In Amanda Erickson's explanation of the history of urban planning, the profession as conceived at the start of the 20th century confronted a choice between creating beautiful people or beautiful cities. Why couldn't planners have created both?
In the years before urban planning crystallized as a distinct profession, Erickson sees the influence of "three types of people thinking about how a city
should look and function - architects, public health officials, and
social workers."
According to Erickson, at America's first urban planning conference, held in New York in 1898, "and in the years that followed, any one of these
early urban planning strains could have taken over as the intellectual
giant in the field. Though the social workers and the public health
officials continued to play a role, urban planning's intellectual
history ended up grounded in architecture."
In this "brief history," Erickson concludes that the profession's grounding in design and physical space led directly to the use of planning as a tool for oppression. "As Stuart Meck, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers explains,
cities used urban planning not to build better, or cleaner, or morally
uplifting cities. They used planners to divide the city, creating
beautiful spaces at the expense of the poor."
Read the full story: A Brief History of the Birth of Urban Planning
Herd Immunity Finds Receptive Audience in White House and Florida
A trio of epidemiologists from Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Oxford have joined the president's new coronavirus medical advisor, Scott Atlas, in promoting an alternative approach to dealing with coronavirus infections.
Report: Expect to Live with Two More Years of Social Distancing
As a majority of states relax stay-at-home restrictions, a prestigious team of experts from the University of Minnesota, Harvard and Tulane universities warns that the coronavirus will likely last 18 to 24 more months, returning in successive waves.
Straight Talk from White House Public Health Experts on What to Expect
The public got to view the models that caused the president on Monday to extend the White House Coronavirus Guideline for 30 days. Dr. Deborah Birx, who led the presentation, emphasized that success will come down to behavior to reduce fatalities.
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