A 2012 update on the population and density of the world's urban areas.
May 04, 2012
Filed under: New & Noteworthy
Aging, intergenerational relationships, and residential mobility.
September 25, 2012
Filed under: New & Noteworthy
Best Practices Database in Improving the Living Environment
UN-HABITAT
This searchable database contains over 3,800 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world. It demonstrates the practical ways in which public, private and civil society sectors are working together to improve governance, eradicate poverty, provide access to shelter, land and basic services, protect the environment and support economic development.
Filed under: Links
Center for Health and the Social Sciences
University of Chicago
Center encouraging interdisciplinary health and social science research at the University of Chicago.
Filed under: Organizations
The rate of hit-and-run incidents in Chicago is twice the national average. In response, the city released its Pedestrian Plan as part of an effort to eliminate pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
June 27, 2011
Filed under: New & Noteworthy
Cities Alliance
The Cities Alliance is a global partnership for urban poverty reduction and the promotion of the role of cities in sustainable development.
The Cities Alliance prioritizes support to cities, local authorities, associations of local authorities and/or national governments that are committed to:
• Improving their cities, and local governance, for all residents;
• Adopting a long-term, comprehensive and inclusive approach to urban development;
• Implementing those reforms necessary to effect systemic change, and to achieve delivery at scale; and
• Decentralizing resources to empower local government
Filed under: Organizations
City of Chicago Data Portal
The City of Chicago’s Data Portal is dedicated to promoting access to government data and encouraging the development of creative tools to engage and serve Chicago's diverse community. Here you’ll find essential data presented in easy-to-use formats to help Chicagoans keep track of how their government is performing and build innovative applications to benefit residents and visitors alike.
Filed under: Data
DataPlace
DataPlace is an easy-to-use source of U.S. housing and demographic data from the census tract to the national level. The cite currently contains data from the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, as well as home mortgage, Section 8, and housing needs data. There is useful directory and users can create their own maps. Included topics are mortgage lending, income and employment, housing, health, social and demographic, education, arts, and federal expenditures.
Filed under: Data
Global Health Initiative
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago Global Health Initiative's mission is to collaborate with communities locally and globally to democratize education, increase service learning opportunities, and advance novel, transdisciplinary, and sustainable solutions to improve health and well being while reducing global health disparities and inequities.
Filed under: Organizations
Housing Affordability Data System
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The Housing Affordability Data System (HADS) is a set of files derived from the 1985 and later national American Housing Survey (AHS) and the 2002 and later Metro AHS. This system categorizes housing units by affordability and households by income, with respect to the Adjusted Median Income, Fair Market Rent (FMR), and poverty income. It also includes housing cost burden for owner and renter households. These files have been the basis for the worst case needs tables since 2001. The data files are available for public use, since they were derived from AHS public use files and the published income limits and FMRs.
Filed under: Data
Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy
Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy is a vibrant intellectual community of faculty, master's and Ph.D. students, researchers, and administrative staff striving to improve public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor. The work of the Center draws on the worlds of scholarship, policy, and practice to address pressing questions. Over the last twenty years, the Wiener Center has been an influential voice in domestic policy through faculty work on community policing, welfare reform, youth violence, inner city poverty, youth and the low-wage labor market, American Indian economic and social development, and medical error rates.
Filed under: Organizations
Panel Study of Income Dynamics
University of Michigan
The Panel Study of Income Dynamics - PSID - is the longest running longitudinal household survey in the world. The study began in 1968 with a nationally representative sample of over 18,000 individuals living in 5,000 families in the United States. Information on these individuals and their descendants has been collected continuously, including data covering employment, income, wealth, expenditures, health, marriage, childbearing, child development, philanthropy, education, and numerous other topics. The PSID is directed by faculty at the University of Michigan, and the data are available on this website without cost to researchers and analysts.
The data are used by researchers, policy analysts, and teachers around the globe. Over 3,000 peer-reviewed publications have been based on the PSID. Recognizing the importance of the data, numerous countries have created their own PSID-like studies that now facilitate cross-national comparative research. The National Science Foundation recognized the PSID as one of the 60 most significant advances funded by NSF in its 60 year history.
Filed under: Data
Rather than being urban cesspools, some argue that cities are the solution to the world's ills.
December 01, 2011
Filed under: New & Noteworthy
Shack/Slum Dwellers International
Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) is a network of community-based organizations of the urban poor in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was launched in 1996 when “federations” of the urban poor in countries such as India and South Africa agreed that a global platform could help their local initiatives develop alternatives to evictions while also impacting the global agenda for urban development. In 1999, SDI became a formally registered entity.
Filed under: Organizations
Social Science Review
The School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago
Founded in 1927, Social Service Review is devoted to the publication of thought-provoking, original research on social welfare policy, organization, and practice. Articles in the Review analyze issues from the points of view of various disciplines, theories, and methodological traditions, view critical problems in context, and carefully consider long-range solutions.
The Review features balanced, scholarly contributions from social work and social welfare scholars, as well as from members of the various allied disciplines engaged in research on human behavior, social systems, history, public policy, and social services. The journal welcomes contributions on a wide range of topics, such as child welfare, poverty, homelessness, community intervention, race and ethnicity, clinical practice, and mental health. The Review also features discerning essays and substantive, critical book reviews.
Social Service Review is edited by Michael R. Sosin and the faculty of The School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.
Filed under: Journals
Traditional Wisdom and Modern Knowledge for the Earth’s Future
August 4–August 9, 2013
International Geographical Union
Kyoto, Japan
Filed under: Events
Urban Development
World Bank
Today, the World Bank with its partners is committed to promoting sustainable cities and towns that fulfill the promise of development for their inhabitants -- in particular, by improving the lives of the poor and promoting equity -- while contributing to the progress of the country as a whole.
As the world is becoming more urban and governments are decentralizing responsibility and authority for governance to localities, closely working with cities and municipalities to address urban development is a timely and urgent World Bank priority
Filed under: Links
UrbanInfo
UN-HABITAT
UN-HABITAT initiated a user-friendly UrbanInfo software tool in 2004.UrbanInfo helps to store, present and analyze urban indicators through a variety of presentation tools, such as tables, graphs and maps. The first version of UrbanInfo, published in 2006, contains information on several topics, such as housing, demography, communication, energy, economy, education, health, nutrition and gender. The second version of UrbanInfo provides updated information on these topics and also covers new topics, such as disaster, crime, migration, income inequalities and transport and the third version provides updates on the data. The fourth version, to be released in 2012 will be in four UN languages, French, Arabic, Spanish and English.
Filed under: Links
The World Bank releases a new report: "Climate Change, Disaster Risk, and the Urban Poor" detailing the impact global warming may have on the world's urban poor.
June 15, 2011
Filed under: New & Noteworthy