Clybourne Park, a play exploring race, real estate, and community tensions, can set the stage for discussion on the lasting impacts of housing discrimination, gentrification, and the fight for affordability.

Clybourne Park, a Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play, recently staged at the Arvada Center in Colorado, uses satire and sharp dialogue to explore systemic racism, gentrification, and community identity — then and now. Set in a fictional South Chicago neighborhood, the play unfolds in two acts: the first in 1959 as a white couple sells their home to a Black family, and the second in 2009, with a white couple seeking to gentrify the same house in a now-majority-Black neighborhood.
The production, directed by Kenny Moten, highlights how deeply racism, classism, ableism, and exclusion are embedded in American society. Moten notes how these issues remain relevant today, challenging audiences to examine their role in division and disconnection.
The March 23 performance was followed by a community panel on housing issues, featuring experts from local affordable housing organizations and advocacy groups. They discussed the real-life housing crisis in Arvada — a suburb grappling with a $612,500 median home price — and the urgent need for collaboration to increase affordable housing access. Panelists emphasized how the arts can drive awareness and spark critical conversations around equity, displacement, and community futures.
Ultimately, Clybourne Park serves as both a mirror and a catalyst, encouraging audiences to reckon with the past and commit to building a more inclusive, just housing future.
FULL STORY: Clybourne Park on Stage, Housing Inequity in Real Life—A Post-Show Reflection

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service