History / Preservation
Want to Renovate Your San Francisco Home? Good Luck.
San Francisco city planners take a hard line on renovating the city's stock of historic homes. Homeowners, architects, and even preservationists are saying the department has gone too far.
Chicago's Michigan Avenue Endangered
One of Chicago's most famous streetscapes is threatened by proposed new towers.
City Of Stockton Gives Preservationists A Leg Up
The City of Stockton, California votes to impose a temporary moratorium on the demolition of potentially historic buildings to allow staff time to create a permanent ordinance.
Developer Wants to Tear Down Landmark, Rebuild A Few Blocks Away
If you demolish a building, then recreate it exactly in a different spot, will it retain its original character? Atlantans may find out.
Is This Building Worth Preserving?
A Googie-era Denny's Restaurant in the Seattle area is at the center of a debate about how buildings get designated as landmarks. Yesterday, the Preservation Board relented on economic considerations, and the building is slated for demolition.
California Land Conservation Agreement Will Create Sprawl
A recent agreement between developers and environmental groups puts the conservationists in the unfortunate position of not being able to oppose a plan that is the epitome of sprawl, according this editorial.
Saving and Improving Slums
This article from the Harvard Design Magazine looks at slums in Latin America and discusses the important role they play in their cities. Preserving the positive qualities of these communities is increasingly preferred over slum clearance.
When Preservation Trumps Smart Growth
A New Jersey town along the one of the state's light rail line has rejected a plan for adding new mixed-use residential to its downtown, for fear of new development threatening its main street's historic character.
From Dump to Park in Cairo
Cairo's first new green space in more than 100 years has opened -- on top of a 500-year old garbage dump.
City of Portland Maine Cuts Urban Design and Historic Preservation Staff
The City Manager of Portland, Maine terminates 98 positions, including the Urban Designer and Historic Preservation staff, eliminates the Parks Department, and moves the Economic Development department in to the Administrative office.
San Francisco Teaches Charleston About Preserving Lesser-Known Areas
Though more than a hundred years newer, the city of San Francisco has a lot to teach cities like Charleston about preserving their less-than-iconic historic areas.
Kalamazoo Leverages Historic Preservation As Economic Development Tool
Older buildings with lower rents have enabled new businesses to startup in this Michigan city's lively downtown.
Support Wanes for Turkey's Controversial Dam
A massive dam project in Turkey that would flood historic areas and displace 50,000 people is losing international support, as officials in Germany threaten to pull out of the project -- often called a smaller version of China's Three Gorges Dam.
A Battle Over Building Heights
In anti-growth Santa Barbara, preservationists and smart growth advocates have forged a compromise that will permit taller buildings for developments that include affordable housing.
Preserving a California Ghost Town
This article from Discover takes a tour of Bodie, California, a gold-mining mountain ghost town, where the entire city is in a state of "arrested decay".
Urban Trends Erasing Rural Past
Rural communities in Ottawa are being wiped out as urban trends take over the minds of developers and consumers. Rural residents are looking at ways to preserve the character of their communities.
Court Blocks City from Razing Historic Downtown Hotels
In response to the City of Stockton's attempts to block a lawsuit by citizens' group Save Old Stockton concerning demolition of several historic hotels, a California judge granted a temporary injunction to allow time for the lawsuit to proceed.
Putting A Green Spin On Historic Preservation
The National Trust For Historic Preservation has started to trumpet the environmental benefits of recycling buildings and neighborhoods.
Reclaiming an 'Urban Wilderness' in Brooklyn
This article from Orion looks at an "urban wilderness" in Brooklyn that is being reclaimed and reused by locals.
Sprawl Not an Option for Rural Chicago Suburb
Th small town of Golf, Illinois, is likely to stay that way because of barriers at its borders. Its residents couldn't be happier.
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
