Alexander Garvin passed away in New York on December 17, 2021.
Paul Goldberger writes in the New York Times of the death of Alexander Garvin, whose career in planning has no peer:
Alexander Garvin, a city planner, architect and author who directed the planning for the former World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks and developed the vision for a 2012 Olympics proposal in New York, died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 80.
The article details Mr. Garvin's time working for five mayoral administrations in New York City. The article also recognizes Mr. Garvin's contributions to the canon of planning literature, authoring The American City: What Works, What Doesn’t (1996) and The Planning Game (2013), and What Makes a Great City (2016).
Among the other career highlights described in the detailed obituary, linked below, are Mr. Garvin's first encounter with the work of Jane Jacobs, time spent working for Philip Johnson, creating the bid that almost brought the 2012 Olympics to New York but still transformed the city, working for the Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency that oversaw the rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, time working on the Beltline in Atlanta, and 55 years teaching planning at Yale University.
FULL STORY: Alexander Garvin, Visionary City Planner, Is Dead at 80

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time
A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
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.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions