A new project catalogs the city’s history of displacement and its impact on communities of color.
An article by Tiff Murray-Robertson spotlights Virginia Commonwealth University L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs student LaToya Gray-Sparks, who designed “an interactive digital story map that details the efforts of Richmond authorities during the 1930s and ‘40s to displace residents from the city’s Black communities — effectively destroying neighborhoods for generations.”
In addition to documenting the physical destruction of neighborhoods in the mid-twentieth century, the project, titled Planned Destruction, “also visually captures the changing landscape with historic and contemporary maps of the entire city, including Black and white populations, median household incomes, poverty rates and property value.”
Gray-Sparks was selected as one of 25 scholars participating in “Toward a People’s History of Landscape,” a summer institute from the National Endowment for the Humanities. “The highly competitive professional development program supports research and exploration of the nation’s cultural and geographical landscape through social histories, centering on Black and Indigenous historical narratives in the founding of the United States.” According to the article, “During the immersive three-week program, Gray-Sparks will collaborate with scholars to develop online, open-source curriculum modules that teach landscape-oriented social histories.”
FULL STORY: Investigating Richmond’s history of displaced communities
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.