Friday Funny: Turning Urban Planning Into Poetry

Emily Thenhaus writes a post sharing the creative work on the part of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) to transform their planning work into poetry. 

To introduce the idea, Thenhaus acknowledges the prosaic nature of the planning profession's chosen genres: "The report. The study. The long PDF assigned in classes, passed out at events and piled on desks. But is it ever read?"

To counter the effects of esotericism, RPA "created a few quick, albeit oversimplified, haikus for some of RPA’s wonky and perhaps not-so-well-known studies."

The result is planning poetry, or the lyricism of land use, or the couplets of community. You get the idea. Here are a few fun examples, with more after clicking through to the article:

Kings Queens Bronx Staten:

Sometimes we don’t want to go

into Manhattan.

— Overlooked Boroughs: Where New York City’s Transit Falls Short and How to Fix It

L closed for repairs

Yes, the time is ripe to make

a train worth the wait

— A New L Train for New Yorkers