Research guides: PLA1101: Issues in Planning History, Thought, and Practice: News &amp; media sources

Writing for Different Audiences

In this course you will complete an assignment that asks you to write for a non-academic audience. This page provides you with some guidance for adapting your writing for different audiences, as well as some examples of media outlets which publish articles on planning for non-academic audiences.

Adapting to Your Audience
This article describes how to adjust your writing to an academic and non-academic audiences. While the examples are taken from courses at Colorado State University, the information is broadly useful.

Informal Sources of Planning Information

The following list includes examples of professional association blogs and popular media sources that publish articles on planning for non-academic audiences.

Planetizen
Planetizen refers to itself as "a fiercely independent platform that creates, curates, and amplifies stories and resources to inform planning and people passionate about planning".
American Planning Association - Blog
The American Planning Association is a professional association for planners. Members write blog posts for their website. They also publish several traditional publications such as a member's magazine and a scholarly journal. Note that APA membership is free for students!
Spacing
Canadian magazine with articles focused on urban issues in Canada's major cities.
Bloomberg CityLab (Formerly Atlantic Cities)
"Bloomberg CityLab focuses on the problems that cities face, focusing on Transportation, Environment, Justice, Culture, Design, and Housing."
WIRED - Urban Planning
WIRED magazine covers "how technology is changing every aspect of our lives - from culture to business, science to design". Urban planning is one of their tagged topics.
The Conversation - Urban Planning
The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, from the academic and research community.
National League of Cities - CitiesSpeak Blog
The National League of Cities is "an organization comprised of city, town and village leaders that are focused on improving the quality of life for their current and future constituents".
Architects, Designers, Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) - Blog
ADPSR "works for peace, environmental protection, ecological building, social justice, and the development of healthy communities".
Commonwealth Association of Planners Blog
CAP is an association for planners in Commonwealth countries.
Next City
Next City is a nonprofit news organization that aims to inspire greater economic, environmental, and social justice in cities.
The Guardian - Cities
Gathers content related to cities from newspaper The Guardian.
Streetsblog
Focused on encouraging walking, biking and transit, with sections on a range of US cities.
The Urbanist
Seattle-based online publication seeking to examine and influence urban policies.
CityTalk
Blog of global network ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability

Need more inspiration? AESOP Young Academics has pulled together an extensive list of Planning-related blogs.

Newspapers

Use these databases to search for news articles in Canadian and international newspapers.

Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Full text access to English language Canadian Newspapers.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Current and archived news, business and company information worldwide.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary search engine of academic journals, newspapers, ebooks, and more.

Researrrrch Guides

PLA1101: Issues in Planning History, Thought, and Practice

Liaison Librarian for Geography & Planning

Writing for Different Audiences

Informal Sources of Planning Information

Newspapers

Library links

Libraries

Contact

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