New Jersey's Newark Museum is world class, but middle-class fear and suburban sprawl have left it underused.
"Why was so fabulous a collection unable to draw a crowd on a Saturday afternoon? Alas, the Newark Museum is an aging inner-city temple to art that appears to have outlived its clientele. In fact, the museum behaves as though it's slightly embarrassed to display its wares, which also include major collections of African and Tibetan art: It doesn't even sell a handbook of its holdings at the museum store."
"The [Newark's] decline now appears to have halted, but you don't need a census taker to tell you that something is still terribly wrong: All you have to do is take the five-minute walk from the downtown train station to the handsome New Jersey Performing Arts Center, noticing along the way that none of the newer, post-riot buildings has street-level windows. The architecture of Newark is a fever chart of middle-class fear."
[Editor's note: This story is accessible online without subscription for a period of seven days after publication.]
FULL STORY: Visit to an Empty Museum
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
San Diego Votes to Rein in “Towering” ADUs
City council voted to limit the number of units in accessory buildings to six — after confronting backyard developments of up to 100 units behind a single family home.
Texas Legislature’s Surprising Pro-Housing Swing
Smaller homes on smaller lots, office to apartment conversions, and 40% less say for NIMBYs, vote state lawmakers.
Even Edmonton Wants Single Staircase Buildings
Canada's second most affordable major city joins those angling to nix the requirement for two staircases in multi-family buildings.
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.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)