History / Preservation

This is not our first story on preserving a huge donut sign. What makes this one special is that it's as much about Long Beach as it is about preservation. And what makes it ironic is whom they had to fight to keep the donut from being torn down!

February 12, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

A new study shows evidence of dramatic positive impacts for the New Mexico MainStreet program, a state program working in coordination with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

February 10, 2014 - KRWG

The permanent art collection of the Atlanta BeltLine just added a relic from the city’s past—a thirteen-ton sculpture crafted out of old train tracks—but it's not the only example of repurposed detritus from the city's history of demolition.

February 7, 2014 - Atlanta Magazine

Plans to build “movie theaters, restaurants and a 34-story hotel” overlap with the archaeological site of a 2,000-year-old Tequesta village.

February 6, 2014 - Bradenton Herald

Nomenclature changes, especially for cities with chronologies spanning centuries and even millennia. Test your knowledge of historic, even ancient, place names.

February 1, 2014 - Guardian Cities

In the eighth installment of the Urban Juxtapositions series profiled in Planetizen on January 16, Chuck Wolfe asks if we are using the right language when it comes to densifying urban spaces.

February 1, 2014 - myurbanist

It's hard to keep up with the endless quest to present the world's knowledge in map form, but luckily we've got Max Fisher as a guide. He's collected 40 more fascinating maps that explain world history, present conditions and future scenarios.

January 31, 2014 - The Washington Post

These 15 ancient cities can help modern urbanites plan more efficient and sustainable municipalities.

January 30, 2014 - Future Cities

Completed in 1880 as a company town by railcar tycoon George Pullman, the 300-acre Pullman Historic District in Chicago could be a beautiful addition to the National Park System.

January 24, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

Developers are seeking allowances to gut the historic Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia to build an eight-screen movie complex.

January 23, 2014 - PlanPhilly

Outcry over the potential sale of post offices in Berkeley and the Bronx has prompted those areas’ respective Congressional representatives to seek federal legislation to put the brakes on the Postal Service’s rush to sell historic properties.

January 23, 2014 - Washington Post

In an ongoing series, Urbanism Without Effort author Chuck Wolfe argues the importance of the overlaps, overlays and convergence points that define city life, and emphasizes the importance of reading and interpreting their everyday expression.

January 16, 2014 - myurbanist

From Denver to Syracuse, U.S. cities are looking to heal neighborhoods torn apart by the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Could an alternative way of envisioning and financing such a system provide lessons for the developing world?

January 15, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Preserving urban landscapes can be just as important as preserving historic buildings. However, saving our design heritage needs to be balanced with the imperative that places effectively meet the functional needs of contemporary cities.

January 13, 2014 - Mark Hough

Over the last several decades, researchers have examined how our cities deplete natural resources and change the climate and ecosystems of their surrounding areas. But new evidence shows that such impacts aren't a purely modern phenomenon.

January 9, 2014 - Smithsonian

The stay of execution that was granted to the Museum of American Folk Art after protests from architects and preservationists has been lifted. MoMA has announced plans to demolish the celebrated building to accommodate its expansions plans.

January 9, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Faced with $95 million in necessary repairs just 32 years after its Michael Graves-designed administrative headquarters was opened, Portland officials are considering razing the nation's first major work of postmodern architecture.

January 8, 2014 - Portland Architecture

As Chicago's population surged in the second decade of the 20th century, one dominant single-family housing type spread across the city. Over the next year the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate these distinctive homes.

January 7, 2014 - WBEZ

During the nightly blackouts designed to protect London from aerial attack during World War II, authorities used white paint as a cheap tool for making the city navigable in the darkness. Could London offer lessons for building resilient cities?

January 7, 2014 - Gizmodo

Louise Bethune was a trailblazer in architecture, yet her burial place didn't even bear her name for over a century. Buffalo's industry heavyweights honored her with a memorial marker last month.

January 5, 2014 - Fast Co. Design