A non-profit group in Chicago wants to open a museum dedicated to American public housing in the Former Public Housing Authority Building.
"To those who regard the plan as a gruesome joke-a museum celebrating hellish high-rises?-there is a simple retort: Not all public housing was high-rise. And not all the stories are bad ones. The point of the museum is to keep the memories alive, not only to provide a touchstone for former public housing residents, but also to learn from the past and build better communities in the future.
That's why it makes sense to recycle the building at 1322-24 W. Taylor St., the lone remaining structure left from the Depression-era Jane Addams Homes, which were razed to make way for a new mixed-income development called Roosevelt Square. It's the real deal, designed in a stripped Bauhaus style by a team of architects led by Chicago's John Holabird of the renowned firm Holabird & Root.
Look beyond the boarded-up windows, and you see a model exercise in doing more with less: a symmetrical brick facade, originally punctuated by steel-sash windows that brought in ample natural light and allowed for cross-ventilation. Architectural details, such as streamlined porches, relieved the austere aesthetic. Along with a courtyard that allowed many parents to watch their children from their apartments, clusters of apartments grouped around multiple entries gave the place a human scale missing from the infamous, postwar mega-projects."
FULL STORY: National public housing museum proposal moving forward

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.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods
A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan
A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown
Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.
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 Clovis
City of Moorpark
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