On the edge of Los Angeles' Skid Row, a gleaming white arts complex opens. A "stubborn declaration of hope," the center is intended to show architecture's power to create community.
"The materials Maltzan and his collaborators -- landscape architect Nancy Goslee Power and the design firm Ph.D -- are working with the stuff of classic Southern California banality: stucco, concrete, paint, palm trees and limited expanses of glass. If the campus turns a necessarily security-conscious and somewhat blank face to the street, the buildings that make it up -- two rehabbed older structures and a handful of small new ones -- are arranged inside its gates with an unusually effective combination of complexity, practicality, economy and care. The architecture here is layered and intricate without falling into overwrought or self-conscious mannerism, which is among the trickiest tightropes for an architect to walk.
Holding studios, classrooms and performance space, with parking on the rooftop of one of the buildings, ICA provides arts instruction to students from 30 elementary schools, three middle schools and four high schools. Many of the kids it serves live in the neighborhood; others come from families that are chronically homeless."
FULL STORY: Coming clean in the inner city

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.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

How Trump's HUD Budget Proposal Would Harm Homelessness Response
Experts say the change to the HUD budget would make it more difficult to identify people who are homeless and connect them with services, and to prevent homelessness.

The Vast Potential of the Right-of-Way
One writer argues that the space between two building faces is the most important element of the built environment.

Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk
High housing costs are pushing more seniors, many of them on a fixed income, into homelessness.
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