History / Preservation
Archival Gems: Century-Old Photos of America’s First Articulated Buses
A richly illustrated trip through the history of articulated buses in America.
William Whyte’s Seminal Urban Film Restored
‘The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces’ changed the way planners view public space and ushered in a new way of understanding urban patterns.
20 Years After Katrina, New Orleans is More Unaffordable Than Ever
The city’s post-hurricane redevelopment has failed to include its most vulnerable residents.
Does Historic Preservation Really Define a “Successful” City?
One common argument against new housing is that a successful city is an historic city. The data says otherwise.
When Lewis Mumford Came to Santa Fe
Urbanist Lewis Mumford visited Santa Fe in 1962–63, and four conversational essays followed. Mumford’s observations are still relevant today.
Researchers Digitally Reconstruct Lost NYC Free Black Village
Central Park rests on the remains of a displaced village built by free Black Americans in the 1820s.
Revitalizing LA’s Historic General Hospital
Los Angeles County is transforming its historic General Hospital into a mixed-use community with housing, healthcare, and green space — an ambitious project aimed at revitalizing underserved neighborhoods while preserving a cultural landmark.
LA is Home to a Growing Native Hawaiian Diaspora
Los Angeles has become a cultural stronghold for Native Hawaiians on the mainland, offering a sense of community, continuity, and connection for those living far from the Islands.
Houston Construction Reveals Former Streetcar Rails
Road construction workers dug up buried streetcar rails and brickwork paving.
The Osage Nation’s Effort to Clean Up Abandoned Oil Wells
The Osage Nation is leading a complex and long-term initiative to identify, plug, and remediate thousands of orphaned oil wells on its reservation, protecting land, water, and community health for future generations.
A Vision for the Future: LA County Releases Draft Sustainability Plan
Los Angeles County has released the draft 2025 OurCounty Sustainability Plan — shaped by community input — and is inviting public feedback through August 22 to help guide the County’s path toward a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future.
Nature Starts Here: The Essential Role of Nature Centers and Outdoor Programs
Nature centers and outdoor programs serve as vital gateways to environmental education, equity, and stewardship — bringing people closer to nature and inspiring the next generation to care for the planet.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Frederick Wiseman: Cinema’s Greatest Chronicler of the City
For over 60 years the legendary documentarian has quietly chronicled the urban American experience. The result is a subtle, stubborn celebration of the unsung hero of civic life: process.
Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.
Albuquerque Route 66 Motels Become Affordable Housing
A $4 million city fund is incentivizing developers to breathe new life into derelict midcentury motels.
New Jersey Duplexes Elicit Mixed Reactions
Modern, two-unit residences are proliferating in northern New Jersey communities, signaling for some a boon to the housing supply and to others a loss of historic architecture.
May Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
Mall redevelopment, saving California’s high-speed rail, and a provocative rethinking of the concept of redlining.
In Dense NYC, What Does ‘Human Scale’ Mean?
Advocates reject the NIMBY label, arguing that they seek a more sustainable, incremental pace of growth modeled on mid-rise neighborhoods.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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
