It's been more than 50 years since Boston's old West End was demolished, so why does the neighborhood still have its own newspaper, museum, and weekly gatherings?
Robert Campbell writes about this truly unique "place", and the myriad lessons it can provide for architects and city planners.
"We forget that to experience a building or a neighborhood richly, we need to hear it, smell it, taste it (even the air has a taste, a humidity, a temperature), touch it (as we move our hands over the rough surfaces of old buildings), and experience it spatially as we move through it. The old West End was a feast for all the senses."
"If the old West End was anything, it was such a memory palace. The tightly packed streets and buildings were rich with incident and detail. There were lots of hooks on which to hang your memories. The neighborhood's intricacy supplied a zillion clues. You didn't have to consciously memorize, of course. You couldn't help remembering."
FULL STORY: Boston’s old West End persists as a ‘palace’
Rethinking Place Governance to Advance Equitable Development
The Boston Foundation's first Place Leadership Network process offers lessons in how to build place-based coalitions to advance the cause of equity.
Watch: The Dark Side of Eminent Domain
In cities like Boston, the government’s right to take private property displaced residents and destroyed vulnerable neighborhoods and communities.
Boston Bus Signal Priority Project Yields Faster Travel Times
The city now plans to expand a year-long pilot project that reduced the time buses waited at traffic signals.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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