Columnist and pastor Eric Jacobsen explores New Urbanism and the emerging, and perhaps much more important, Paleo-Urbanism.
"A number of older neighborhoods and urban centers in which many North Americans find themselves happen to be more traditionally urban than suburban.
These 'under the radar' neighborhoods in cities and towns constitute the paleo-urbanist stock of North America. I was introduced to the term "paleo-urbanist" in a casual conversation with Howard Ahmanson at a conference at Seaside, Florida, in 2002. Many of these neighborhoods are in need of private capital investment, improved infrastructure, and better schools. But they have 'good bones' from an urbanist perspective. The success of New Urbanism will be measured not by how many new developments they can start in any particular year, but by how the momentum generated in these developments spills over into the existing urban fabric of North America. Conversely, the collective urban experience of those who live in and shape such historic settings lends legitimacy to the New Urban projects that are vulnerable to the charge of utopianism and nostalgia. As paleo-urbanism begins to look a little newer and New Urbanism begins to look a little older, I think that we'll regain our sense of the positive life-giving force of good urbanism."
Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism Listserv
FULL STORY: The Case for Paleo-Urbanism

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.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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