History / Preservation
Baltimore Pushes ‘Whole Block’ Redevelopment Plan for Vacant Properties
The city will incentivize developers to take on projects that will renovate or redevelop unused city-owned properties.
Historic Bank in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Become Mixed-income Housing
The bank redevelopment project is part of a $140 million state affordable housing initiative.
Reclaiming Transportation as a Place of Resistance
The systems that move us are not neutral — and we don’t have to pretend like they are.
Rebuilding After Fire, Altadena is Designing Public Spaces With Healing and Community in Mind
In the wake of the Eaton fire, Altadena is rebuilding its parks, libraries, and gathering places through innovative, people-centered design that prioritizes healing, flexibility, and the restoration of everyday community life.
Pennsylvania’s Historic Sites are Under Threat From Rising Waters
The state has one of the nation’s highest concentrations of registered historic sites — and some face destruction from flooding.
Tracing the Destruction of the Highway Baltimore Never Built
In “Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore,” historian Emily Lieb demonstrates how the mere threat of a highway project, combined with systemic redlining and predatory real estate practices, can dismantle a community just as effectively as physical construction can.
Trump’s Takeover of Public DC Golf Courses Threatens to Erase “Model Public Playgrounds”
The administration ended a lease for three public golf courses, throwing into question their future as accessible and affordable to D.C. residents.
White House Ballroom Details Revealed Ahead of January 15 Legal Hearing
The ballroom project must receive approval from the National Capital Planning Commission to move forward.
Historic Black Alabama Community Fights Displacement for Concrete Plant
Residents of Mobile’s Africatown neighborhood say building a concrete plant near homes and a historic site is “a step backwards.”
We are Perfectly Poised for Another Robert Moses
When “America is Building Again” while decentering equity, the ghost of Robert Moses haunts us.
Planetizen’s Top Posts of 2025
The most-read articles on Planetizen in 2025.
Small Connecticut Town Approves Controversial 96-Unit Apartment Complex
Just 1.4 percent of housing in the affluent enclave of Woodbridge qualifies as affordable.
How Cambridge Restored its Public Housing
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents speak positively of the renovations to their public housing stock. The housing authority attributes its success to an innovative mix of RAD with other funding sources.
Mixed-Use: More Than a Building Type, it's the DNA of Human Settlement
Scott Doyon unpacks why blending uses in urban design is less about urban/suburban typologies and more about walkable, flexible environments that evolve with community needs. Think neighborhood, not just project.
Planetizen’s Top Urban Planning Books of 2025
How thoughtful deregulation could unlock a housing and infrastructure boom, the social histories that lie behind a globalizing economy, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in planning.
‘Route 66 Rewind’ Uses AI to Bring Historic Route 66 Sites to Life
The “Route 66 Rewind” AI hub seeks to support the preservation of America’s “Mother Road” by inviting users to go on a virtual road trip along the U.S. Route 66.
The Five Oldest Roads in America Still in Use
The history of the United States can be told through its roadways.
The Missing 13th Floor: How Ancient Fears Influence Modern Architecture
If you’ve ever looked closely at the elevator panel of a high-rise hotel or residential building, you’ve likely noticed something missing: a button for the 13th floor.
Retired Vancouver SkyTrain Car Hits Hollywood
As SkyTrain retires its first fleet of cars, the agency is seeking innovative ways to repurpose the roughly 130 first-generation cars.
Company Towns: A Fraught 19th Century Idea is Getting a Second Life
From Lowell to Elon Musk’s Starbase, we trace the rise, fall, and resurgence of company towns.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
