History / Preservation

Hope VI Housing

New Public Housing? HUD Has Found a Way

For decades, the number of public housing units across the U.S. has been shrinking. But within the limits of the law and funding, HUD has figured out a way to get back some of the housing that has been lost.

October 18, 2021 - Shelterforce Magazine

Suburban Pittsburgh

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.

October 14, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

San Antonio Christmas

Growth and Heritage Colliding in San Antonio

As demand for real estate grows, residents in the city's historic neighborhoods face rising costs and the threat of displacement.

October 12, 2021 - The New York Times

California Houses

Eliminating Single-Family Zoning Alone Won't Solve California's Housing Crisis

While zoning reforms can help reduce barriers to building more housing, high construction costs and local opposition mean that the state won't see an immediate boom in density.

October 1, 2021 - Slate

Houston Townhouse

Is Historic Preservation Zoning?

In a victory for preservationists, the Texas Supreme Court upheld Houston's Historic Preservation Ordinance despite a lawsuit alleging that the ordinance constitutes illegal zoning rules.

September 30, 2021 - SLoG Law Blog

An image of the book "A Promised Land," by Barack Obama shows a black and white photo of the former president smiling.

Obama Presidential Center Breaks Ground on Chicago's South Side

Years of controversy and delay were in the rearview this week when the Obamas joined the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center .

September 30, 2021 - The New York Times

Glendale, California

How the Iconic Dingbat Took Over Los Angeles

The low-slung, car-oriented apartment buildings represent a mid-century solution to a housing shortage and offer valuable lessons for new development.

September 28, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

HOLC map from 1937

New Research Reexamines HOLC's Role in Redlining

New Deal agencies did engage in discriminatory lending practices–but not quite in the way we think.

September 28, 2021 - Governing

Houston Third Ward

A Tour of Houston's Rapidly Gentrifying Neighborhoods

These Houston communities have experienced the most dramatic demographic changes in the last decade, according to new Census data.

September 27, 2021 - Houston Chronicle

Robert Moses at the ribbon-cutting for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

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.

September 22, 2021 - Diana Ionescu

Aerial Texas Hill Country at sunset, with an aerial view of a highway interchange and Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas.

Austin Interstate Expansion Plan Draws Opposition

A proposal to widen I-35 has drawn criticism from community members who want to see the city shift away from car-centric development.

September 15, 2021 - Texas Signal

People in front of Texas African American History Memorial, Texas State Capitol Grounds

Boosting the Signal on East Austin's African American Cultural Heritage District

The city of Austin formally designated the African American Cultural Heritage District in 2007, but recently decided to focus new planning and economic development energy to reaffirm the district's significance in the community.

September 7, 2021 - Community Impact Newspaper

An image of historic Penn Station when it was first built in 1910, viewed from the outside with people, carriages, and streetcars passing by.

What Is Historic Preservation?

Historic preservation is a controversial, highly contested cause, with a long history of failures and successes in the United States.

September 2, 2021 - James Brasuell

The backboar of a basketball hoop is painted orange with the words "orange Mound"--the name of a historically black neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis Targets Adaptive Reuse of Historic School for Neighborhood Benefits

A plan to rehabilitate the vacant former location of Melrose High School in Memphis' Orange Mound neighborhood "recalls many other recent initiatives aimed at elevating and investing in Black urban history."

September 1, 2021 - Bloomberg CityLab

An image of Washington D.C. with highways and the streaks from car head and tail lights in the foreground, and the Washington Monument in the background.

The History of Federal Infrastructure Funding: As Determined by the Founding Fathers

The ability of the federal government to fund, and define, infrastructure, owes itself to a history of state and federal leadership at the dawn of the nation's existence.

August 31, 2021 - The Washington Post

Philadelphia

Neighborhood Rezoning Proposal at Odds With Philadelphia's Comprehensive Plan

While planning departments around the country make news for removing exclusionary zoning and parking requirements, many neighborhoods still show a strong preference for parking minimums and development limits. Case in point: Germantown, Philadelphia.

August 31, 2021 - WHYY

Detroit Vacant Properties

Detroit Residents Find it Hard to Access Land Bank Properties

Longtime residents say the city is not fulfilling its goal of keeping vacant parcels in the hands of locals as property values rise steeply.

August 19, 2021 - Outlier Media

View of Portland, Oregon from Pittock Mansion

The Long Road to Portland's Historic Residential Infill Project

How the journey of one zoning reform campaign can inform future efforts.

August 16, 2021 - Sightline

Hells Kitchen Sidewalk New York City

Looking Beyond the 'Sidewalk Ballet:' Jane Jacobs in the 21st Century

While The Death and Life of Great American Cities remains an urban planning classic, today's planners must contend with challenges that Jacobs couldn't have anticipated.

August 12, 2021 - The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Illinois Freeway

Why Infrastructure Spending Should Center Equity

To begin to reverse decades of discrimination and disinvestment, future infrastructure spending must put equity at the forefront.

August 9, 2021 - Fast Company

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