The Glenner Town Square development in Chula Vista, California will be one of the first "immersive facilities" in the United States, designed to trigger memories for Alzheimer's patients.
"There’s going to be a new town square in Chula Vista, a suburb near San Diego County, California," according to an article by Linda Poon. "But while most cities try to update their town squares to be trendy and modern, this one takes inspiration from the 1950s."
"Come 2018, when Glenner Town Square is schedule to open, that city hall will be surrounded by a park, a movie theater, a hospital, a diner, and more than a dozen other functioning buildings typically found in any city," adds Poon. But there's a fundamental feature of the town still missing from that description. Glenner Town Square is a replica of a functioning city, scaled down inside a 15,000-square-foot industrial building with a 24-foot-high ceiling.
"The fake city is part of 'reminiscence therapy,' an increasingly popular alternative to nursing homes and drug treatments for Alzheimer’s patients," according to Poon. Alzheimer’s patients from the San Diego-based nonprofit George G. Glenner Alzheimer’s Family Centers will be the primary visitors to Glenner Town Square. The most thorough examples of the developments designed for reminiscence therapy are located in Amsterdam, Cleveland, and another example planned for Rome, Italy.
FULL STORY: How Throwback Model Towns Could Help Alzheimer's Patients
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on State-Imposed Social Distancing Restrictions
In a 5-4 decision, the court voted to uphold the prohibition of religious services that was part of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order. While the restriction had since been loosened, the plaintiff wanted all restrictions removed.
Power Shifts to Cities in San Diego County's Embattled Regional Planning Agency
Larger cities in California's second most populous county will be given more power thanks to a bill that reforms the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). One result may be that more public transit measures appear on the ballot.
The Joys and Surprises of Teaching "Guerilla Planning"
One of my prerogatives teaching a landscape design studio exploring public space at UCLA Extension is being able to pick the class projects with which to challenge the students. Time for them to get real and get down, walk the streets, wallow in the sites; to see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Me and my colleague, the loquacious landscape legend Rhett Beavers, are in effect the clients, the students the professional consultants, and the particular projects our whim, no matter how it might be a sugar coated pedanticism in the school’s offering of an urban laboratory.
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.
Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.
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.
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