Built as an embodiment of the ideals of prison reformers, the Eastern State Penitentiary had running water and central heating before the White House, and housed the first synagogue built in an American prison.
When Sarah Lerner showed up at the Eastern State Penitentiary on a dark, cold January morning for the first day of David Brownlee’s class about the historic prison-turned-museum in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood, she wasn’t signed up for the class, or even planning on taking it.
“I just tagged along with friends to check it out,” says Lerner, a first year graduate student in historic preservation. “But it was so immersive from the second I got there. I was hooked.”
FULL STORY: Eastern State Penitentiary: A Penn Class about the Past Speaks to the Present and the Future
Seattle Exhibit Grapples With Redlining Past and Present
A creative exhibit highlights how redlining and racist exclusion persist today.
Architectures for Art and Crime
Art, architecture, and incarceration collide in essays on prison design from the Panopticon to the Golden Gulag.
Museum of Public Housing Opens in Chicago
The museum highlights the history of public housing in the United States using displays intimately woven with family artifacts.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Washington State’s Parking Reform Law Could Unlock ‘Countless’ Acres for New Housing
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Wildlife Rebounds After the Eaton Fire
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LA to Replace Inglewood Light Rail Project With Bus Shuttles
LA Metro says the change is in response to community engagement and that the new design will be ready before the 2028 Olympic Games.
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.
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions