Katherine Don looks back at Broadacre City, Wright's attempt to replace the modern industrial city once and for all.
The design for Broadacre City was a rebuttal to Le Corbusier's Radiant City. Wright called for "a new standard of space measurement-the man seated in his automobile."
Don writes, "Even in the 1930s, urban planners were disgusted by Broadacre. Its philosophy was deeply individualistic; its layout was conspicuously wasteful. Liberals of the time who emulated the socialist spirit of Europe classified Wright as an anti-government eccentric, which indeed he was. In 1938, Marxist art historian Meyer Schapiro condemned Broadcre City as 'perfectly consistent with physical and spiritual decay.'"
Read the full story: Frank Lloyd Wright's Utopian Dystopia
The Evolution of Green Urbanism
Today’s "Eco" or "Green" Urbanism movement has ancient, cross-cultural roots. This history is worth contemplating for lessons relevant to sustainable planning and design.
Choice Slights from Frank Lloyd Wright
In a 1957 book, author Selden Rodman collected conversations with 35 of America's preeminent artists and architects. The interviews with Frank Lloyd Wright are a font of choice quotes on topics from Le Corbusier to NYC's density.
The 10 Diagrams That Changed Planning
A new exhibit that opened this week at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association's gallery explores the 10 diagrams that have had a monumental influence on urban planning, and the possibilities inherent in the medium.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello