A master-planned town in Quebec built by an American industrialist as a "workingman's utopia" is being touted as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Arvida was once an experiment hailed at the time as "the city built in 135 days". To recognize this legacy, a group of boosters is hoping to have the town named a World Heritage site.
According to the Globe and Mail:
"[Arvida] was to be no ordinary boom town. By the 1920s, [aluminum magnate Arthur Vining Davis] recruited a New York planner and shaped both a company town and a model metropolis, 240 kilometres north of Quebec City. A century on, his 'utopia' is still standing. The tidy 'workmen's' homes built as part of Arvida's original scheme still rise on spacious lots on winding, tree-lined streets – no grid-like monotony here. Each house was built with a garden and distinctive architectural style. Arvida was planned down to compulsory dog licences. The town got schools, churches and a way of life that included free Saturday night dances for the workers.
This month organizers will present their case for [recognizing Arvida as a World Heritage site] to Parks Canada, a critical first step before reaching UNESCO."
FULL STORY: Town that aluminum built hopes to join World Heritage list
EPCOT: The Original 'Smart City'
What can today’s futurists learn from Disney’s unrealized utopia?
Op-Ed: Utopian Thinking Poses Continued Dangers for Urbanists
Charles Wolfe calls attention to similarities between contemporary urbanism and yesterday's debunked utopias. The two may differ in substance, but both tend toward a certain level of dogma that isn't necessarily helpful on the ground.
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?
The Vast Potential of the Right-of-Way
One writer argues that the space between two building faces is the most important element of the built environment.
Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk
High housing costs are pushing more seniors, many of them on a fixed income, into homelessness.
Massachusetts Budget Helps Close MBTA Budget Gap
The budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey includes $470 million in MBTA funding for the next fiscal year.
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