History / Preservation
Appreciating Rural Cultural Resources
A focus on ‘placemaking’ too often obscures or exploits local culture and history.
Storms and Sea Levels: The Growing Threat to California’s Piers
California’s aging piers face growing threats from climate change, with intensifying storms, rising repair costs, and structural vulnerabilities forcing tough decisions about their future preservation.
Planetizen’s Top Posts of 2024
The most-read articles on Planetizen in 2024.
Planetizen’s Top Urban Planning Books of 2024
Top of mind in 2024 were the far-reaching impacts of climate displacement, zoning as a solution to the housing crisis, and the potential for safer roads and better public transit in American cities.
Retrofitting Old Cities for Sustainability
Explore strategies for retrofitting old cities to enhance sustainability while preserving historical integrity and managing logistical challenges.
Old Walls, New Homes
From forgotten buildings to thriving neighborhoods, adaptive reuse has the power to transform our cities.
San Antonio: An Urban Planner's Guide to the City
Anchored by its picturesque river, San Antonio is a diverse city experiencing rapid growth in the shadow of its larger Texas neighbors.
The Story of Eastman Clock Plaza in Downtown Cranford
How a small plaza in Cranford, New Jersey became a community beacon.
Honoring Heritage: Stunning Mosaic Unveiled in Sun Village
The new artwork celebrates African American heritage, resilience, and the efforts of The Civic Women’s Club in shaping the high desert community in the Antelope Valley.
Preserving Endangered Historic Sites
How the America’s Most Endangered Places list helps bring important stories out of obscurity.
Key Wins for Conservation in 2024
The year brought some important victories to advocates for public lands, national monuments, and the reclamation of Indigenous history.
Philly Residents Push Back on New Historic Preservation District
Some residents of Philadelphia’s newly designated Washington Square West Historic District say the community was left out of the decision-making process that could impact housing costs and building requirements.
Megalopolis: An Urban Planner’s Review
The sprawling film offers a bleak vision of city-building that minimizes the impacts of top-down development on everyday citizens.
Interactive Map Highlights Freeway-Related Displacement in Houston
A new map illustrates the neighborhoods and buildings that were razed to make way for freeways and estimates the number of people displaced by roadways.
Placemaking in the Barrio: Conceptualizing Infill Development in Disenfranchised Communities
How one San Antonio neighborhood could approach sustainable revitalization while supporting the existing community and drawing on its rich and diverse history and cultural resources.
‘Newbie Humility’ Meets the ‘Imported NIMBY’
In a precautionary essay about moving to another place, Chuck Wolfe explains tensions between simple and practical community life and newcomers’ arguably gentrification-laced expectations.
The Trust for Historic Preservation’s ‘Most Haunted’ Hotels of 2024
Looking for a historically creepy place to spend Halloween? Check out these haunted properties.
Rebuilding Hope: Restoring Manzanar's Baseball Field
Los Angeles artist Dan Kwong is leading a project to restore the baseball field at the Manzanar National Historic Site, honoring the resilience of Japanese Americans incarcerated there during World War II.
Addressing Tree Canopy Disparity in South Los Angeles
A new study highlights the complex challenge of addressing tree canopy disparities in South L.A., where historical environmental injustices, budget constraints, and competing community priorities hinder efforts to increase equitable tree coverage.
A Historic Golf Club's Community Revival
South LA’s Chester Washington Golf Club is experiencing a revitalization, blending its rich legacy with modern advancements while continuing to foster community, diversity, and fellowship.
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.
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
