History / Preservation

Disused Atlanta Industrial Site Slated for Historic Status
Currently owned by the state of Georgia, Atlanta's Pullman Yard may get a lot harder (but not impossible) to redevelop. Atlanta's Urban Design Commission is considering a proposal to grant protected status to the property.

Inside Mussolini's Fascist New Town
Founded in 1928, the fascist new town of Arborea (formerly known as Mussolinia) still shows hints of the divergence between the traditional towns of Sardinia and the modernist leanings of its founders.

Preservation Comes to Houston
For the first time in its 70-year history, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual conference in the city of Houston.

Historic Block in Downtown St. Petersburg May Not Survive
Failing to receive protection from the St. Petersburg, Florida city council, a historic downtown block faces an uncertain future.

How Good Planning Remade the Santa Fe Railyard
A planner reflects on one of New Mexico's great planning successes, the Santa Fe Railyard.
New York Moves Ahead on New Historic District
The new district may be both preservationist and political.

Why Is Actor Mario Lopez Promoting a Stadium Next to an Historic Barrio in San Diego?
In San Diego, a battle is taking place between residents of historic Barrio Logan and proponents of an NFL stadium which threatens it. Actor Mario Lopez has been hired to sell the stadium proposal.

Affordable Living in The Bronx
A look at Parkchester, one of four planned communities built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York City, circa 1940s. The complex includes over 12,000 rental and ownership apartments, located near the #6 subway.

Mapping the Racist History of Real Estate in New Deal America
The Mapping Inequality website documents how the liberal ideals of the New Deal devolved into discrimination and inequality.

Historic Missouri-Illinois Bridge Completes Rehabilitation Funded by Recovery Act
Remember President Obama's 2009 economic stimulus program? Add another completed project to the program's successes: the restoration of the multi-modal 1874 iconic Eads Bridge connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill. over the Mississippi River.
Why Can't My Zoning Create a Diversity of Places?
Struggling with zoning that thwarts the construction of new hamlets, villages, towns, and cities? Susan Henderson has a bit of place type inspiration from across the pond.

98 Buildings from the 20th Century Added to Chinese Heritage List
The Chinese Society of Cultural Relics and the Architectural Society of China added 98 buildings to the 20th-Century Chinese Architectural Heritage List.

The Langston Hughes House and a Gentrifying Harlem
Artists and community members seek to preserve the culture and identity of Harlem amid the growing popularity and expense of housing in their community and all over New York.
Philadelphia Renaissance Threatens Working Diamond District
Heretofore preservationists in the City of Brotherly Love have been focused on finding new uses for vacant, historic buildings, but the city's economic resurgence now threatens five, occupied low-rise buildings city's in vibrant Jewelers Row.

The 11 Most Endangered Places in the U.S.
These historic sites—be they buildings, districts, or natural landscapes—are closer to destruction than any others in the United States.

A Sordid History: Race in Real Estate
Commentators relentlessly debate whether Donald Trump's support hinges on economics or race. Alexis C. Madrigal discusses how the two are joined at the hip, especially in real estate.

Jane Jacobs, 'Cities First,' and the Virtues of Being Wrong
The great urbanist may have offered a flawed theory of urban origins, but that doesn't mean her idea is completely worthless.
Terrifying Train Crash at Hoboken Terminal on Thursday Leaves One Dead
Disaster struck New Jersey Transit commuters at 8:38 AM on Sept. 29 when train #1614 failed to stop at the end ot the track and slammed into the wall, then the ceiling of the historic station, killing at least one person and injuring up to 100.

Foolish Utopianism in Today's Top Architecture
Reviewing Douglas Murphy's book "Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture," Jonathan Meades lays into the new utopianism of contemporary architecture. Silicon Valley gets portrayed as both foolish and hypocritical.

Friday Eye Candy: Images of the World's Cities Through History
Tour the history of the world's most famous cities.
Pagination
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