Is the gritty, diverse New York of yesteryear dying, vanishing, or otherwise ceasing to exist? Depends on who you ask and where you look.

Kevin Baker penned a scathing missive about the changes transforming New York City. The dramatic nature of the article is summed up in its headline and subhead: titling the article "The Death of a Once Great City: The fall of New York and the urban crisis of affluence."
Baker explains that he's lived in New York for 40 years, but the recent changes in the city's character are unprecedented in his experience: "I have never seen what is going on now: the systematic, wholesale transformation of New York into a reserve of the obscenely wealthy and the barely here—a place increasingly devoid of the idiosyncrasy, the complexity, the opportunity, and the roiling excitement that make a city great."
In a pointed response, Ben Adler takes Baker's points to task. Noting that Baker's work treads familiar ground, Adler has plenty of responses at his disposal.
"Only someone who neglects to venture the tiniest bit off the beaten path, where New York is more diverse and alive than ever, would think it’s truly dead," according to Adler.
Adler's most salient point to the discussion of growing cities and gentrifying neighborhoods, recalls the large forces that control the evolution of cities. "The assertion that New York is particularly adrift also mistakes national and global phenomena, chiefly capitalism and growing inequality, for something distinctive to New York and within its own control."
FULL STORY: The Death of a Once Great City

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie