Focusing on the often-overlooked contributions of people of color to the built environment, Dr. Craig Wilkins from the University of Michigan shares his list of recommended reading.
Building on the recently published books and essays on Paul Williams, essays and articles on Julian Abele, and forthcoming publications on Hilyard Robinson, these works rightfully add long-ignored practitioners of color to architecture’s official narrative, for a fuller account of practice in America:
Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington by Ellen Weis
Cap Wigington: An Architectural Legacy in Ice and Stone by David Vassar Taylor with Paul Clifford Larson
Negro Building: Black Americans in the World of Fairs and Museums by Mabel O. Wilson
Read the full story: Design library: African-American perspectives on architecture
Thrift stores, public libraries and genderless bathrooms: How public amenities become trans infrastructure
Amenities like ample public transit, affordable retail and non-gendered bathroom spaces can make cities more safe and welcoming for transgender residents — and everyone else.
The "vicious cycle of real estate mania" — and how we might find our way home
Book review: In "The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances," Kevin Fagan humanizes the housing crisis like never before.
10 great urban planning summer reads
Wherever you're going (or staying) this summer, here are some suggestions for books to bring along.
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.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
Maryland local governments examine if they should have more power to raise property taxes
Maryland’s housing market is out of reach for the majority of moderate-income residents.
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