Essayist and photographer Aisha Sloan revisits the Los Angeles neighborhood of her childhood to examine Modernist architecture and its correlation to segregation.
Here's an excerpt from Sloan's essay:
"According to LA's Early Moderns, the architects who brought the spare glass-wall style of living to Los Angeles in the 1920s and 30s saw the promise of architecture as revolutionary. It held the key to physical and emotional health. California architect Irving Gill was not only concerned with bringing more of what nature had to offer into people's daily lives, he also felt that there was a morality inherent to his chosen field-architecture had the potential to do social good."
Meanwhile, "Racially exclusive housing covenants were pervasive in the 1940s and 50s, preventing people of color from living in certain areas. They were lifted by the Rumford Fair Housing Act in 1963, but not long after that, the city approved a proposition to reinstate them."
Sloan builds a convincing case the mid-century modern architecture did little to fix the segregation and racism of Los Angeles, and may have contributed in its own way.
Thanks to Simmons Buntin
FULL STORY: How to Draw a Glass Mountain: Los Angeles and the Architecture of Segregation

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.

Opinion: Transit Agencies Must View Service Cuts as Last Resort
Reducing service could cripple transit systems by pushing more riders to consider car ownership, making future recovery even less certain.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service