Elgin Park is a small city that doesn't exist. But online, through a series of photographs created from tiny models in the house of one Massachusetts man, the time-frozen industrial town of the mid-'60s has come to life.
"The memories, and the images on the Flickr photo-sharing site, belong to Michael Paul Smith. They've made his town' a tourist destination, attracting about 20 million views, all arriving through cyberspace, since January.
You won't find Mr. Smith in Elgin Park - in a corporal sense, he resides in Winchester, Mass., just north of Boston - nor is the town on any map. It is not based on Elgin, Ill., or any other Elgin. Rather, Elgin Park is an imaginary melting pot of a steel mill town where the calendar is frozen at 1964.
Mr. Smith posted his first Elgin Park images about two years ago; for some time, they were attracting only about 200 views a day. For reasons that aren't entirely clear - someone in the Flickr community clicked on the slide show feature and then sent the link to others - the images began to spread virally in January. At times, daily page views approached 750,000, Mr. Smith said."
Using a series of die-cast model cars from the mid-20th Century and a skill with modelmaking, Smith has created a town.
FULL STORY: Lots of Web Traffic in Such a Tiny Town
Friday Eye Candy: The Theatricality of the Subway
A new book of photography amplifies what was already there.
Second Wave or Second Peak?
The terminology of the coronavirus pandemic isn't applied consistently, particularly when dealing with areas seeing a resurgence of infection after states have relaxed social distancing restrictions. The World Health Organization added some clarity.
Study: 36,000 American Lives Would Have Been Saved if White House Acted One Week Earlier
Research from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health looks at the timing of the imposition of public health control measures, at the start of the pandemic and in the present if infections increase, to project lives saved or lost.
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?
Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk
High housing costs are pushing more seniors, many of them on a fixed income, into homelessness.
Massachusetts Budget Helps Close MBTA Budget Gap
The budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey includes $470 million in MBTA funding for the next fiscal year.
Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan
Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.
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