John C. Shepard, AICP
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jcshepard.com
John C. Shepard, AICP
@jcshepard.com
110 followers 110 following 370 posts
Trusted source for actionable insights and visionary perspectives on community planning, economic development, & rural resilience.
VC-Communications at APA Small Town & Rural Planning Division.
Posts Replies Media Videos
jcshepard.com
WTF
February 10, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
theatlantic.com
If the Super Bowl isn’t your cup of tea, our tenth-annual photo collection of superb owls just might be. Take a look at these magnificent birds via The Atlantic Photo:
Superb Owl Sunday X
A special Sunday event: our tenth-annual photo collection celebrating these magnificent birds of prey. If you have some time before the big game (or are skipping the event entirely), we invite you to have a look.
bit.ly
February 8, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
toderianuw.bsky.social
It’s an unusual & inspiring plan crafted under especially challenging circumstances in a city with no previous culture for respecting the few plans they DID create. This was as much about building a new culture as it was about a new plan. Proud of this special collaboration between TUW & City Staff.
brenttoderian.bsky.social Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 3d
BIG NEWS! Our new city-wide Plan for Langford, BC is a FINALIST for the Canadian Institute of Planners AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE!

I love the message this recognition sends— you don’t need a big city & a big budget to create cutting-edge planning for a better city. We showed a better way in a small city.
Plan table of contents illustrating unusual content Designing the plan around the 5 big crises cities face Not just a “transportation” section — the title, and the clear intention, is “Mobility Choice, Not Car Dependency.” The clear intent was BETTER CITY-BUILDING than the city was getting so far. Not just “yes or no” to growth, but BETTER growth.
February 8, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
librarycongress.bsky.social
WHO is excited for Superb Owl weekend? 🦉

These owls from the Library's Japanese prints and drawings collection don't seem that thrilled, actually, although it's sure to be a hoot.

They're enthusiastic about Bad Bunny, but they may not understand that he's a man, not a delicious small mammal.
Kobushi ni mimizuku, or owl and magnolia. Print shows an owl perched on a magnolia tree branch; the magnolia blossoms are embossed. Woodcut. Between 1870 and 1920. Kashidori fukurō, or jay and owl. Print shows an owl and a jay perched on branches in a tree. Woodcut by Utamaro Kitagawa. 1790. R. Leicester Harmsworth collection. Mimizuku uso, or bullfinch and horned owl. Print shows horned owl and two bulfinches perched on branches in a tree. Woodcut by Utamaro Kitagawa. 1790. R. Leicester Harmsworth collection.
February 6, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
romanpalace.bsky.social
It's Superbowl Sunday! So here's our traditional, and predictable Superb Owl.
🏈🦉

#SuperbOwl #SuperbOwl2026
A naive representation of an owl on a small flat slate sheet. The body is depicted in alternating white and dark triangles. Crucially, this owl is not playing American Football.
February 8, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
metalclassicist.bsky.social
Happy Superb Owl Sunday!
My holding a large Eurasian eagle owl.
February 8, 2026 at 2:18 PM
jcshepard.com
Who Can Afford to Live Rural?
Small towns and rural communities used to promise cheaper homes than big cities. Now, many of those places are caught up in the same global housing squeeze.

This week's long read on the blog:
jcshepard.com/2026/02/who-...
#smalltowns #rural #housing #econdev
Who Can Afford to Live Rural? Global Pressures on Small-Town Housing Markets -
The rural housing market is more of an idea than a thing. Housing supply and needs vary considerably across nations and regions, let alone around the world.
jcshepard.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
dorothealange.mastodon.ozioso.online.ap.brid.gy
Housing. Richmond, Virginia. Twelve dollars a month for three rooms

#richmond #virginia #undefined #photography #dorothealange

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017771899/
The image depicts an urban scene featuring two individuals and several children. On the left, a man stands on steps leading to a doorway of a wooden house with visible paint peeling off its facade; he is holding onto what appears to be a broom or mop handle as if examining it closely. To his right, another person leans against the wall beside him. In front of this scene, three children are standing behind a wire fence on a paved street lined with a curb and scattered debris like newspapers. The setting suggests an economically challenged area given the worn condition of buildings and presence of trash. Notable features include weathered wooden textures, the contrast between different architectural styles (one house appears more modern), and bare ground near the steps where shoes are placed for drying or cleaning.
February 8, 2026 at 1:12 PM
jcshepard.com
The Power of the Public Library: A review of Shamichael Hallman’s book, Meet Me at the Library (Island Press, 2024).
You can tell a lot about a community by their #library.

(Originally for @apa-star.bsky.social)
medium.com/@jcshepard.a...
@islandpress.bsky.social
The Power of the Public Library
“A community is not a machine,” writes Eric Liu, in his introduction to Shamichael Hallman’s book, Meet Me at the Library (Island Press…
medium.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
npr.org
The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA officers. But it was discontinued this week. n.pr/3Mq3Y6i
The CIA World Factbook is dead. Here's how I came to love it
The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA officers. But it was discontinued this week.
n.pr
February 7, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
dorothealange.mastodon.ozioso.online.ap.brid.gy
One of the 74 temporary homes. The permanent adobe structures are now under construction. Bosque Farms Project

#bosquefarmsproject #DorotheaLange’s #newmexico #americans #lange #undefined #photography #dorothealange
This black and white photograph depicts an outdoor rural scene with sparse vegetation. It shows a barren landscape, featuring several leafless trees that are likely dormant during the winter season or in early spring. In the mid-ground stands what appears to be a small wooden shed or outbuilding on rough terrain. Further back, there is another structure resembling a larger building possibly for residential use. The ground around these structures seems muddy and uneven with visible tire tracks suggesting recent vehicular activity. Scattered debris and some unkempt foliage can be seen in the foreground near what looks like an unpaved road running diagonally across the image from bottom left to top right corner, further hinting at a rural setting possibly experiencing economic hardship. The sky is clear without any discernible clouds or weather phenomena. The photograph has handwritten annotations: "One of 74 temporary homes on Bosque Farms Project." It also includes what appears to be an identifying code and date in the lower-left corner that reads, "1-302" with a cross underneath it followed by another number which seems like part of a sequence or cataloging system. The bottom right side has two additional codes: "(E)" possibly denoting Eastward orientation relative to north (which could be inferred from this era's cartography conventions) and the code "1-405", perhaps [...]
February 7, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
theatlantic.com
The demise of the CIA World Factbook is “part of a broad war on information being waged by the Trump administration,” @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily.
The Trump Administration’s War on Data
A series of recent steps have erased the shared facts that help uphold democracy.
bit.ly
February 7, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
dorothealange.mastodon.ozioso.online.ap.brid.gy
Threshing of oats. Clayton, Indiana, south of Indianapolis

#threshing #clayton #indiana #indianapolis #second #DorotheaLange #undefined #photography #dorothealange

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017763128/
The image depicts a historical black and white photograph featuring two individuals operating an old-fashioned threshing machine on what appears to be a farm. The machinery is large, with prominent metal components including belts, gears, and wheels indicative of early 20th-century technology used in agriculture. One individual stands atop the threshing apparatus, actively engaged in guiding or controlling it through manual effort. This person wears overalls suitable for labor-intensive work, along with a hat providing sun protection, suggesting outdoor activity during daylight hours. The second individual is positioned beside the machine on its side carriage and appears to be assisting by holding onto various parts of the machinery or possibly collecting grain as part of the threshing process. Both individuals exhibit focused expressions indicative of concentration on their tasks. In terms of context, this image likely illustrates agricultural practices from a past era when such manual labor was common for harvesting crops like oats. The setting is rural with open fields visible in the background, reinforcing the notion of farming life and self-sufficiency during that period. The photograph has textual overlays which read "3-jorp -A9," possibly indicating categorization or indexing used by the photographer Dorothea Lange. This could suggest a systematic approach to d [...]
February 7, 2026 at 1:32 AM
jcshepard.com
“With housing affordability a crucial political issue and increasingly out of reach for many Americans, determining the nation’s needs is not merely an academic exercise but is key to devising policies that will solve the problem.”

Julie Z. Weil does great with this. Hope she still has a job today.
February 6, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
mikeysid.bsky.social
apnews.com/article/cens... Bureau plans to use survey with a citizenship question in its test for 2030, alarming experts
Census Bureau plans to use survey with a citizenship question in its test for 2030, alarming experts
The U.S. Census Bureau plans to use a survey form with a citizenship question for its 2030 census practice test.
apnews.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:15 AM
jcshepard.com
With electricity bills rising, some states consider new data center laws

Leaders in at least a dozen states have targeted data centers with separate, higher electric rates.

stateline.org/2026/02/05/w...
#zoning #energy #econdev
With electricity bills rising, some states consider new data center laws • Stateline
As Americans grow increasingly frustrated over their electricity bills, states are trying to keep the nation’s growing number of data centers from causing higher energy costs for consumers.
stateline.org
February 6, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
hansilowang.bsky.social
My latest @npr.org story: The Trump administration is proposing to include a U.S. citizenship question in this year's field test of the #2030Census in Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C., as Republicans push to alter the counts behind voting maps
Trump officials propose testing a citizenship question amid a push to alter the census
The Trump administration proposes to include a question about U.S. citizenship status in this year's field test of the 2030 census, as Republicans push to alter the counts behind voting maps.
www.npr.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
hansilowang.bsky.social
2. ICYMI:
Most Prisoners Can't Vote, But They're Still Counted In Voting Districts
For the redrawing of voting maps, some states are making a little-known change to their census numbers that is expected to shift political power away from rural, predominantly white prison towns.
www.npr.org
February 5, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
npr.org
The Trump administration proposes to include a question about U.S. citizenship status in this year's field test of the 2030 census, as Republicans push to alter the counts behind voting maps. n.pr/46y82Ip
Trump officials propose testing a citizenship question amid a push to alter the census
The Trump administration proposes to include a question about U.S. citizenship status in this year's field test of the 2030 census, as Republicans push to alter the counts behind voting maps.
n.pr
February 5, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
jbrownsaracino.bsky.social
I am incredibly honored that the Death and Life of Gentrification is reviewed in the February 9 issue of the New Yorker. My great thanks to them for their engagement with the book.
February 5, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
urbaninstitute.bsky.social
Homeownership plays a central role in wealth building in the US, yet far less is known about how #wealth evolves after households become homeowners—particularly for #AANHPI households. New Urban #research sheds light and offers insights to inform policy. https://urbn.is/4akHJqr
Figure 7 is titled Median Nonhousing Wealth Among AANHPI Homeowners. The figure shows a bar graph indicating increases in wealth over years since purchase. Bars display wealth amounts: $67,685 for 0-5 years, $149,121 for 6-10 years, $145,329 for 11-15 years, $152,736 for 16-20 years, and $521,530 for 21+ years. Source: Urban Institute analysis of 1999-2023 Panel Study of Income Dynamics data. Note clarifies nonhousing wealth calculation.
February 5, 2026 at 5:45 PM
jcshepard.com
The world passed 8B people... but growth is decelerating as fertility falls... UN projections now expect global population to peak around mid‑century at roughly 10–10.3 billion % then decline gradually by 2100, a major shift from older expectations of continued growth.
jcshepard.com/2026/02/demo...
Demography is Destiny… Except When It Isn’t -
Demography is destiny, the old saying goes, but if the last few years have taught us anything, it is that destiny is rarely a straight line.
jcshepard.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:44 PM
jcshepard.com
WTF #USCensus
hansilowang.bsky.social Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 4d
NEW: This year’s #2030Census test in Huntsville, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C., is using an unrelated survey form that includes a U.S. citizenship question, according to a regulatory filing (To be clear, this is for the “2026 Census Test,” not an actual census)
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PR...
Is this person a citizen of the United States? Yes, born in the United States ➔ SKIP to question 10a Yes, born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas Yes, born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents Yes, U.S. citizen by naturalization – Print year of naturalization C No, not a U.S. citizen
February 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by John C. Shepard, AICP
bencasselman.bsky.social
Job openings fell sharply in December, to their lowest level since September 2020. I would caution, though, that we've seen several of these big moves that have either been revised away or have reversed the following month. #JOLTS
February 5, 2026 at 3:16 PM
jcshepard.com
As an urban planner, I have to be aware of geography, geology, and landscape in just about everything I do. Should have taken geology instead of physics in college, but #StarTrek...

#urbanplanning #geology #geography #STEM #scifi
princetonupress.bsky.social Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 4d
Geology: An Illustrated History by David Bainbridge presents the discoveries and critical scientific advances that inform our understanding of Earth’s origins and the forces driving geological change.

Available 24 Feb. Preorder yours: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

#Geology #EarthScience
Geology: An Illustrated History by David Bainbridge. A wonderfully illustrated history of geology from ancient times to the present day.
February 5, 2026 at 3:36 PM