After a trip through Eastern Germany in 1990 photographing blasted out buildings from World War Two, photographer Stefan Koppelkamm's second trip ten years later revealed vastly renovated places -- to his disappointment.
"Ten years after his journey through an East Germany reminiscent of pre-war days, photographer Stefan Koppelkamm took another look at his pictures. What had become of those old facades? He returned to the Neustadt (new town) area of Dresden. It isn't difficult for him to find the same buildings again: 'I noted down the addresses the first time, and for some pedantic reason I even wrote down the focal lengths I used.' With the old photo in his hand, he quickly found the location.
But after the first stop he would have preferred to cancel the tour altogether. The buildings had been renovated. 'In quite a normal, almost trivial style,' said the designer. 'The thrill of the first trip was gone.'"
Der Spiegel has a slideshow of some of Koppelkamm's photos.
FULL STORY: A Massive Facelift for Eastern Germany

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont