History
Atlanta Will Be First City to Memorialize Convict Labor
Two monuments coming to Atlanta reckon with the city's history of using incarcerated laborers.
'Demodelphia' Hiring More Preservationists
To protect more historic properties from rampant demolition, Philadelphia is staffing up its historic preservation department.
What Is White Flight?
'White flight' refers to the exodus of white Americans from central cities to suburbs in the early and mid-20 century, a phenomenon which led to declining tax revenue and business closures that created lasting damage to urban neighborhoods.
Who Is Robert Moses?
Known to some as the 'master builder' and to others as a villain in the history of New York City's development, Robert Moses was an influential and controversial city official who guided the construction of hundreds of projects in the mid-20th century.
Op-Ed: Utopian Thinking Poses Continued Dangers for Urbanists
Charles Wolfe calls attention to similarities between contemporary urbanism and yesterday's debunked utopias. The two may differ in substance, but both tend toward a certain level of dogma that isn't necessarily helpful on the ground.
Mapped: Every Building in the United States
Using data from Microsoft, the New York Times has published an online map showing the placement of every building in the country, in a simple black and white format.
Philadelphia Gentrification: A Historical Perspective
Gentrified in the 1960s during the height of urban renewal, Society Hill is a historical precedent as Philadelphia confronts present-day gentrification.
Is Washington D.C. Preserving Buildings or Hoarding Them?
A piecemeal, reactive approach to historic preservation in the capital may burden the future with too many buildings of "middling merit."
Baltimore Confronts Underinvestment in Communities of Color
As part of an interdepartmental effort, the city's planning department is embedding an explicit equity lens into how it considers the distribution of civic resources.
The Pros and Cons of Concrete
A versatile building material with a long pedigree, concrete also has associations with ugliness and totalitarianism. Its reinforced variety, widely used today, can conceal a costly flaw.
What Happened When Arlington Cut Out the 'Missing Middle'
In Arlington, restricting density to preserve neighborhood character isn't new. A rowhouse ban in 1938 may be one factor behind today's steep prices and gentrification.
Changing Miami
Sixty years of highway construction has significantly changed Miami's development patterns.
Reexamining the Origins of Zoning
According to Seymour Toll's 1969 book, New York City's 1916 zoning code was less a civic-minded project than an attempt to protect elite retail districts from the riff-raff. The ramifications for American zoning at large are significant.
What Separates Georgetown From the Rest of D.C.?
Georgetown's grid of small blocks is starkly different from the L'Enfant-designed city that surrounds it.
The 'Myth' of Family Farms
Historian Gabriel Rosenberg challenges romanticism in the history of family farms in the US.
Friday Eye Candy: Historic London Visualized
Historic London collects panoramic views of modern London streets with historic photos transposed over them. Most of the views date from the first two decades of the 20th century.
Putting Geniuses In Their Place(s)
Eric Weiner's "The Geography of Genius" offers a delightful, if limited, analysis of cities throughout history where "genius" has arisen and offers inspiration for planners who want to make cities more than just places to live and do business.
Planning History: The Roman Empire and Public Health
Although the cities of the Roman Empire are typically regarded for their focus on health and hygiene, they may have struggled to manage many poor sanitation parasites.
What Will the 'Third Los Angeles' Look Like?
Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne describes an L.A. in flux, at once beholden to its postwar image and pushing in a new direction. The city, he says, faces existential questions on a scale unmatched elsewhere in the nation.
Four New Map Books Reviewed
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for a planner? Check out these new map books.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.
