A new exhibit that opened this week at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association's gallery explores the 10 diagrams that have had a monumental influence on urban planning, and the possibilities inherent in the medium.
Emily Badger surveys the 10 highly influential diagrams - from Ebenezer Howard's Garden City to Le Corbusier's Radiant City to the Transect - that comprise SPUR's new exhibition, "Grand Reductions: Ten diagrams that changed urban planning." She also examines the possibilities, both positive and negative, inherent in a "simple illustration's power to encapsulate complex ideas."
"In the urban context, diagrams can be powerful precisely because they
make weighty questions of land use and design digestible in a single
sweep of the eye," notes Badger. "But as Le Corbusier's plan illustrates, they can also
seductively oversimplify the problems of cities."
"The diagram can cut both ways: It can either be a distillation in the
best sense of really taking a very complex set of issues and providing
us with a very elegant communication of the solution," says Benjamin Grant, the public realm and urban design program manager for SPUR. "Or
it can artificially simplify something that actually needs to be
complex."
The exhibit is on show until February 15, 2013 at the SPUR Urban Center Gallery, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco.
FULL STORY: The Evolution of Urban Planning in 10 Diagrams
The Evolution of Green Urbanism
Today’s "Eco" or "Green" Urbanism movement has ancient, cross-cultural roots. This history is worth contemplating for lessons relevant to sustainable planning and design.
Are Garden Cities Sustainable?
The Garden City concept has a long and honorable pedigree within urban planning. Analysis of Sterling Ranch, a master-planned community outside of Denver, Colorado highlights some important issues around social and environmental sustainability.
Clash Over Garden City Apartments in Los Angeles
The Wyvernwood Garden Apartments, a large-scale low-rise development opened in 1939, are at the center of a preservation debate. Lauren Walser gives us the case for keeping them.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie