History / Preservation

Revived plans to build a large mixed-use development in Hollywood next to an iconic building are awakening some concerns about the potential loss of historic character.

June 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

A city built secretly by the U.S. government to be a center for the design and development of the atomic bomb still stands today as an interestingly urban piece of U.S. history.

June 1, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

Rem Koolhaas laments the expansion of historic preservation, saying that inevitably "We will preserve things before they are even finished."

May 29, 2011 - ARTINFO

The city of Wellington, an emerging center for filmmaking in New Zealand, is considering a plans to build a hillside sign with the word "Wellywood" -- an homage to the famous "Hollywood" sign. Hollywood is not flattered.

May 27, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Crows are seemingly everywhere, including cities. A new book looks at the relationship between people and crows in urban areas and what it says about modern cities.

May 27, 2011 - THE DIRT

Having lured its first major retailer on Main Street, revitalization efforts in Columbia, South Carolina's urban corridor seem to be finally paying off.

May 26, 2011 - The State

A recent design competition aimed at reviving Miami's waterfront Marine Stadium has breathed new life into the area and offered innovative ideas for reusing the site.

May 26, 2011 - The Miami Herald

In this excerpt from a new book on Los Angeles, L.A.-based architect Michael Maltzan reflects on the city, and how its clashes and evolving identity are part of why it represents the future of cities.

May 25, 2011 - Places

Preparations for the World Cup and Olympics are displacing hundreds of families in Rio de Janeiro. One neighborhood next to a major stadium has been turned into a ghost town.

May 21, 2011 - Guardian

At the center of ongoing protests and uproar in the Middle East, iconic and historical public spaces hold political clout.

May 20, 2011 - Time Magazine

This interactive map from the BBC tracks growth and urbanization in global cities from 1955 up through 2015.

May 19, 2011 - BBC

Exposition Park in Los Angeles is on the verge of major changes -- a retired space shuttle, the last days of a stadium, new transit access, and the demolition of a piece of big-name architecture. But looking at its history, changes are nothing new.

May 18, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

In the 1920s, when the concept of a big city like New York was still new to many Americans, one newspaper columnist brought the city to small town America.

May 15, 2011 - Smithsonian

Community groups in Philadelphia are trying to remake blighted vacant properties into community gardens and neighborhood amenities.

May 13, 2011 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

After 22 years in office, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is leaving office. This piece looks back on his mixed impact on the urban design of the city.

May 13, 2011 - Chicago Tribune

This op-ed from Al Jazeera looks at some of the negative ways preparations for the World Cup and Olympics are affecting the poor in Brazil.

May 12, 2011 - Al Jazeera

25 years after the publication of Cadillac Desert, scientists have scrutinized the predictions of the hallmark history of water in the Western U.S. and find that its dire warnings are not far off.

May 12, 2011 - Miller-McCune

An article in The Architect's Newspaper describes post-Katrina redevelopment plans and calls the city a lab for architecture and planning.

May 11, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Harvard professor Edward Glaeser's Triumph of the City presents cool-headed analysis that largely confirms the theories that Jane Jacobs first advanced 40 years ago, says Adam Christian.

May 10, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

A proposal to build a casino in downtown Minneapolis has locals and lawmakers wondering if it's a good deal for the city. The governor wants more than the suggested 25% take of revenues, but others say even that is not worthwhile.

May 6, 2011 - Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune