable housing, Milwaukee, race, poverty

An Interview with Steven Shultis on Urban Schools

In this podcast interview, Steve Shultis shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school.

Top Story, Podcast, #StrongCitizensStrong TownsSeptember 14, 2016schools, Steven Shultis, poverty, race

The Week Ahead

Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's recent vacation, favorite summer movies, Suburban Poverty week and Chuck's recent essay about the future of the US economy.

PodcastStrong TownsAugust 22, 2016the week ahead, events, race

A Postcard from Marietta

Caution: This post contains graphic images of housing displacement. Viewer discretion is advised.

Top Story, Suburban Poverty, Member PostJoe CortrightAugust 18, 2016Georgia, gentrification, race, City Observatory

Why aren't we talking about Marietta?

It’s apparently acceptable for suburbs to actively discourage – and in this case, actually relocate – low-income renters. By pretending this sort of thing only happens in Brooklyn or San Francisco, we leave the low-income households who used to live in these now-demolished Marietta apartments vulnerable to very real displacement.

Top Story, Suburban Poverty, Member Post, HousingJoe CortrightAugust 18, 2016gentrification, poverty, City Observatory, Georgia, race

Walking Makes Strides in All Kinds of Communities

From inner-city Birmingham to small town Iowa to racially diverse suburbs of LA, the walkability movement is growing.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Transportation, WalkabilityJay WalljasperJuly 11, 2016Public Health, race, poverty, pedestrian safety

The Ignorant and the Elites

Can we find a way listen to each other?

MarohnCharles MarohnJune 27, 2016race, immigrants, Brexit

Detroit: A Draft History

A nuanced response to four key arguments about the fall of Detroit. Hint: There's more to it than white flight or the auto industry.

CNU, Member Post, Top StoryDave AldenJune 9, 2016Detroit, North Bay Design Kit, white flight, cars, race

We are All Detroit

What the final ailment for Detroit was simply doesn't matter to me. The auto-centric style of development undermined the resiliency of the city, tearing down social, political and financial strength that had made Detroit one of the world's greatest cities. Once Detroit became a fragile city, it was only a matter of time.

CNU, MarohnCharles MarohnJune 6, 2016Detroit, suburban experiment, race, auto-oriented

Better towns through stress

Here are 4 different types of stress that can help our cities become strong towns.

The Urban Ethnic Shuffle

Walking away from a neighborhood is seen as a harmless passive act. Moving in is viewed as an act of aggression and displacement.

What Concentrated Poverty Looks Like in Inner-city Springfield

Residents in poor neighborhoods face health issues, unemployment, deteriorating infrastructure and no way to get out.

Top Story, HousingSteven ShultisFebruary 25, 2016Steven Shultis, poverty, race, segregation

A Brief History of the Fair Housing Act and its Applications Today

HUD has, with its mortgage funding, chosen to primarily support the creation of single-family dwellings, which are far more accessible to white middle class people and far less accessible to minorities in poverty. This contradicts Fair Housing laws and the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the subject.

Top Story, Quednau, Housing, Top EvergreenRachel QuednauFebruary 25, 2016US Supreme Court, HUD, segregation, race, fair housing, housing

Financing rules reinforce concentrations of poverty

While the most common image of poverty is a high-rise public housing project, in fact many of America’s poor live in the very type of neighborhood where investment is impeded by current financing regulations.

Housing, Suburban PovertyRPAFebruary 25, 2016RPA, poverty, race, segregation, US Supreme Court, fair housing