History / Preservation
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.
Vote for the Most Influential Urbanists
After accepting nearly 200 nominees for consideration, we're asking for votes to determine the "Most Influential Urbanists" of all time.
5 Beloved Architectural Creations Lost to History
If you could bring one building back from the wrecking balls of the past, what would it be?
South Bend Has Big Innovation District Plans
Public Radio International (PRI) surveys the keys to an ambitious plan to restore the industrial "temples" of South Bend, Indiana.
Do Confederate Statues Belong in Public Spaces?
In the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville, resulting from the gathering of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, American cities are rethinking whether statues honoring the heroes of the Confederacy belong in public spaces.
Putting Teeth into the California Housing Accountability Act
A 35-year-old law is not living up to its moniker, the 'anti-NIMBY law'. A bill co-sponsored by a group associated with the YIMBY movement would fine cities $10,000 per housing unit if they fail to comply with the law.
The Archaeology of Public Memory and Civic Identity
The Confederate monuments debate invites a broader interdisciplinary conversation about the nature and planning of public commemorative landscapes and, by extension, the identity and soul of a community.
Poll: Who Are the Most Influential Urbanists?
The world has changed since Planetizen crowdsourced its "Top Urban Thinkers" in 2009. Which urban planners, designers, doers, and dreamers do you think have had the most influence on the world?
Search the Location of the Nearest Confederate Monument
Public spaces are full of monuments to a rebellion fought to maintain slavery.
Art in the Face of Gentrification
Art and culture tend to be integral to helping disenfranchised communities self-identify, develop their identities, and organize around place-based issues. But its presence can also be used be used by real estate interests to market neighborhoods.
Millennials Prefer Revitalized Historic Areas, Not Malls
Are millennials the key to preservation? A new survey finds that millennials prefer to live, work and play in neighborhoods with historic buildings.
Seattle Tackling Equity Challenges With Global Lens
Seattle is faced with an affordable housing crisis that has led the new Planning & Community Development Director Sam Assefa to look globally for solutions.
60 Years On, the Planned City of Columbia, Maryland Holds Up Against Change
The design for the planned city of Columbia, Maryland continues to influence new developments around the world.
Friday Eye Candy: Ancient Rome's Maps, Reimagined as a Transit System
There are surprisingly few maps of ancient Roman roads, and many fewer maps of ancient Roman roads that resemble big-city subway maps. An intrepid student has improved upon that situation, however.
How Not to Solve a Housing Crisis
More trouble in River City, as Portland and Oregon struggle with rising housing costs and come up with a puzzling solution.
El Paso Streetcars to Symbolize Transnational Ties
The Texas city is moving ahead on plans to refurbish its old trolleys into a 21st-century streetcar system. The aim is to resurrect an old route that traversed the border to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Inside the National Museum of African American History
Sights and scenes from the inside of Washington, D.C.'s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Friday Funny: Onion Satire Pits Preservationists Against Trump's Childhood Home
A totally fake news story from the fake news site The Onion reports the fake news that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is leading an effort to demolish Donald Trump's boyhood home.
Fixation On City Skylines Detracts From City Streets
City life happens at street level. But some of our most iconic images of cities are focused hundreds, or even thousands, of feet in the air. Our streetscapes are the worse off for it.
Brutalism Becoming a Source of Preservation Controversy
Brutalism might not be anybody's idea of beautiful, but that doesn't mean examples of the architectural style aren't beloved by many. As Brutalism comes of age as historic, preservation battles are heating up—especially in Washington, D.C.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
