History / Preservation

Aerial Texas Hill Country at sunset, with an aerial view of a highway interchange and Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas.

Austin Interstate Expansion Plan Draws Opposition

A proposal to widen I-35 has drawn criticism from community members who want to see the city shift away from car-centric development.

September 15, 2021 - Texas Signal

People in front of Texas African American History Memorial, Texas State Capitol Grounds

Boosting the Signal on East Austin's African American Cultural Heritage District

The city of Austin formally designated the African American Cultural Heritage District in 2007, but recently decided to focus new planning and economic development energy to reaffirm the district's significance in the community.

September 7, 2021 - Community Impact Newspaper

An image of historic Penn Station when it was first built in 1910, viewed from the outside with people, carriages, and streetcars passing by.

What Is Historic Preservation?

Historic preservation is a controversial, highly contested cause, with a long history of failures and successes in the United States.

September 2, 2021 - James Brasuell

The backboar of a basketball hoop is painted orange with the words "orange Mound"--the name of a historically black neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis Targets Adaptive Reuse of Historic School for Neighborhood Benefits

A plan to rehabilitate the vacant former location of Melrose High School in Memphis' Orange Mound neighborhood "recalls many other recent initiatives aimed at elevating and investing in Black urban history."

September 1, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

An image of Washington D.C. with highways and the streaks from car head and tail lights in the foreground, and the Washington Monument in the background.

The History of Federal Infrastructure Funding: As Determined by the Founding Fathers

The ability of the federal government to fund, and define, infrastructure, owes itself to a history of state and federal leadership at the dawn of the nation's existence.

August 31, 2021 - The Washington Post

Philadelphia

Neighborhood Rezoning Proposal at Odds With Philadelphia's Comprehensive Plan

While planning departments around the country make news for removing exclusionary zoning and parking requirements, many neighborhoods still show a strong preference for parking minimums and development limits. Case in point: Germantown, Philadelphia.

August 31, 2021 - WHYY

Detroit Vacant Properties

Detroit Residents Find it Hard to Access Land Bank Properties

Longtime residents say the city is not fulfilling its goal of keeping vacant parcels in the hands of locals as property values rise steeply.

August 19, 2021 - Outlier Media

View of Portland, Oregon from Pittock Mansion

The Long Road to Portland's Historic Residential Infill Project

How the journey of one zoning reform campaign can inform future efforts.

August 16, 2021 - Sightline

Hells Kitchen Sidewalk New York City

Looking Beyond the 'Sidewalk Ballet:' Jane Jacobs in the 21st Century

While The Death and Life of Great American Cities remains an urban planning classic, today's planners must contend with challenges that Jacobs couldn't have anticipated.

August 12, 2021 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Illinois Freeway

Why Infrastructure Spending Should Center Equity

To begin to reverse decades of discrimination and disinvestment, future infrastructure spending must put equity at the forefront.

August 9, 2021 - Fast Company

Water Treatment

How Cities Can Manage Drought Risk and Conserve Water

As climate change and population growth strain fresh water resources, tactics from around the world provide universal lessons for building water-smart cities.

August 6, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

New York

How Downtown Public Space Investments Impact Equity

Efforts to revitalize declining downtowns have, in some cases, become catalysts for supporting small, minority-owned, local businesses.

August 6, 2021 - Brookings Institution

Lake Powell

Lake Powell's Houseboat Launches Running Dry

Record low water levels are sinking Lake Powell's houseboat industry as climate change threatens water supplies in the West.

August 5, 2021 - The Guardian

Homeless

Mapping Informal Neighborhoods

New mapping tools are helping cities around the world map and understand their poorest communities.

August 5, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

Hoover Dam

How Extreme Heat Threatens the Electrical Grid

Higher demand for electricity and lower capacity for production due to more intense heat waves are straining the power grid and causing concern for future energy production.

August 5, 2021 - High Country News

El Paso Trolleys

El Paso Streetcar Returns With Free Fares

The historic streetcars will connect uptown and downtown amenities in a 4.8-mile loop.

August 4, 2021 - KLAQ

Portland, Oregon street

Redlined Neighborhoods Suffer More From Extreme Heat

The recent heat wave in the Pacific Northwest highlighted how historical inequities still affect the health and well-being of low-income and marginalized communities.

July 23, 2021 - Atmos

House in Tucson, Arizona

More Western Cities Approve ADUs to Help Relieve Housing Crisis

Proponents of 'granny flats' say they can alleviate housing shortages and help families keep their homes, but others worry that the programs don't do enough to target low- and middle-income property owners.

July 22, 2021 - High Country News

Texas Flood

Flood Buyouts Exacerbate Inequality in Harris County, Texas

New research shows that less affluent households disperse farther to find affordable homes, leading to a loss of community and social capital.

July 19, 2021 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Chicago Public Housing

What Is Urban Renewal?

Ostensibly intended to improve "blighted" neighborhoods and provide better housing conditions, urban renewal often involved displacement and the wholesale destruction of urban communities.

July 16, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.