Access to social services, especially for the poor, continues to concern numerous public policy scholars and practitioners. This recent 19-page report from the Brookings Institution (authored by Scott Allard, a professor at Brown University) takes a closer look at this phenomenon by looking at the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Released in August 2004, the report...

Created as part of the Regional Plan Association (RPA), America 2050 is a coalition partner of Transportation For America. As the national infrastructure planning and policy program for the RPA, its goal is to provide consult and leadership on a broad range of transportation, sustainability, and economic development issues. Since its start in 2005, the RPA has published a range of influential...

Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1980 and today it is the largest network of social entrepreneurs in the world. The organization has almost 3,000 fellows who work in 70 countries on a range of projects. On the organization's homepage, visitors can look over seven different sections, including Fellows, Focus Areas, Engage, and Give. Within Focus Areas, visitors can look over projects that...

The social reform and welfare movement in the United States may be most commonly associated with such persons as Jane Addams, but years before her pioneering work on Chicago’s West Side, the Boys & Girls Club of America organization was started in Hartford, Connecticut. Over the past century and a half, the organization has provided a host of services to young people in order to help them realize...

Charity Navigator was founded in 2001 with a rather simple, yet valuable premise in mind: "People are amazingly generous and helping others but are not always sure how to go about it." In order to aid individuals and organizations, Charity Navigator evaluates various charities and non-profits on a variety of metrics so that potential contributors can make informed decisions. One of the highlights...

Make children the cornerstone of urban decision-making, urges UNICEF http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/feb/28/unicef-children-central-urban-planning?newsfeed=true Cities are failing children, UNICEF warns http://www.unicef.org/media/media_61839.html World's slum children in desperate need, UNICEF...

As one might imagine, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Disaster Recovery Assistance office works closely with other federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On their homepage, visitors can learn about their programs in various states, or they may wish to start by viewing some of their latest press releases....

Many organizations and individuals are working to transform some of America's most violent inner city neighborhoods by forming a series of coalitions with local residents, religious organizations, and schools. This engaging documentary from PBS's Frontline takes a look into "the violent landscape of our cities through the eyes of those fighting to sow peace and security." First-time visitors...

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has constructed over 175,000 houses, which provides homes for over 1 million people. While the organization's most famous volunteer may be former President Jimmy Carter, the group is always on the lookout for other interested parties who would like to give generously of their time. The organization's website contains information on the history of Habitat,...

For educators who don't have access to giant university databases, paywalls can sometimes feel like a major impediment to the information and knowledge they'd like to share with their students. IssueLab can help overcome that difficulty. A service of the Foundation Center, the Lab "works to more effectively gather, index, and share the collective intelligence of the social sector." Here educators...