History / Preservation
The Colliding Legacies of Olmsted and Obama
Architects will soon be hired to design Obama's presidential library in Chicago. It may turn out to be a beautiful building, but will it be worth all that is lost in the process?
Brooklyn's Tallest Proposed Building Has Date With Landmarks Preservation Commission
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the 1,066-foot building is what distinguishes it from other high rises of its size across the East River—it will be residential.
The Portrayal of Detroit Through 'Ruin Porn' Fails To Tell The Full Story
Do the stylized pictures of crumbling edifices and the recent incorporation of a vacant home in an art show do a disservice to the residents—mostly poor and black—who still call Detroit home?
Parking Minimums Could Torpedo an Adaptive Reuse Project in Cincinnati
A vote by the city of Cincinnati's Historic Conservation Board, of all things, would prioritize parking over historic integrity.
Fortunately, Unfortunately: A Children's Primer on Urban Evolution
Scott Doyon rewrote a classic children's book as a history of US cities since World War II. Fortunately, it's a quick read. Unfortunately, it's up to all of us how it ends.
Take a Tour of Super Bowl City (San Francisco) Then and Now
So the Super Bowl is actually being hosted down the road in Santa Clara, but San Francisco has been Super Bowl City all week. Luckily a feature by The Guardian offers a chance to compare The City's history with its present.
Friday Eye Candy: The Nuclear Missile Sites of Los Angeles
The former locations of nuclear missile sites are more mundane than you probably realize. Geoff Manaugh explores satellite images of Los Angeles, and other cities, for examples.
On the 50-Year Legacy of the New York City Landmarks Law
This past April, the Landmarks Law turned 50. Its legacy and impact has been inconsequential for shaping the urban environment.
Let's Talk Water
Water has been an integral part of the designed landscape for centuries, but is it time to reevaluate its relevance?
Gentrification and 'The Slums of Beverly Hills'
There is hidden economic diversity even in one of the most famous (and toniest) of zip codes.
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.
Rowhouses Have an Ally in Philadelphia
An important source of housing affordable to wide ranges of incomes has a new, well-funded ally in Philadelphia—the Healthy Rowhouse Project is hoping to make a big impact in 2016.
Friday Eye Candy: Explore a Changing New York From Above
A little Christmas Day diversion for those who never stop thinking about cities.
Endangered Places in 2015: Texas Dancehalls
Dancehalls—places for small-town Texans to gather for community—are struggling to survive in a changing Texas.
A Conservationist Turns to the City
Journalist Alex Ulam speaks with Sarene Marshall, director of the Urban Land Institute's Center for Sustainability, about the role conservation is playing in fighting climate change and her role at the agency.
The Most Popular Planetizen Posts of 2015
The results of a year's worth of writing, reading, sharing, and commenting are in. These are the most popular Planetizen posts from the year 2015.
Historic Hong Kong: Visualizing a Changed City
Created with input from historian Mark Footer, this tool overlays street views of modern Hong Kong with historical photos from the colonial era through the 20th century.
Four New Map Books Reviewed
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for a planner? Check out these new map books.
Death of the Federal Transportation User Fee
The passage of the five-year FAST Act, the first long-term transportation bill since 2005, solidifies the trend that has been in place since 2008, when General Fund transfers to the Highway Trust Fund first began. Such transfers are now the new norm.
Germane Barnes' Vision for Opa-Locka
Known for its unique Moorish Revival architecture, and beset by a host of urban problems, the Miami suburb may have found its savior in Germane Barnes. The young architect and planner aims to revitalize the area without gentrifying it.
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
