History / Preservation

Mega-cities of 10 million people or more are getting a lot of attention these days. But smaller big cities are really where interesting and potentially hazardous growth patterns are occurring, according to this piece.

February 14, 2011 - Citiwire

Per Square Mile recount the history of Cahokia, a Mississipian settlement that was the biggest city in America from about 1250 to 1800.

February 11, 2011 - Per Square Mile

One woman in Lansing, Michigan has started a walking mission to explore and document every stretch of street in her city -- a total of more than 400 miles.

February 10, 2011 - Lansing State Journal

As the city of Los Angeles's budget faces deep cuts, money to pay for the upkeep of the city's iconic Watts Towers folk art installation has dried up. But a museum is stepping in to try to keep the Towers alive.

February 9, 2011 - The New York Times

With GPS technology ubiquitous, the lighthouse perched high on a cliff may soon become a relic.

February 5, 2011 - CNN

The Dutch Water Line is a floodable defense system built in the 16th Century in the Netherlands. Hundreds of bunkers were built during World War II, but now sit unused. A design firm has constructed a walkway right through the middle of one.

February 3, 2011 - Icon

Beneath Paris is an underground network of tunnels and quarries, long closed to the public. National Geographic takes a tour of this forbidden part of the city, where urban explorers keep tradition alive.

February 3, 2011 - National Geographic

The retail giant abandons its plans to build a "super-center" atop a Civil War battlefield in Virginia after facing strong resistance from a coalition of preservation organizations.

February 3, 2011 - The Washington Post

In Barcelona, Mario Ballesteros says that now is the time to change the perception of historic preservation from a staid, conservative activity to an active, contemporary approach.

February 2, 2011 - domus

Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a year-long series reading and reviewing 25 books all about L.A.

February 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

This slideshow from The New York Times looks at a variety of examples of large-scale planning efforts that never materialized.

February 2, 2011 - The New York Times

With recent uprisings in Cairo and Tunis, we are reminded that the city has been the center of revolutionary action for hundreds of years, according to this piece from Edward L. Glaeser.

February 2, 2011 - The New York Times

The Domino Effect is a new documentary film that explores the process of real estate development in New York City to uncover the complex networks of banks, developers, politicians, and non-profit organizations that shape our cities.

January 30, 2011 - L Magazine

When Los Angeles drained Owens Lake to bring water into its quickly growing urban basin, it simultaneously created a dry lakebed and one of the worst dust pollution problems in America. Various efforts to fight the problem have only failed.

January 27, 2011 - Places

Planner Robert Voigt created this XtraNorml video to poke fun at the incomprehensibility of planner speak, and how it sabotages community engagement.

January 21, 2011 - Civic Blogger

In Providence, Rhode Island, a team of young developers are breathing new life into an old factory complex. But it's not your typical condo conversion.

January 19, 2011 - Metropolis

The industrialization of Hong Kong created hundreds of abandoned villages on the outskirts of the city. Today, these rural villages struggle to rejuvenate their economies and preserve their traditions.

January 19, 2011 - The New York Times

Part of a new proposal to cut billions from the federal budget includes eliminating the historic preservation programs Save America's Treasures and Preserve America.

January 17, 2011 - Governing Magazine

Aleppo, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, is undergoing a conservation project that includes the restoration of hundreds of houses, a new park, and rebuilding city streets and services.

January 14, 2011 - The New York Times

A new musical has been written about Robert Moses and his impact on New York City. Robert A. Caro, Moses' Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, attends a rehearsal.

January 13, 2011 - The New York Times