Chicago preservationists are urging owners of the last of the city's neon signs to keep them intact.
"'When there's a threat of a landmark sign coming down, there's often a grass-roots movement to save it,' says Tod Swormstedt, founder of Cincinnati's American Sign Museum. 'When people think of retro, they think of the '50s. That means neon.'
The first neon sign was sold to a Paris barber in 1912. By the 1920s, they were considered the most modern and stylish way to advertise. Light is produced when an electric current is sent through gas in a glass tube.
Neon fell out of favor in the 1960s and 1970s when urban renewal was a priority and zoning regulations often banned new neon signs. When businesses were sold or remodeled, their neon signs often were thrown away.
Neon signs are more fragile, harder to repair and use more electricity than LEDs, says Bob Clauss of Parvin-Clauss Sign Company Inc. in Carol Stream, a Chicago suburb. Those factors often prompt businesses with old neon signs to replace them, he says. 'Customers are looking for a good value, and they want to do what's right for the environment,' Clauss says."
FULL STORY: Save neon signs, fans urge

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont