History / Preservation
Dropping Bombs and Dropping Parking Lots
This post from The Overhead Wire looks at the impact of parking lot sprawl in American downtowns -- and finds a striking resemblance between those downtowns and bomb-ravaged cities from World War Two.
Hollywood Sign Edited in the Name of Preservation
With the threat of its sale bringing the prospect of hilltop housing development behind the city's most well-known icon, the hills near the Hollywood sign in L.A. have spurred local activists to drape a new anti-development message over the sign.
Preservation Win as Century Plaza Hotel Saved
The developers that purchased L.A.'s Century Plaza Hotel, a swooping mid-century building, planned to raze it and start over. Preservationists fought back, and a new plan has been announced to preserve a significant section of it.
Historic Preservation Programs Nixed By Obama
The Obama administration has cancelled two Federal programs - Save America's Treasures and Preserve America - that were responsible for the restoration of nearly 900 historic structures over the past 10 years.
Reinventing Mobility in Detroit
PBS documents Detroit's attempts to overcome its history as "the Motor City" to create new ways of getting people around. Transit advocates play a big part in this preview, which includes renderings of projected transit options.
Tiki Preservation
The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a tiki-themed apartment complex built in 1962, was designated an historic district by the City of Palm Springs.
Reviving the National Mall
After receiving thousands of comments and suggestions, planners in Washington D.C. have narrowed options down to five plans for remaking the National Mall.
Atmospheric Cities
Two interesting video submissions this week, one an atmospheric tour of Vancouver, BC and one of San Francisco before the 1906 earthquake.
Notes on Structural Change: Redefining the Problem of Weak Markets
The foreclosure crisis spreading across America has burdened cities and neighborhoods with value-draining vacancies and abandoned properties. To counteract the economic havoc they've caused, planners and policymakers must focus on restoring confidence in the market, according to neighborhood planning consultants Charles Buki and Elizabeth Humphrey Schilling.
Carbon Emission Standards vs. Historic Preservation
In the U.K., new carbon emission standards may mean that great numbers of buildings from the 1960s and 70s will need to be demolished.
Conservation Easements on the Rise
This piece from Miller-McCune looks at the conservation easement and explains how the legal device is being used to protect land and prevent sprawl.
National Planning for the Next Century
The United States has a long history of planning at the national level. This article from Professor Robert Fishman details that history, and looks at how national planning may play out over the next 100 years.
Iraq Beyond Baghdad
Basra and Mosul are Iraq's second- and third-largest cities. In this post, Iraqi journalists talk about the two cities, their evolving public realms and the security issues they face.
Lost, and Restored in 2009
The National Trust for Historic Preservation takes a look at the most significant buildings saved or restored in 2009, and the 'most crushing losses.'
Friday Funny: Buried Sea Lion Carcass Reeks of Retaliation to Nudists
A group of Southern California nudists is criticizing parks officials who buried a dead sea lion near their controversial stomping grounds -- a stinky development in the long battle between nudists and officials over the contested beach.
Preservation Office Delaying Stimulus Projects in California
California stimulus projects and job creation are being delayed by a state office tasked with reviewing federally-funded construction projects to prevent adverse affects on historic sites, according to a new report.
Locals Peeved About New 'Clean' Scottish Power Lines
A 137-mile clean energy transmission line has been approved in the UK, connecting wind and wave power facilities near the coast. But some environmental groups are not happy about the plan.
Embattled Cape Cod Wind Farm Hits Spiritual Speedbump
After lobbying from two Native American tribes, the Nantucket Sound has been made eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, creating a possible further delay of a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod.
The Ruins of Detroit and New Orleans
Bryan Finoki looks at the devastated cities of Detroit and New Orleans and finds "blueprints for the manufacture of ruin".
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
