History / Preservation
The Missing 13th Floor: How Ancient Fears Influence Modern Architecture
If you’ve ever looked closely at the elevator panel of a high-rise hotel or residential building, you’ve likely noticed something missing: a button for the 13th floor.
Proposed ‘Conservation Districts’ Could Change Preservation in Houston
The proposed model could be a new tool for preserving historic neighborhoods with more flexibility and with a focus on reducing displacement and addressing community concerns.
Black Wealth Builders Fund Supports Black Homeownership
A Bay Area loan fund provides Black homebuyers with zero-interest loans to meet their down payments. But is it ‘reparations?’
Adaptive Reuse No Magic Wand for Post-Pandemic Real Estate Woes
Pre-pandemic housing crisis, meet the post-pandemic office vacancy crisis.
From Garden Cemeteries to Levittown
Tracing the story of the American suburban form.
Chicago’s ‘Teardown Tax’ Slowing the Loss of Two-Flats
A demolition fee designed to preserve affordable housing in older buildings has had some impact on the city’s housing supply.
How One Massachusetts Governor Rejected Car-Oriented Development
Fifty years ago, Governor Francis W. Sargent nixed a proposed expressway and set in motion a transportation future for Boston that would be remarkably different from many other U.S. cities.
Federal Protection Proposed for Chesapeake Bay
Two Maryland lawmakers will introduce legislation to create the Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area to protect the region’s important ecological and cultural resources.
Jacksonville Legalizes Accessory Dwelling Units
The city expanded the areas where homeowners can build ADUs in an effort to boost housing supply and affordable rental units.
Remembering a Titan: Mike Davis Dies at 76
Davis’ unflinching portrait of Los Angeles politics and power dynamics remains a penetrating analysis of modern city-building, who it benefits, and who it leaves behind.
Visualizing Columbus Before Freeways
A new project uses historical records to reconstruct what Columbus neighborhoods looked like before freeways displaced them.
The Cradle-to-Cradle Approach to Building
The circular economy. Cradle-to-cradle. The regenerative economy. Whatever you call it, an approach to building that eliminates waste would transform the next generation of the built environment.
Keanu Reeves, Daniel Burnham Dream No Longer a Reality
Keanu Reeves will no longer portray Daniel Burnham in a film adaptation of The Devil in the White City.
Three Planning Innovations, a Century Later
Three events turning 100 this year have had a long-lasting impact on the shape of American urban design and land use.
Zoning Changes, Federal Funds Enable Adaptive Reuse Program in Pittsburgh
Funding and zoning changes are likely necessary but insufficient on their own, to borrow a phrase from Nolan Gray. Pittsburgh hopes to deploy both to spur adaptive reuse in the city.
Is it a Rowhouse, or a Rowhome?
Philadelphia has long been acknowledged as the capital of rowhouses in the United States. It’s becoming more common for those rowhouses to be referred to as rowhomes.
Denver Makes it Easier for Landowners to Oppose Landmark Designation
The balance of power in the historic preservation process shifted slightly toward the preferences of property owners in Denver.
Alternative Railroad Electrification
Rather than building costly overhead electrification infrastructure to convert a Chicago-area commuter rail line from polluting diesel power to emission-free electricity, the Metra Board of Directors chose a far less expensive and quicker route.
Parking Fees Approved for Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Visitors to the nation’s busiest national park will soon have to pay to park under a plan announced today by park officials.
San Antonio Office Tower To Become Residential
With the building more than half vacant, the new owners of the Tower Life Building plan to convert the historic tower into residences that could include affordable housing.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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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.
