History / Preservation

19th Century Chicago History Goes Hollywood

Hollywood producers are planning a film version of the Chicago-focused book The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic And Madness At The Fair That Changed America.

November 13, 2010 - Deadline New York

The Plan That Changed Urban Planning

A tour shows off the results of a plan that "completely changed the direction of urban planning for much of the last century."

November 10, 2010 - New Urban Network

Is Moving A House the Same As Preserving It?

Brad Vogel of the National Trust for Historic Preservation marvels at the number of house movings that have happened recently, and asks if it is a viable approach for preservation -- or not.

November 8, 2010 - National Trust For Historic Preservation

Turning A Brutal Regime into a Tourist Attraction

Officials in Cambodia are hoping to capitalize on tourists' interest in the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge regime with a proposed theme park.

November 3, 2010 - The Atlantic

Taking Over a Ghost Town

This piece from The New York Times offers a first hand look at life in a modern day mining ghost town from someone who is steadily buying up empty buildings.

November 2, 2010 - The New York Times

Urban Homestead Sectors, Naturescapes, and Green Venture Zones

A group called The Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD) released a report this week that breaks the city down into 11 different district types, each with their own character and policy recommendations.

October 27, 2010 - New Urban News Network

Developers Vs. Architectural History

In Samara, a Russian city on the Volga, a rich architecture of wooden buildings is quickly disappearing, thanks to corrupt government and thoughtless devleopers.

October 25, 2010 - The Guardian U.K.

The Downfall of 'the Paris of the Middle East'

Historic architecture is rapidly being replaced by cookie-cutter high-rises in Cairo, much to the displeasure of local architects and historians.

October 20, 2010 - BBC

A Developer in the Park

Sitting in a controversial niche in the development market, Thomas Chapman develops plans for parcels within national parks, only to take buyouts from environmental groups or the government. He's got a bold new proposal on the way.

October 19, 2010 - The Wall Street Journal

Ghost Town Swallowed by Desert

A town built in the Namibian desert has been abandoned for decades. The sand has taken over.

October 15, 2010 - Environmental Graffiti

'Inchvesting' in the Future of Detroit

A group in Detroit has begun an effort to sell of one-inch parcels of land in the city for $1.

October 13, 2010 - Boing Boing

Fearing a 'Middle Class Ghetto'

As London redevelops its troubled East End ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics, organizers are warning against the post-event developments turning into ghettos of the middle class.

October 12, 2010 - Building Design

An Example of Post-Industrial Rebirth

Germany's Ruhr region, a former coal and steel powerhouse that fell into decline, has shown major improvements in recent years, offering hope for other post-industrial cities.

October 12, 2010 - Citiwire

Reviews and Reflections on the Best New Urban Parks

The New Republic offers a look and review of some of the nation's best new urban parks.

October 9, 2010 - The New Republic

San Francisco's Missing Statue of Liberty

The history of San Francisco's version of the Statue of Liberty, and how it disappeared, is discussed in this episode of 99% Invisible, a new radio segment from KALW.

October 6, 2010 - 99% Invisible

Preservationists Save Uncle Tom's Cabin. Oh, Wait...

State and county officials spent over two million dollars saving a cabin thought to be the former home of Josiah Henson, the model for the Uncle Tom character in the novel. New evidence shows they were wrong.

October 5, 2010 - The Washington Post

Photographing a Decade of Difference in East Germany

After a trip through Eastern Germany in 1990 photographing blasted out buildings from World War Two, photographer Stefan Koppelkamm's second trip ten years later revealed vastly renovated places -- to his disappointment.

October 1, 2010 - Der Spiegel

Trying to Protect Farms and Forests, But Saving Open Space

A land use law passed in Oregon in the 1970s that was meant to protect farmland and forests hasn't really protected either, according to a new report.

September 29, 2010 - The Idaho Statesman

Could Classic Hill Towns Be a Model for Town Planning?

In classic hill towns, people showed innovation and dynamic placemaking--lessons learned for urbanism in the new century, says Chuck Wolfe.

September 27, 2010 - myurbanist

Who Killed the Streetcar?

It's an article of faith among many that GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil destroyed the streetcar networks of the early 20th century. Stephen Smith suggests that Progressive Era and New Deal planners and politicians should shoulder more of the blame.

September 23, 2010 - Market Urbanism

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.